'Horse whisperer' Monty Roberts teaches gentle lessons that work with horses, humans

By Rose Hooper

Monty Roberts' goal is to make the world a better place ­ for horses and humans ­ by creating an environment in which violence is not an option and by teaching a gentle aproach to interacting with horses and people.

Through gentle body gestures, this world-famous horse trainer demonstrated how to saddle, bridle and ride an "uncontrollable" horse that's never been riden, how to stop a wild horse from bucking his rider and how to load a horse terrified of trailers.

For three hours April 12 at the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center, Roberts showed how patient, common "horse sense" rules over violence, a stinging whip, a painful jerking bit and sharp, piercing spurs.

He demonstrated that same patience in taking time from a hectic schedule to talk and share his philosophies with The Sylva Herald. Roberts started off by saying he lives his life with the goal of leaving this world a better place ­ for horses and people.

"The lessons I teach with training horses work with humans, too; they are lessons in life," said Roberts, who also conducts corporate seminars at his Flag Is Up Farms in California. "The main lesson is no one has the right to say, 'Do it my way, or I'll hurt you.' Violence in not the answer, and violence is not a good teacher.

"Now that's not to say discipline is a bad thing; it's not. But violent discipline is," he continued. "I want you to want to do what I ask you to, not be forced to, or do it out of fear."

Margo Gray of Webster, right, took her thoroughbred "Ashes" to the Western North Carolina Agricultural Center April 12 in hopes that famed "horse whisperer" Monty Roberts would work with him. Roberts found Ashes too good to use as a bad example and instead selected Studly, who had never been ridden; Shetonka, who bucked any rider; Shamus, an uncontrollable horse that walked all over people; and Skipper, who was terrified of horse trailers. ­ Herald photo by Rose Hooper

"If your child does something good, reward them.Take them fishing. If we wait for our kids to do something right and reward them for it, it's far better than to wait for them to do something wrong and discipline them," said Roberts, who speaks from the experience of being an abused child. "I don't think there is a bad horse born, and I don't think there is a bad kid born either."

Horse owners throughout Western North Carolina, including Margo Gray of Webster, took their problem horses to the Ag Center in hopes that Roberts would select theirs to use in the arena. For Gray, the bad news was that her thoroughbred, "Ashes," was not selected. The good news was that Roberts deemed Ashes "too good" for the bad list.

In one of the four demonstrations, Roberts selected a big, bad black stallion named "Shamus" with no respect for humans, described by his owner as "totally uncontrollable." Roberts called the horse "shameless" as the stallion tried to walk right over top of him as soon as he entered the arena. Shamus' owners and the audience watched in awe as this horse, who had paid no attention to any human's command, transformed before their eyes into a "pussycat."

Part of the horse language, which Roberts coined "Equus," involves the theory of advance and retreat.

"If you push a herd of wild horses in one direction for a certain distance, then lay off them and turn back, their natural inclination is to follow," he said. "The purpose of this is to bring the horse together with you, so we use advance and retreat to bring that horse in and make him realize you're on the same team.

"You can see this same technique in humans. Take a 14-year-old boy, for instance, who decides he is in love with a certain blond teenage girl. He will follow her around, hoping to talk to her or get in her good graces. She sees he is interested, so she plays hard-to-get. That's fine for while, but pretty soon he tires of that and quits following her. So, what happens next? When he ignores her, then she starts to pursue him."

Horsemen can do very little to teach the horse, Roberts said. Instead, what can be done is to create an environment in which the horse can learn.

"We hear that 'actions speak louder than words,' but generally we do not live by it too successfully. The horse has a very effective, involved and discernible nonverbal language. The incredible thing about this language is that these animals need no interpreters."

As for the language of Equus, Roberts said, "I didn't invent it. I didn't create it. I just observed it and realized I could imitate it."

His observations were of "the pure, bonafide language of the wild mustangs," a breed he feels should be preserved as an American national treasure.

Equus is a silent language using gestures instead of sounds. "A horse judges you by your actions, not by what you look like. It doesn't matter what clothes you are wearing, or what color your skin or hair is. Some humans could take a lesson from that, don't you think?"

Roberts has proved through his experiences with "Shy Boy: The Horse That Came in from the Wild" that "through communication and fair treatment, a wild horse will forge a relationship with you."

"Some folks say there is a mystical element to what I do, but I don't know about that. I simply approach it on a scientific basis," he said.

For hundreds of years humans have been "breaking" horses with violence, a cycle Roberts devotes his life to breaking. In his corporate seminars with such companies as Disney, Ford and Merrill Lynch, Roberts explains how humans even "break" other humans in the workplace.

"You force them into a box, you give them no freedom to make choices on their own," he said. "You create the mentality of 'master and slave' rather than being on the same team."

Does Roberts worry about others now who try to imitate his techniques?

"I think it's good thing if people want to follow me. The more attitudes we can change about using communication, rather that violence, is progress. Of course, I would prefer if people are going to use my technique that they learn it from me," said Roberts. "People who come to my school come on their own initiative, because they want to learn the gentler ways. I've got lots of good people to follow in my footsteps."

One he is proud to point out is his son, Marty, who gave up his law career to become CEO of the family business.

"I'm 65 and I don't buy green bananas," Roberts said, even though he keeps blazing new trails. His newest book, "Horse Sense For People," will be released this month.

Each of Roberts demonstrations throughout the world benefit a non-profit organization. The April 12 demonstration raised more than $7,000 for Mountain Hope Therapeutic Horseback Riding Center in Mars Hill.

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