July 29, 2016 Solvang, California: Monty Roberts is back from touring the world this spring, helping owners and horses face their fears and learn to trust each other. When given the chance, we sat down with Roberts to hear what advice he had for students who hope to understand horse behavior a little better.
Turns out that Monty and Pat Roberts, owners of Flag Is Up Farms, are celebrating their 50th year of gentle horse training in their Solvang, California location. As we were preparing for this interview, Roberts had been preparing to greet a variety students throughout the summer of courses, including a group of Brazilians. Much of the work is hands-on training like the Gentling Wild Horses course and Join-Up, using the methods Monty discovered while still a teenager in Nevada watching mustang herds interact. The students will get a rare look at Monty Roberts’ lifetime of knowledge and experience, but we first wanted to ask how people who couldn’t afford to travel to and participate in courses would ever be able to learn what he knows.
Monty’s Special Training Week is August 1st to 5th, where he works with a variety of horses. Students will observe how Monty Roberts’ concepts work with problem horses, young horses and unhanded horses, across all breeds and many disciplines. Following this first week, students will then participate in the Join-Up® Course followed by the Long Lining Course to experience how communication with horses in the round pen happens, hands-on. Included in the courses is a subscription to Monty’s Equus Online University. This online learning tool will support the continuing education in Monty’s methods.
What we hadn’t anticipated was that Monty already had a plan for people who could not journey to him to learn. His answer came in the form of a question, “Have you seen what I created for the world to have in perpetuity? Since 2004 I have been answering questions from horse owners, trainers and lovers as they come to me. Once per week I publish my answers for anyone one who wants to learn, as my gift to the horse world.”
While we were aware of Roberts’ Equus Online University, we admitted to him that we hadn’t added up the weekly questions and Monty’s answers to learn that he already had a library of over 612 nuggets of knowledge based on a lifetime of training championship horses. This was the wealth of knowledge we had hoped to share with you, and more. There is even a free Daypass allowing us to log on and test ride the lessons. Best of all, the 612 questions and Monty’s answers do not require paid access. As Monty said, they are his gift to those wishing to learn gentler, more humane ways to train horses. Access to the Equus Online University can be found here: www.MontyRobertsUniversity.com/library
The courses are:
August 1–5, 2016 Monty’s Special Training at Flag Is Up Farms, California USA
Aug 22–2 Sep Gentling Wild Horses course at Flag Is Up Farm, California USA
And more: https://www.montyroberts.com/ab_about_monty_calendar/see-monty/
Email info@montyroberts.com or Call 805-688-6288