The
Horse Boy: A Book About the Healing Power of Horses
Illuminated by a Family’s Struggle with Autism
"This is a story everyone needs
to hear."
Animal Behaviorist Temple Grandin, PhD
(who is also autistic)
THE HORSE BOY was published in the USA by Little,
Brown in April 2009; it is 368 pages, hardcover with dust jacket,
with beautiful color photographs.
To order this book online, see the order
form on the end
of this page.
The new book "The Horse Boy by Rupert Isaacson has everything
to do with horses on the most elemental level: the power of horses
to let us be ourselves and to bring out the best in us.
If you had a child who needed your help with a massive problem
like autism, where would you turn after you had been to all the
doctors, all the clinics, and all the psychologists? Would you
pace around your own dusty Texas backyard, and then turn to your
neighbor's Quarter horse mare, to see if she might be able to
help?
Horses helped you when you were a child, didn't they? And if
the mare did help him...then what? Would you stop there?
Or would you go to the ends of the earth to try to help your
child? If a little bit of horse is good, would a lot of horse
be better? Would you set aside all your cultural and belief systems
and look for help in a place so strange and distant that only
the smell of the horses was familiar?
If you did those things, it would sound and look like the story
and photos in this important new book, the true story of a family
on the run toward hope, because they already know it is futile
to stand still.
"It's important to do something," the experts tell
them. But no one expected a young family to take on an adventure
like this.
A photo by Justin Hennard who accompanied the
family
on their Mongolian journey.
You may know someone who works with therapeutic riding programs,
a special needs teacher or volunteer, a parent or family member
with a child who needs some hope, or someone who believes very
strongly in the spiritual power of horses to heal humans on many
levels. Please tell those people about this book. However, The
Horse Boy is not a how-to book, and it's not a text on autism
or horse-assisted therapy: it is one family's story...that happens
to be a great adventure on horseback.
Here's a short clip from the documentary film
made about the family's journey to Mongolia. The film premiered
at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah this winter and will
be in theaters across the US and Britain this fall.
In 2008, the readers of the Hoofcare & Lameness
Hoof Blog forwarded news about Molly
the Pony's book around the world and back again and turned
her story into an inspirtation for thousands of people.
If you can possibly forward news about this book
to friends, it might make the difference to some children or
some therapeutic riding programs somewhere. Reading this book
changed the way that I think about autism and about Asian cultures.
Let's get the word out!
The book can be ordered now from Hoofcare Books (see below);
the film is playing in cities all over the USA and will soon
be available on DVD.
Book Ordering info: Cost per book: US$25 plus US postage: $6 first book, $4 each additional
book. Canada and the rest of the world: $15 per book. Note: postage
rates subject to change without notice.
Select
the first and additional copies of this book to purchase on our
secure PayPal site from the drop-down list below. After adding
the first book to the cart, click on the "Continue Shopping" link
to select addtional books. When you have completed your
selection, click on "Checkout". Shipping charges are
included in the final totals.
Other ways to pay:
By mail: Mail checks in US funds to Hoofcare/Horse Boy, 19
Harbor Loop, Gloucester MA 01930. By phone: Telephone orders with Visa/Mastercard 978
281 3222 during business hours, east coast time. You may leave a message
with your order information. By fax: Fax orders to 978 283 8775. By email: Send email orders to horseboy@hoofcare.com.
The
Horse Boy: A Book About the Healing Power of Horses
Illuminated by a Family’s Struggle with Autism.JPG)