Shy Boy: The Horse That Came in from the Wild - Softcover

Roberts, Monty

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060932899 ISBN 13: 9780060932893

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2000

Synopsis

"To appreciate Shy Boy," writes horse gentler Monty Roberts, "you must see him or his kind running free and easy, in a wide open space." This compelling story, and the breathtaking photographs that accompany it, offer a chance to do just that. During a dramatic three-day ride across miles of high desert, Monty Roberts used all his skill to connect with the little mustang he finally befriended. In the year that followed, Shy Boy grew to love life on the farm, playfully demanding attention, and becoming fascinated by children. After a year of challenges and one frightening illness, the wild horse's exceptional spirit earned the respect and admiration of his trainers. And, as a result of a PBS-aired program based on his initial encounter with Roberts, Shy Boy gained international fame.

Yet throughout this extraordinary year, Monty Roberts struggled with the question, "Would Shy Boy rather be free?" With trepidation, he took Shy Boy back to the wild to let him choose. The event, and its stunning conclusion, are memorably captured in these magnificent photographs and in a story that is both unforgettable and inspiring.

About this title

Review:

Celebrated as "the real horse whisperer," Monty Roberts made his literary debut with The Man Who Listens to Horses--half autobiography, half introductory lesson to "Equus," or the language of horses. In Shy Boy, Roberts returns with the story of a wild mustang he captured and domesticated using his renowned, nonviolent training technique. Beginning with the stunning Cuyama Valley in California, where he tracked the young stallion Shy Boy for three days, and moving on to the horse's gradual acclimation to human contact, Roberts walks the reader through the slow, detailed process. In the course of this equine odyssey, he stitches in inspiring anecdotes, as in the case of Samantha, an ailing 12-year-old who used Monty's method: "She saved a horse from an untimely end in a slaughterhouse and spared herself further harm--and she had done it without ever raising a hand or even her voice." However, the real credit for this book should probably go to the photographer, Christopher Dydyk, whose 100 or so colorful glossies dominate the book's 236 pages, with dazzling shots of the ranch, the range, and Monty at work. With brilliant graphics and easy-to-read language, Shy Boy is ideal for a young horse lover. --Rebekah Warren

From the Inside Flap:

In Shy Boy, with 100 beautiful full-colour photographs by Canadian Christopher Dydyk, world-famous horse gentler Monty Roberts reveals the unique rapport he shares with one special horse: a wild mustang. During a dramatic three-day ride across a hundred miles of high desert, Monty Roberts had to use all his skill to connect with the wild horse, and in a gripping, intimate narrative he relives their unique relationship.

Throughout the year that followed, Shy Boy lived on the farm, full of impish high spirits, fascinated by children, earning the respect and admiration of his trainers. As his fame grew following the PBS documentary of his initial three-day encounter with Monty Roberts, he received visitors from all over the world, and Monty Roberts was asked, "Would Shy Boy rather be free?" With trepidation, he took him back to the wild to let him choose: Go with your herd, or stay with humans. What happened was exciting and moving - and deeply surprising.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0060932899
• ISBN 13: 9780060932893
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 256