The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son

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Synopsis

When adventurer and travel writer Rupert Isaacson and his wife Kristin had their first child, Rowan, they were over the moon. However, at three years old, he was diagnosed with a fairly severe form of autism spectrum disorder, which explained his developmental delays, but left them despairing that he would ever be able to effectively communicate, stop having intense tantrums, or even be potty trained. An experienced horseman, Rupert started taking Rowan with him when he went to ride their neighbor's horse, and found that Rowan was markedly calmer and more communicative during these sessions. He also had occasion to take Rowan to see some shamans and after they performed a spiritual ceremony over him, the boy started to show signs of improvement. That's when, Rupert came up with the idea of taking his son on an adventure to Mongolia, where horses and shamanic traditions intersect, in hopes of finding healing. Part travelogue, part memoir, and part spiritual journey, The Horse Boy is the heartwarming and inspirational story of a family willing to travel to the ends of the earth to help their child and the surprising result that exceeded all their expectations.

Review

The Horse Boy is part memoir, part travelogue, and part spiritual journey. Author Rupert Isaacson was an adventurer and travel writer when he met his wife Kristin in India and immediately knew that she was going to be his life partner. Everything was good in their lives, with each of them pursuing their respective careers, and then a baby came along. Their son, Rowan, was the light of their lives, but when he reached toddlerhood, they knew that his development wasn't what it should be. He was diagnosed with a pretty severe form of autism spectrum disorder, which nowadays would probably be classified as Level 2 or 3, needing a significant amount of support. He could barely communicate with them, reached the age of nearly six years old without becoming potty trained, and went into meltdowns multiple times a day. Rowan couldn't attend a normal preschool and no babysitter could handle him, so all of their time and effort seemed to be spent on dealing with his special needs, leaving little time for themselves. Although they tried many conventional therapies, nothing seemed to be working, and they feared that he would be forever stuck at this stage of development. Then Rupert, who had extensive experience with training and riding horses, decided to rekindle that hobby, borrowing a horse named Betsy from a neighbor in their Texas community. He started taking Rowan along on his rides, something that the boy not only seemed to enjoy, but that also appeared to improve his behavior and communication skills. Rupert had a relationship with African shamans with whom he visited, along with Rowan, and after their ceremony, again Rowan seemed to improve, at least temporarily. All of this gave Rupert the idea to combine horses with shamanism to see if it might help heal Rowan, so he started making a plan to take his son to Mongolia, birthplace of the horse, and a land with many shamans who still observed the ancient spiritual practices. At first Kristin thought he was crazy to take their disabled son on such an ambitious and adventurous journey, but eventually she relented and decided to accompany them.

Rupert found a guide, Tulga, who knew the land and could take them to the places Rupert had mapped out for their trip, as well as arrange for shamans to come bless and pray for Rowan. They began with a group of shamans who performed their ceremonies, and it was during one such ritual that Rowan made friends with Tulga's young son, Tomoo, something he'd never done before. Then they set out on a ten-day excursion that took them through the wilds of Mongolia to different sacred places with their ultimate goal being a meeting with the reindeer people in Siberia and having Rowan blessed by their shaman. They encountered a lot of obstacles along the way, including Rowan's many meltdowns and toileting issues, but eventually they reached their goal and were able to meet with a renowned shaman known as Ghoste. Although hopeful that the trip would bear fruit, both Rupert and Kristin tried to temper their expectations, but after Ghoste's ceremony, he assured them that the worst of Rowan's behaviors would see immediate improvement. On the journey back home, they were astounded by the changes in their son, which still continued to hold even after they arrived back at their home in Texas. Eventually their experiences inspired Rupert to start a horse therapy program for children like Rowan.

The Horse Boy has been on my TBR list for quite some time, so I can't recall where I first heard about it. I have some vague recollections that I probably put in on my list because I'm interested in inspiring stories of people overcoming disabilities and also because I like spiritual stories. Since then, though, I've been diagnosed on the autism spectrum myself, so reading it now took on a special new meaning for me. I wasn't quite sure how I would feel about it, because I don't like it when people seem to feel that autistic individuals are in some way "less than" or need to be "fixed." However, I'm happy to say that I didn't come away from reading this book feeling that way at all. It was obvious that Rupert and Kristin were loving parents who were trying everything they could think of to help their child. There were a few times that the author expressed his frustrations with his son, but that's something that any human placed in such trying circumstances would likely feel. Given how profoundly disabled Rowan was and how caring for him consumed his parents' lives, I could understand them grasping at straws to find anything that might help him get better. However, I did like that the author stated that autism was part of who Rowan was and that he wasn't necessarily looking to "cure" Rowan, only to perhaps heal him of the worst behaviors to improve all their lives.

I admit that I would never have the adventurousness, nor patience, to take any child, much less one with such high needs all the way to the wilds of Mongolia for a quest like this, but being a travel writer, Rupert was uniquely positioned to take on such a task. And I certainly can't argue with the results. This is the second book I've read about the miraculous healing of a child. As a spiritual person myself, I believe that there are things in this world that we cannot always explain with our human understanding, and this is one of them. The entire story of Rowan's healing was a truly compelling one, but woven into the fabric of this spiritual journey was an homage to the beauty of horses and animals in general, as well as the gorgeous scenery and rich culture of Mongolia and its people. The Horse Boy was an extremely well-written book that I very much enjoyed. I look forward to checking out the documentary film of the same name that was shot during the trip, as well as the sequel, The Long Ride Home, to find out more of what happened with Rowan after the events of this book.

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Rupert Isaacson