Monty Roberts Quotes

Horses are our silent partners. When we learn their language. This partnership grows strong.

If you act like you've only got fifteen minutes, it'll take all day. Act like you've got all day and it'll take fifteen minutes.

For centuries, humans have said to horses, 'You do what I tell you or I'll hurt you.' Humans still say that to each other -- still threaten, force and intimidate. I'm convinced that my discoveries with horses have value in the workplace, in the educational and penal systems, and in the raising of children. At heart, I'm saying that no one else has the right to say 'you must' to an animal -- or to another human.

A good trainer can hear a horse speak to him. A great trainer can hear him whisper.

It is not good enough to get your horse to do what you want. It is far better to cause your horse to want to do it.

The greatest strength a man can achieve is gentleness.

You must somehow understand that we as horsemen can do very little to teach the horse. What we can do is to create an environment in which he can learn.

Horses react appropriately while waiting for the human to get it right.

The horses are talking ... just listen.

The number one worst piece of horsemanship on earth is violence.

I cannot imagine my life without horses. They have been my teachers, my friends, my business partners and my entertainment.

When educating horses there is no greater maxim than slow is fast and fast is slow.

A boy is a long time before he knows his alphabet, longer before he has learned to spell, and perhaps several years before he can read distinctly; and yet there are some people who, as soon as they get on a horse, entirely undressed and untaught, fancy that by beating and spurring they will make him a dressed horse in one morning only. I would fain ask such stupid people whether by beating a boy they would teach him to read without first showing him the alphabet? Sure, they would beat him to death, before they would make him read.

The wonder of Independence is that it encourages open minds and the desire to improve.

Everybody ought to be given a chance to do whatever they want, but be responsible for their own actions.

Trust is established by working around horses in an utterly predictable manner.

Always work to cause your horse to follow the path of least resistance. Then place an opening for him to pass through so that the path of least resistance becomes the direction you want him to go in.

I want to leave the world a better place for horses and people.

When training young horses "There are many types of bits for many different disciplines, but the severity of ALL bits lies in the hands holding them."

I had been riding horses before my memory kicked in, so my life with horses had no beginning. It simply appeared from the fog of infancy. I survived a difficult childhood by traveling on the backs of horses, and in adulthood the pattern didn't change.

The author's tribute is heartfelt.