A Year of Horse Books: The Man Who Listens To Horses by Monty Roberts - reviewed by Katherine Roberts

The Man Who Listens To Horses
by Monty Roberts

The Man Who Listens To Horses is part autobiography, part equine training manual. It details Monty Roberts' upbringing in the tough world of cowboys and rodeo competition. From a very young age, the boy Monty was entering rodeos and winning prizes on horses his father had 'broken' (i.e. trained using the traditional and rather brutal cowboy method of the time). These days, we tend to talk more of 'backing' or 'starting' a young horse under saddle, which involves winning the horse's trust rather than using force and fear to produce results. As he grew up watching his father and the other cowboys work, Monty began to suspect that young horses could be trained more quickly and better by speaking their language... the non-verbal language of Equus.

To develop his new technique, he followed and observed groups of mustangs in the wild, noting how the herd was always led by a mare who was responsible for disciplining the young foals if they got out of line. The youngsters would be driven out of the herd as punishment, and only allowed back in again when they signalled that they were ready to 'talk'. In this way, Monty developed his own technique for winning the trust of a young horse so that it would be ready to saddle and ride in a very short time compared to the traditional method of doing things, and without the need to terrify the horse into submission. His groundbreaking approach to training brought him to the attention of Queen Elizabeth II, who invited him to come to the UK and demonstrate his technique with some of her own horses. He later used the same methods to bond with wild deer at his home.

Monty Roberts's life was colourful to say the least. At one stage, he was invited to create a vast training establishment to breed and produce winning racehorses, which came to an abrupt end when his employer and financial backer decided to dispose of what he'd created, giving Monty instructions as part of the disposal to shoot several healthy horses. Of course Monty put the horses' welfare first (and his own reputation on the line) when he saved them from unnecessary slaughter.

My favourite quotes from the book include: "Good trainers can hear horses talking to them. Great trainers can hear them whisper."

I also like Monty's answer to how various bridles are used to train horses: "The most important part of any bit or headgear are the hands that hold it."

Even if you are not a horse person, Monty Roberts' cowboy childhood, and his efforts to make the world a better place for horses, is an involving and interesting read - and if you are a horse person, this book might change the way you see your equine friend forever.

Monty Roberts died at the end of July this year, aged 91, but his legacy continues to spread the word about a kinder way to persuade our equine friends to work with us. More details can be found at https://montyroberts.com

Disclaimer: We are not (as far as I know) related!

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Katherine Roberts writes fantasy and historical fiction for young readers.

Monty Roberts' book played an important part in her research for her 2006 novel about Alexander the Great from the point of view of his faithful horse Bucephalas. Originally published by Scholastic/Chicken House, I am the Great Horse is currently available as a print-on-demand paperback or ebook for Kindle/epub.

I am the Great Horse

The first three chapters of this novel can be sampled free under the title Prince of Macedonia.

Prince of Macedonia