Monty Roberts Join Up
How did Monty Roberts Join Up evolve? As a child, Monty Roberts witnessed horses being "broken" by traditional, violent methods and also experienced abuse from his father which led him to look for kinder ways to deal with horses.
He spent a lot of time studying how horses behave in the wild and how they respond in the herd situation.
This led him to experiment with using the horse's natural instincts in ways that he could start to build an understanding
and communicate with the horse in it's own language - which he terms "Equus" and which earned him the title of the
horse whisperer.
About Join-Up:
Monty's definition of Join-Up is: "that moment when the horse decides that it is better to be with the person than to go away".
Join-Up can be achieved with all horses of any age or background. It is as effective on wild mustangs as it is on the gentle child’s horse.
The practice of Join-Up is a commitment to a path that two species
travel together in search of commonality, friendship and survival.
The process has no time constraints; it has no definable beginning or
end. The process does not begin when you arrive at the barn to meet
your horse; it begins when you wake up in the morning and exists even as
you sleep.
Join-Up
is based upon a communication system creating a bond rooted in trust
and an environment of cooperation. It must be nonviolent, non-coercive
and can only be accomplished if both partners have willingly entered the
process. To gain Join-Up with your horse, it is necessary to step into
his world, observe his needs, conditions and the rules that govern his
social order.
His Join-Up© method developed from this and he has been internationally successful in demonstrating this way of starting and re-starting (he does not use the term 'Breaking") horses.
He has had an illustrious career, highlights of which include:
1986 - first public demonstration of Join-Up©
1989 - Queen Elizabeth II invited Monty to Windsor Castle to demonstrate Join-up© and train her staff
1996 - Published his first book The Man Who Listens to Horses
1999 - His second book and documentary Shy Boy: The Horse that Came in from the Wild airs
2001 - His third book Horse Sense for People is published
2002 - His fourth book From My Hands to Yours is released
2004 - His fifth book The Horses in My Life is published in Great Britain, Germany and Australia
2005 - Monty is awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Parma for his work in animal psychology
I highly recommend his books, some of which are available for loan at your local library.
Alternatively you can buy them from Amazon by clicking on the images in the column on the right.
Monty continues to tour the world to demonstrate his non-violent methods. For more information visit:
www.montyroberts.com
Monty Roberts Join Up Book
"The Man Who Listens to Horses" is a memoir by Monty Roberts which emphasizes nonverbal communication and understanding with horses. In this book, Monty shares his personal experiences and shows how nonverbal communication can be just as important as spoken language, not just for working with animals, but for human relationships, too. He believes that nonverbal communication can sometimes be even more powerful than words.
He demonstrates his ability to tame even the wildest horses through gentle persuasion and a deep understanding of their behavior.
You can purchase this book here.