# 38 The Wayward Colt
Monty Roberts watched the boss mare deal with an unruly colt. She drove the colt away, about 300 yards from the herd. She left him there alone and went back to the herd. She stood at the edge, leaving the colt in exile. The mare kept her eyes fixed on him. She faced him directly.
The colt's skin quivered. Being alone was like a death sentence. Wolves and mountain lions will get any horse that stands alone. The colt walked back and forth. Now, he held his nose close to the ground. Monty read this as a sign. It looked like a sign of, "I'm sorry. Let me come back."
The dun mare was unforgiving. The colt circled the herd. He tried to sneak back from the other side. But the mare was there too. She never once took her eyes off him. Roberts saw the colt doing a lot of tongue licking and chewing. Yet he had eaten nothing. Roberts wondered, "Is this a signal of humility?" He began to realize that every horse's movement had a meaning.
Roberts remembered when the colt was first driven out. The colt threw his nose out in a circular motion. Roberts read this as a sign of, "I really didn't mean it. It just happened." He remembered the position of the mare's body. It was in a straight line, meaning "stay away." Then he saw the mare's eye slide back along the colt's neck. This meant, "I'm letting you back." But first the colt had to put his nose to the ground again to say, "I'm truly sorry. Let me come back."
Roberts was excited. He saw the signs and the responses. He thought, "I'll use the same body and eye positions. Perhaps I too can 'talk to the horses.'"
# 38 任性的小公馬
蒙蒂·羅伯茨觀察首領母馬如何處理一匹不守規矩的小公馬。她將小公馬驅離馬群約300碼遠。她把他單獨留在那裡，然後回到馬群。她站在邊緣，讓小公馬處於被放逐的狀態。母馬的眼睛一直緊盯著他。她直接面對著他。
小公馬的皮膚在顫抖。獨處就像死刑一樣。狼和美洲獅會攻擊任何單獨站立的馬。小公馬來回走動。現在，他把鼻子貼近地面。蒙蒂將這解讀為一個信號。這看起來像是「對不起。讓我回來吧。」的信號。
暗褐色母馬毫不寬容。小公馬繞著馬群走。他試圖從另一邊溜回來。但母馬也在那裡。她的目光從未離開過他。羅伯茨看到小公馬做了很多舔舌和咀嚼的動作。然而他什麼也沒吃。羅伯茨想知道：「這是一個表示謙卑的信號嗎？」他開始意識到馬的每一個動作都有其意義。
羅伯茨記得小公馬第一次被驅趕出去時的情景。小公馬用鼻子畫圓圈。羅伯茨將這解讀為「我真的不是故意的。只是發生了。」的信號。他記得母馬的身體姿勢。那是一條直線，意思是「離遠點」。然後他看到母馬的眼睛沿著小公馬的脖子向後滑動。這意味著「我讓你回來」。但首先小公馬必須再次把鼻子貼到地上說：「我真的很抱歉。讓我回來吧。」
羅伯茨很興奮。他看到了這些信號和回應。他想：「我會使用同樣的身體和眼睛位置。也許我也能『和馬說話』。」