Star Book

This is a really beautiful book - one you will want to look at again and again to enjoy the stunning photographs and to recall the story and the message that it contains for all of us who care deeply about horses. There can be very few people who own horses and who haven't heard of Monty Roberts. This in itself is a remarkable fact - that one man can achieve so much in such a relatively short time to change the way we communicate with horses and his discovery of the language 'Equus' which has led to fundamental and far reaching changes in the way in which horses are trained. Knowledge of the original book however is not essential when reading "Shy Boy" since Monty describes briefly his background and how he had an unfulfilled ambition to show that his renowned 'Join-up' technique could work with a completely wild horse, living free - without a round pen in sight!

Monty persuaded the makers of the British TV programme QED that this was possible and before long a plan was hatched and being put into practice in the high desert wilderness of central California.

This book is basically the story of the whole operation and of the horse singled out for the project who subsequently became known as 'Shy Boy'. We should be grateful for the fact that Monty successfully persuaded the publishers to include so many of the superb colour photographs by Christopher Dydyk. They convey so wonderfully the whole project -the people, the horses and the glorious wild landscape. Combined with Monty ' s most readable text you feel that you are sharing the experience, the long hard riding, the biting cold and the uncertainty of a successful outcome.

You also become intimately acquainted with 'Shy Boy' himself and better understand the degree of trust which he eventually places in Monty - and in mankind. This of course is the crux of the book, its very important and touching message, that after centuries of suffering abuse at the hands of man, a truly wild horse could overcome its instinctive fear of us and become a willing partner..........

Strongly Recommended

There is an interview with Monty Roberts here.