The ethos of the real-life horse whisperer

How does someone become an authority on a topic? Select an expert whom you trust on a particular topic and explain why that person's ideas or accomplishments should be taken seriously.

The way in which a person becomes an authority (someone with the power to influence thoughts opinions and behaviors) is by: being the best in the particular field, niche, they are in; simplyfing and explaining a complex concept to the masses; and to break new ground by making new discoveries or looking at something that had always been done in a particular way and improving it.

The person with whom I have admired and respected their particular brand of ethos for a long time is someone I have never personally met: a horse-trainer by the name of Monty Roberts. Monty Roberts grew up on a ranch with a father that trained horses by breaking their spirit and essentially beating them into submission, a technique that had been the most prevalent at the time and is still used (although not as widely). At the age of thirteen, Monty Roberts had discovered (by observing wild horses in the mountains of Nevada) that horses had their own unique language and that they could be understood - all one had to do was listen (or watch) as they expressed themselves in body language. By listening (or watching), Monty showed that horses could communicate boundaries, relay fear, nervousness, anger, annoyance, relaxation, and affection. Most people who have pets can understand how easy and natural this must seem, but the horse was not always seen as a pet as much as they were seen as modes of transportation and workers. It was not until the invention of the automotive, and such farming equipment as combines, that the need for the horse as a worker or mode of transportation began to decline. No longer needed for work, horses began to fill other niches: pleasure horse; rodeo horse; show horse; among others.

Monty's unique brand of training is now know the world over as Join-Up. Join-Up is establishing rapport with a horse in a way that the horse understands (through the use of body language). Once the horse's trust is gained and recognizes the trainer as the herd leader a unique bond is formed.

At the start of his career, Monty was invited by Queen Elizabeth II, a horsewoman, to her country to show her staff his Join-Up method. After watching Monty, Queen Elizabeth II urged Monty to write a book. Monty listened to the Queen and wrote his first book. Since then, Monty has been teaching at seminars around the world, bringing his unique brand of training with him.

I tried looking for any pictures of 'the old ways/methods' in which horses were trained to illustrate the extreme difference in approaches to breaking and gentling a horse, but could not find any. What I found were sites dedicated to educating people about the ill-effects/flaws of breaking a horse.

I believe that Monty Robert's Join-Up should be taken seriously not only because it is more humane, but it is a more efficient and rewarding way of training a horse. I had the opportunity to watch a horse-trainer demonstrate the Join-Up method at a seminar on the reservation. Horses trained using the Join-Up seem livelier and happier to me.