Monty Roberts, a celebrated equestrian trainer and “horse whisperer” who promoted techniques of natural horsemanship that involved humane and nonviolent methods of training horses, passed away Friday at his home in Solvang, California. He was 91.According to his daughter Debbie Roberts Loucks, he died from complications from an autoimmune disease.An early convert to his methods was Queen Elizabeth II of Britain, a passionate horse lover and Thoroughbred owner. The two enjoyed a 30-year friendship.“She believed that no one should ever say to any human being or animal, 'You do what I tell you to do or I'll hurt you,'” Mr. Roberts told The New York Times in a 2022 interview. “When the queen was with horses, she was a horse person. She didn't want to be the queen.”Roberts created the Join-Up International organization, which was named after the core concept of his training method. He believed that horses use a non-verbal language, which he termed “Equus,” and that humans can use this language to communicate with horses. Roberts defied what was conventional wisdom at the time and proved that a horse trained without fear or by being punished would prosper and be a superior worker.Roberts authored a number of books including his original best-seller, “The Man Who Listens to Horses” and regularly toured with a live demonstration. It was the Queen who encouraged Roberts to write the “Man Who Listens to Horses.” The book was published in 1996 and was on the New York Times Bestsellers list for 58 weeks, and translated into more than 15 languages, selling more than five million copies worldwide.His talents went beyond his ability to train horses. Roberts bought Alleged as a yearling for $40,000 at Keeneland after it failed to meet its reserve. Roberts resold the horse the following year for $175,000 to Robert Sangster and, racing for legendary trainer Vincent O'Brien, Alleged won the G1 Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe in 1977 and 1978.Roberts didn't own the champion German racehorse Lomitas, but he saved the horse's racing career by curing his severe starting-gate phobia, leading the owner to name Roberts the horse's honorary manager. Lomitas was such a rogue that he threw himself on the ground before the running of G2 German Two Thousand Guineas and was scratched. But after Roberts worked with the horse he won G1 Grosser Preis von Berlin, the G1 Grosser Preis von Baden and the G1 Preis von Europa, and was named Germany's Horse of the Year.Lomitas later came to California, where he was trained by Ron McAnally and won the 1993 GI Bowling Green and the GII Shoemaker Handicap.Roberts also owned Sabiango (Ger), who won Group 1 races in Germany as well as the 2004 GI Charles Whittingham Memorial.Roberts was also known to buy Thoroughbred yearlings, breaking them using his “Join-Up” method, and reselling them as two-year-olds.Longtime NYRA head starter Bob Duncan befriended Roberts and became a disciple. He used many of Roberts's methods to deal with problem horses.“We call it natural horsemanship,” Duncan said. “It's a skill level that is horse-centric. It's all about empathy and getting your issues out of your head and getting into the horse's head. You learn their language, body language and movement. Once you begin to learn that it opens other doors. The horses become calm. It's not them learning your language. It us learning their language. It becomes a partnership, an equality and working together. Monty was an amazing guy. He was so enthusiastic about what he did and so confident about what he did.”Roberts was born in Salinas, California and was the son of horse trainer Marvin Roberts, who authored his own self-published book, Horse and Horseman Training, in 1957.Roberts competed in rodeo and won his first trophy at the age of four. He attended California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo and riding for their rodeo team, he won two National Intercollegiate Rodeo Association (NIRA) National Championships, including National NIRA Champion Bulldogger in 1957 and the NIRA Champion Team Roping in 1956. He graduated from Cal Poly in 1959 with a degree in animal science.Roberts went to Nevada at the age of 13 in order to round up horses for the Salinas Rodeo Association's Wild Horse Race, and there began observing mustangs interact with each other. Even at such a young age, he discovered that horses use a discernible and predictable body language to communicate and that they set boundaries, show fear and express annoyance, relaxation or affection. Roberts came to understand that utilizing this silent language would allow training to commence in a much more effective and humane manner, encouraging true partnership between horses and humans.Four documentaries on Roberts have been released. The first was the 1997 documentary BBC/PBS Monty Roberts: The Real Horse Whisperer. It showed Roberts as he set out to tame a wild mustang without enclosures, and his developing relationship with the horse later known as Shy Boy. In 2006, a DVD series with 17 episodes, named A Backstage Pass! was completed and broadcast in the UK. In 2023, a documentary about the relationship formed between Roberts and Queen Elizabeth II was released, called The Cowboy and the Queen.The post Monty Roberts Passes Away at 91 appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.