08/03/2026
Horse whisperer Monty Roberts, 91, who changed 6,000 years of violent, "breaking" of horses, with his join-up method of training, has passed away. "I could train horses to take their first saddle and rider in less than 30 minutes without any violence." Which he demonstrated, on invitation, at Windsor Castle, before the Queen and staff.
His work using horses for veterans with PTSD addressed both problem horses and people with problems, especially psychological ones, and resulted in horse training–therapy programs for vets, first-responders and prisoners throughout the US and the world.
His friend of 35 years, Queen Elizabeth, who took his calls even during meetings, urged hm to write his first book—"The Man Who Listens to Horses", which has sold more than 6 million copies since 1997—as well as to spread his compassionate method and establish clinics throughout the world. "I have been to 41 countries in her name."
"I started all of her horses and I trained her people and her horses. It was a fantastic relationship — as close as it could possibly be” (People Magazine).
Monty Roberts—rodeo kid, cowboy, horse speculator, James Dean trainer, Elizabeth Taylor stand-in, horse whisperer, and "a regular, down-to-earth, straight-shooting kind of guy".
Photo credit: Alamy, via Horse and Hound.
