Shy Boy: The Horse that Came in from the Wild

In this beautifully illustrated book, Monty Roberts's be loved horse Shy Boy takes center stage. In a gripping, intimate narrative and in one hundred color photos, Monty Roberts relives their unique relationship, beginning with his first encounter with the wild horse in the high desert. During a dramatic three day ride across a hundred miles, Monty Roberts used all his skill to connect with the little mustang he finally befriended.

Throughout the year that followed, Shy Boy grew to love life on the farm, playfully demanding attention and becoming fascinated by children. During a year of challenges and one frightening illness, the wild horse earned the respect and admiration of his trainers--he had exceptional spirit. And, as his fame grew following the PBS-aired documentary that featured his initial three-day encounter with Monty Roberts, Shy Boy began to receive visitors from all over the world.

Yet throughout Shy Boy's year of fame, Monty Roberts was asked, "Would Shy Boy rather be free!" With trepidation, he took Shy Boy back to the wild to let him choose: Go with your herd, or stay with your gentler. What happened is so exciting and moving that it will surprise every reader.

And like Monty Roberts, readers will fall in love with Shy Boy.

Amazon.com 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

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All Customer Reviews
Average Customer Review:
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful:

shy boy , 2008-01-19
The book is good and easy to read, but it is kind of the same as other Monty Roberts book, so unfortantely if you have read one of his books you have read them all...but I would buy it.


2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

Inspirational example of natural horsemanship, with nice photography., 2007-04-15
As a teenager, author Monty Roberts once managed to gentle a mustang, using methods developed from close observation of equine interaction in the wild, a sharp contrast to the harsh practice of "breaking" a horse used by most ranchers of the time. Ultimately he was able to ride the horse back to his father's ranch. He had hoped this feat would win him some respect from his father, but instead no one could believe it. They ridiculed him, saying he must have chosen a horse that had already been handled by humans. Disheartened, Roberts pursued the matter no further, but did go on to use his experience with the mustang as the model for Join Up, his method of gently getting a horse to the point where he trusts his human handlers and allows himself to be ridden.

Roberts never really expected to duplicate that childhood experience, but got a lucky chance to do just that when the BBC contacted him in 1996, interested in doing a program about his training methods. It took some convincing to get them to agree to the idea of actually working with a wild mustang, but in the end they were won over, and the story that follows is what makes up this book. Periodically the Bureau of Land Management rounds up a number of mustangs and adopts them out to qualified individuals, as a means to keep the wild horse populations at a sustainable level. At one of these adoption events, Roberts acquired a small mustang gelding whom he named Shy Boy. In order to ensure that the horse did not become accustomed to humans, and especially to himself, he stayed away from the horse during his short period of human contact, and made arrangements to have him turned out with a wild band of horses roaming on a large private area of rangeland. Shy Boy remained with this band, untouched by people, for many months before the experiment began. He may have been briefly exposed to humans during his initial capture from the wild, but when Roberts began his work with the horse, he was certainly nowhere near trusting these strange two-legged creatures, which is exactly what Roberts needed in order to prove that his methods really work. And prove it he does, with this touching story as the outcome.

The story is not portrayed in a great amount of depth here, nor does Roberts describe his training methods in great detail. For a more thorough account of his Join Up system, and how he came to develop it, I'd recommend reading Roberts's other book, "The Man Who Listens to Horses," which is excellent. "Shy Boy" is something of a lighter version of that book, relying more on pictures to tell the story. The text is sparse and simple and the book can easily be finished in one day. I was slightly disappointed that the story of Shy Boy was not told at greater length, but it was still an enjoyable read. Roberts also punctuates the story with asides about a few other training experiences he has had. The two that stand out are his experiences with an unmanageable racehorse by the name of Blushing ET, who almost had even Roberts in despair over whether this horse's trust could ever be gained, and another tale about a tiny, sickly 12-year-old girl who contacted him after successfully using Roberts's methods herself on two of her own formerly unmanageable horses.

The photography is another great reason to get this book. While not the very best I've ever seen, most of photographer Christopher Dydyk's work is quite nice, and they really bring the book to life. There are images of Shy Boy in the wild before Roberts began his work, during the gentling and training period, and afterward, living and working successfully with his human family. The beautiful California mountain scenery in these is stunning. In addition, there are photographs of other mustangs in the wild, and of Roberts working both privately and in clinics with a number of domestic horses brought to him for that purpose. "Shy Boy" would definitely make a great coffee table book for any horse lover, and for those that want more detailed information on Roberts and his methods, I also recommend "The Man Who Listens to Horses."


1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

The taming of a wild horse . . ., 2007-02-26
At the age of 65, Monty Roberts the original horse whisperer, replicates an experience he had as a boy - gentling a horse in the wild. The horse in this case is Shy Boy, brought in from the high deserts as part of a BLM program to control the numbers of mustangs that roam the public lands of the western states. Set free to join a herd on the open range of a huge ranch in northern California, he has a new life until Roberts (and a BBC film crew) single him out for Roberts' system of training horses without violence. Without a holding pen, the process is strenuous and extends over days. Just as interesting is the transformation that occurs afterwards, as Shy Boy becomes a riding and working horse and adjusts to improved diet, better health care, and the presence of humans.

Also included in the book is a description of Roberts' training of a racehorse, Blushing ET, who has an extreme fear and hatred of starting gates. Roberts' account of these man-horse encounters is made vividly dramatic by the many photographs of Christopher Dydyk that illustrate this enjoyable book. Definitely for lovers of horses and those fascinated by the mystique of the wild mustang.


4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

Monty Roberts' Dream Horse, 2006-03-22
I recommend that you read Monty Roberts "The Man Who Listens to Horses" whether you read it before or after "Shy Boy..." Having read Monty's earlier book first the story of Shy Boy meant so much more to me. To read that, at the age of 62 with a bad back and not-so-young anymore, Monty relived one of the best times of his life gentling a wild Mustang as he did as a kid, but for a BBC Documentary as well. The gentling and training went better than he expected and he created a friendly and willing partner out of a wild horse. Not only that, the BBC special and the book continues to change the lives of many people and horses around the world as Monty's way of working with horses becomes known and accepted. The book itself contains spectacular photography of Monty, Shy Boy, other horses, and the beautiful country filmed in the BBC special. It is a heartwarming and inspiring story to say the least.


1 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

Manipulative and exploitational?, 2006-02-17
Cute idea for a story. Wild horse given choice of whether to remain free or whether to go with nice man, chooses nice man. One may have, on further research, reason to question whether all details of this tale, as presented in the story, are 100% truthful. One might question whether the mustang and the horses used to pursue him were handled humanely.

One might go so far as to question whether the experiment that was the basis for this book and its companion video, *should* have been performed, on the basis of humane concern for the animals and for scientific validity.

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