The Man Who Listens to Horses

by Monty Roberts

1998

Status

Checked out

Publication

Ballantine Books (1998), 352 pages

Description

"Monty Roberts is a real-life horse whisperer--an American original whose gentle training methods reveal the depth of communication possible between man and animal. He can take a wild, high-strung horse who has never before been handled and persuade that horse to accept a bridle, saddle, and rider in thirty minutes. His powers may seem like magic, but his amazing "horse sense" is based on a lifetime of experience. Roberts started riding at the age of two, and at the age of thirteen he went alone into the high deserts of Nevada to study mustangs in the wild. What he learned there changed his life forever. In The Man Who Listens to Horses, he tells about his early days as a rodeo rider in California, his problems with his violent horse-trainer father, who was unwilling to accept Monty's unconventional training methods, his friendship with James Dean, his struggle to be accepted in the professional horse-training community, and the invitation that changed his life - to demonstrate his method of "join-up" to the Queen of England. From his groundbreaking work with horses, Roberts has acquired an unprecedented understanding of nonverbal communication, an understanding that applies to human relationships as well. He has shown that between parent and child, employee and employer (he's worked with over 250 corporations, including General Motors, IBM, Disney, and Merrill Lynch), and abuser and abused, there are forms of communication far stronger than the spoken word and that they are accessible to all who will learn to listen. This inspirational and gentle man, first introduced to the American public on Dateline NBC, is part James Herriot, part Bill Gates, and part John Wayne"--Jacket.… (more)

User reviews

LibraryThing member chory.4
The Man Who Listens to Horses is a nonfiction book written by Monty Roberts about his life, career, and passion for horses. He recounts his autobiographical tale about his journey to becoming horse whisperer. The writing is clear and he does not hold back details in explaining why and how he works
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with horses. The book is chronological, and he does not just include the dates and events of his life, but instead includes the memorable stories, challenges, people, and horses that define him. This book was very motivational to me because I also love horses and understood the respect and nobility he also assigns to the horse. He includes pictures of important people and horses he helped or helped him. At the end of the book there is a summary index that goes over different techniques and approaches he applies as a horse trainer and whisperer. Overall, the book served its purpose as educating other people about the art, magic, and power of communicating and listening to horses.
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LibraryThing member qwiksilver
Monty grew up on the rodeo grounds of the town I grew up in. His descriptions of Salinas take me back. He also takes me back to all those poor ponies I mistreated in my child's ignorance of horse behavior and needs. Those poor ponies mistreated me right back. They weren't being stubborn, they were
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sticking up for themselves. He takes me back to the one pony that was my teacher and best friend. Also to the horses that I loved after. All were dear friends. His training methods are spot on. His power of observation a lesson to us all. His example shows that we all need to slow down and watch for a while before acting, be it horse or human. He also begs a queer question: Horses learn what we want. They learn our voice commands. They learn our language. And yet, we can't understand a word they say. So, who is the smart one? If you give a kid a horse or pony, this book along with Black Beauty should be required reading long before the horse or pony is ever saddled.
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LibraryThing member room5rapaura
I think this book is great. It isn't just about horses it is about Monty's life and his family. It also tells us about the ways they broke there horses in. Some of them were very mean but some of the ways we still se them today. This would be great for people who want to read an autobiography or
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like books horses.
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LibraryThing member rohetherington
Inspiring story of horses, humans, and the search for harmony. Monty demonstrates a few human qualities that rarely get expressed in todays chaotic society; vision, self-belief, determination, compassion. Absolutely awesome.
LibraryThing member puckrobin
A compelling and facinating look at how we treat the animals who share our lives, what we can learn by listening to them more often (instead of simply ordering them about), and how one man 'bucked' (pun intended) years and years of traditional horse training methodology to challenge horse owners,
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horse lovers - and frankly anyone who has to interact with any living creature - to reexamine how we communicate.
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Language

Original language

English

Original publication date

1996

Physical description

352 p.; 4.15 inches

ISBN

034542705X / 9780345427052

Barcode

1601256
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