Author Archive
First Pasture Outing for Saffron and Firestorm
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Look at all that space Mommy!
Stormy was coming up on seven weeks old and had never been out of her paddock and the adjacent paddock. We figured it was time. So we locked the herd in the eastern pasture, opened the gate from Mustang Paddock to the western pasture, and Read More→
A Special Telling Moment with Baby Stormy
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Over the weekend we took Firestorm out for an adventure away from the paddock where she was born. Her first trip away from home. While mom munched away I walked little Miss Stormy into the round pen for the first time… and was blessed with a special telling moment. Read More→
Saffron and Firestorm – Progress and Photos – Lots of Both!
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I have to keep telling myself that a mere six weeks ago this mustang, fresh from the wild, had never willingly been touched by any human. And I keep hearing about domestic mares who go all crazy when they’ve had a foal and won’t let any human near the new baby. I pinch myself several times a day. Actually several times an hour. Because, as those of you who have followed the blog/newsletter know, on the evening of my birthday this very special lady, who had already trusted me to handle her new baby virtually from birth, threw a switch inside herself and gave me the best birthday I think I’ve ever had. Read More→
An Amazing Birthday Gift from a Wild Mustang!
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Barely a month ago we adopted a pregnant mustang from the BLM facility in southern Mississippi. At that time she had never been handled or even touched willingly by any human. Her seven-hour trailer ride home turned into nine, delayed by two wrecks on the freeway. She was covered in stressful sweat and not a happy camper. But still, less than an hour after arriving home, she took a bit of forage from my bare hand.
This was clearly an unusual mustang. Read More→
What the Devil is the Wild Horse Model…
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…and why did I need to know about it?
Because domestic horses are wild horses.
Excuse me??
That was exactly my first reaction. But it’s true. Domestic horses and wild horses are genetically precisely the same. The horses in our back yard are really wild horses in captivity. Just like a baby tiger Read More→
No-Agenda Time – So Much Value
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No-agenda time is a ritual Kathleen and I began with Noelle after Malachi died. We’d go into Malachi’s playpen, open it up to Noelle, scatter a bit of hay around our feet, then sit there and talk, with no agenda whatsoever. Seriously, none. It yielded some of the best moments and lessons ever with Noelle. We began No-Agenda Time with Saffron and Stormy a week or so ago and the yield has been amazing. Last evening, just after sunset, Stormy fell asleep right at my feet. Shortly after, her mom, Miss Saffron, an untouched mustang from the wild just a few weeks ago, turned away and sauntered off to the water tub for a drink, maybe fifty feet away. Leaving her baby asleep on my boot. She won’t even let Stormy interact with the other horses through the fence. And has never before left her in our care. The trust it took to do that both surprised and overwhelmed us. How can we not exert every effort to be worthy. Read More→
Firestorm’s Amazing First Day in the Playpen
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Malachi had a playpen. We knew from the beginning that Noelle would not willingly allow us near her baby so we had no choice but to devise a way to separate them in order to imprint and train Malachi. But this time around (Here We Go Again), Miss Saffron, like Noelle an unhandled mustang from the wild, tricked us. She has been so Read More→
This Morning. Baby Stormy Dozes in My Lap
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Two Weeks Old Tomorrow Read More→
What an Extraordinary Weekend!
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Stormy and Saffron
We’re only a week into this new journey and the most amazing things are happening. Barriers are crumbling like crazy. This past Saturday marked the end of Saffron’s first week with us. An un-handled pregnant mustang captured from the wild August 1st of last year. According to the BLM, she was supposed to deliver in May. But Stormy was born three days after Saffron stepped out of the trailer into her new home. We’ve been told that even mares Read More→
OMG Y’all… It’s a Girl!
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Yes, already! So much for BLM predictions of May :). Born yesterday morning (March 21) around 8:00am. We know because there was no baby at 7:20am when Kathleen drove off to work at her new passion, teaching American Literature to 11th graders at the renowned Webb School in Bell Buckle. And there was a baby when I went down to feed around 8:30am. A mere three and a half days after a nine hour trailer ride for mom! When Kathleen got my photo-text Read More→
Here We Go Again
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For those who remember Noelle and Malachi, you’ll know why this is entitled Here We Go Again. Last Friday, March 16, we hitched up the trailer, called Laura to sit with the house, horses, dogs, and cat, and drove to the BLM facility on the campus of The Piney Woods School south of Jackson, Mississippi, arriving way too close to midnight. The next morning we adopted our second mustang carrying a foal conceived in the wild.
March 3rd marked three years since Malachi was born (see the blog). And June 3rd will mark the third year since his sudden and shattering death. We felt as if our hearts had been ripped right out of our bodies. It was a terrible time. So how did we know the time was right to have another go? That God was saying, “Now!” Read More→
Steven Spielberg Loves Benji
Posted by: | CommentsFrom the new Cesar’s Way Magazine
Oscar’s Issue
Who’s Hollywood’s Top Dog?
Needless to say when the Oscars are handed out this weekend there will be no prize for a four-legged star.
In fact, when they held the first Academy Awards in 1929 Rin Tin Tin got more votes than any human actors…but the Academy decided it would be inappropriate to give an Oscar to a non-human.
So at Cesar’s Way Magazine we decided it was time to redress the balance and in the new issue which goes on sale this week we’re presenting a Hall of Fame of the 50 best dogs in movies and TV. We’re sure you’ll agree on some and not on others Read More→
2012: Believe in Yourself
Posted by: | CommentsI grabbed Carolyn’s hand as we stepped off the train. A nervous chill of anticipation skittered up my spine. People were rushing past us, anxious to get on with their morning, and we timidly tried to keep up. Someone spoke, and smiled, then spoke again and hurried off. The words meant nothing, but we smiled back just the same.
I was bristling with excitement. Gone were the miseries of the long, sleepless flight over. Gone were the first flashes of Milano, seen as a drowsy blur of television stations and newspaper reporters. Now, after a good night’s sleep on a long train ride, my senses were alive and tingling again and the whole feeling was like I had dozed off in Dallas and awakened here.
It was our first trip abroad and my first time out of the country except for three days in Nassau and a few hours in Juarez. So, maybe you can imagine. I mean, anywhere would’ve been terrific, but we weren’t just anywhere. We were in Rome!
The Eternal City. Born nine hundred years before Christ. Home of Cato, Nero, Constantine and the Caesars. A magical place where it is said, you can actually hear the breathing of the centuries; Read More→
When we were first starting with horses less than five years ago we dove deeply into the training books and DVDs of several of the top clinicians in the United States. We owned virtually everything ever written or videoed by Monty Roberts, Clinton Anderson, and the Parellis and we were bouncing back and forth from one to the other testing what worked best with our horses. But I was secretly longing for a compressed, congealed, shuffled together guide to the basics. Read More→
Winter Breakthrough – Got Water!
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Last December was the coldest in middle Tennessee since the early 1940s. Another record. Of course. At least we’re consistent. We had just limped through eight days of below freezing temperatures. It got so low the first night that the pond totally froze. I kept trying to break up the ice along the edges so the horses could get to water (the remnants seen on the gravel in the photo below) but it soon reached the point where it was re-freezing before I got back into the house. So finally
– remembering well Mariah’s fall through the ice the winter before – I closed off the entire pasture and Read More→
Why Relationship First Works
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We were lucky enough to stumble onto Monty Roberts’ Join-Up before our first horse ever arrived, so that’s where we began with each and every one of our herd. And it made such an absolute difference to establish relationship first and true leadership right from the get-go. Our herd members are now all willing partners who never stop trying. Never stop giving. Stacy Westfall says Read More→
Two Year Anniversary in “Founder Valley”
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Horses eat grass.
They are genetically programmed to eat grass. 18-20 hours a day. Their bodies must have it. Their hind gut must have it. But from the moment we landed in middle Tennessee, the warnings began to pour in from the locals.
Your horses cannot be out 24/7 on the rich sugary grasses of middle Tennessee.
You’ve just moved into Founder Valley!
It freaked us out. Could grasses be that different? Read More→
Training with Treats – Stepping Out of the Box
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I’m not a professional trainer. I do not do it for a living. But I am a student of what works. Logic and common sense to a fault, I suppose. Which lead us quite unexpectedly to the discovery that horses can develop a vocabulary.
Yes vocabulary!
Horses can learn the meanings of words and, like children, as their vocabulary grows they can put those words together into different phrases and sentences. Even actual conversations. That’s not supposed to be true according to most, but Kathleen and I have found it to be absolutely true. And now there is even a scientific study proving it. Read More→
Six Popular Questions… and the Answers
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A few short years ago I could never imagine a time when we would be receiving so many questions about our experiences with horses. How they should be living. And eating. How the barefoot thing was working out. How we achieved such terrific relationships. How our horses transitioned from dry rocky California to wet green middle Tennessee. Questions about pastures, Join-Up, ground work, lifestyle, leadership. Read More→
High Desert Horses on Middle Tennessee Grasses
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From dry rocky southern California (above) to lush
green – and wet – middle Tennessee (below)
I wrote this article for the latest edition of The Horses Hoof magazine, adapted from the book The Soul of a Horse Blogged – The Journey Continues
Our timing was perfect. The move from dry rocky southern California landed us right in the middle of record-setting rainfall in Tennessee. Seven inches the day the horses came in. And it rained for days prior to their arrival. Gail Murphy’s Personalized Equine Transportation Service has a reputation for never being late, but on this day they were. The rains slowed them to a crawl causing them to arrive after dark. Which is when we learned that the turn onto our road was too tight for their rig to make. We had to shuttle the horses off the transport trailer onto our 3-horse trailer which had to be pulled by a generous new neighbor with his 4-wheel drive tractor because my truck would’ve been mud-bound for sure.
They hadn’t been out of the trailer for ten minutes when every one of them began to wallow in the mud like little pigs. And through it all I could only think about what all this wet and mud might do to their beautiful, dry, rock-solid barefoot hooves. Read more…
One fantastic reason to jump into Kindle right now Read More→
New Interview with Joe on Horse & Friends Radio
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Benji, Cash and I were blessed to be interviewed by Rafael and Conrad on Horse & Friends Radio. They dug a lot of good stuff out of moi and it was a ton of fun as well. I hope you’ll check it out. Click this link: Joe on Horse & Friends
Okay I Give Up. Kindle Has Won Me Over.
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Amazon announced last week that Kindle Books are now outselling all of their print books – paperback and hard back – combined!
Wow. It happened so fast.
I finally broke down and ordered my first non-fiction book on Kindle… and it took me almost a full hour to throw off the shackles of the printed page and become a huge fan. Why? Because I can Read More→
The most amazing thing happened today!
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We’ve posted a new video because the most amazing thing just happened! It reminded me why we have been so obsessive about getting the relationship right with each of our horses before anything else. Even before training. Relationship that gives the horse the choice, the free will to make it so. And what a difference it has made to this newcomer as he has stumbled his way through the learning process. Our horses have never stopped trying, never stopped listening, never stopped giving. And they are with us because they want to be. As you will see in the video. Please take a look: Video: Relationship First! Read More→
Trust Yourself to Try and Err
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For years I’ve called the process of making Benji movies trial-and-error film making. I always – well, usually – know what I want to see up there on the screen, but almost never know how to get it on film. I remember late one night in Oregon on Benji the Hunted there were about twelve of us crammed and bundled around the camera which was sitting on the dirt pointed down at a tiny little cougar cub who was supposed to be looking up at Benji, pleading with his eyes to not be left alone to be eaten by Read More→
Free Box of 10 Note Cards with Kathleen’s beautiful horse photography when you purchase The Soul of a Horse Blogged – The Journey Continues. An $18 Value Free with Purchase of the book. Each card is blank inside for your individual note or greeting. Ten cards with envelopes. This offer is exclusive to Newsletter and Blog subscribers and Facebook fans. Go to the Summer Sale page and order from your favorite bookseller. Send us a copy of your receipt and we’ll take care of the rest. Event ends July 15, 2011.
Read what renowned education writer Jack L. Kennedy wrote about The Soul of a Horse Blogged – The Journey Continues for the Joplin Independent:
by Jack L. Kennedy
Joe Camp knows dogs and did well as the creator and producer of Benji movies a few years ago. Joe Camp knows and loves horses, too. He went into seven printings with The Soul of a Horse–Life Lessons from the Herd, a mixture of autobiography, prayer, insight and horse and dog raising skills. Now Camp has produced The Soul of a Horse BLOGGED–The Journey Continues.
Camp has a feel, a heart, a sense of perception that compels the reader to see the relationship between Read More→
Meet Happier, Healthier Horses
Posted by: | CommentsRarely a day passes that doesn’t bring emails or posts heralding happier, healthier horses who have left their stalls, shoes, and sugars behind and are living the Wild Horse Model as closely as circumstances allow. Horses who now trust and forge relationship by their own choice, not ours. Unsolicited stories from people we did not know before they wrote. And they are the fuel that drives us ever forward, learning and writing, to make a difference for horses everywhere. After reading just the few below, grouped together for the first time, Kathleen said to me, “When you first contemplated writing that first book, when you told me how important you felt these discoveries were and how much you believed that we should make an effort to get this word out, you said, ‘If just one horse-human relationship could be changed for the better, if just one horse could be living a happier, healthier life then the all the effort would be worthwhile.’” She paused for a long moment and wiped away the beginnings of a tear. “Congratulations my Sweetie,” she said. “Mission accomplished.”
I hope you’ll open your heart and listen to what these horses have to say.
AnneMai’s mare Taiga – out of the stall for good!
From AnneMai on the Island of Mallorca: “After reading your first book we have given our mare as much freedom as possible, no irons, outside at all times (she has an open shelter) and as natural feed as we can get :). She takes herself for walks all day eating a bit here and there. It is a joy to see her and to have her at home for the first time in my life. Thank you for giving us the courage to change all these things :))”
Carri’s mares – no longer stressed!
I love this story from Carri in New York. Like so many of us trying to find a way out of the boarding stalls and unhealthy lifestyle, she looked and looked for a place she could afford to buy. One day she realized that the hay field that abuts the back of her property was no longer a hay field. She had a “bright idea” Read More→
Thinking Outside the Box!
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This is simply the Coolest Thing Ever! Your horse is fifteen to twenty feet away from you when you step up onto the mounting block. You cluck a couple of times and lo and behold he sidesteps all the way over to the mounting block and stands there patiently waiting for you to climb on.
No way, I said. How in the world would you teach your horse to sidestep to you? From fifteen feet away! It’s just not in the logic pattern of everything we’re told to teach the horse… “give to pressure”… not step into it!
But I saw it with my own eyes and was blown away. Read More→
Reading the Eyes of a Horse
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I can remember the vet checks on our very first three horses. I was walking Cash down to the arena with Dr. Matt and he casually mentioned, “He has a good eye. A soft eye. That says a lot.” I could only wonder what he meant. What could he see that I couldn’t? And what did it tell him? But I chose not to embarrass myself and I kept quiet.
Much later – after learning that either I lose the fear of being embarrassed or I would never learn anything :) – I asked him about it and he told me what he had seen. Read More→
New Video About Our California Paddock Paradise – What We Did, How We Did It & Why?
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When we first discovered that the genetics of a horse prescribe a lifestyle of living out 24/7 with lots and lots of movement we threw up our hands in frustration. We had no access to land other than a 2.5 acre plot behind the house that was virtually straight-up-and-down steep with some of it totally unusable. Horses in the wild out in the Great Basin of the western United States – where their genetics evolved – travel 10-20 miles a day looking for grass forage, water, and staying away from predators. How could we even get close to replicating that with what we had to work with? But ultimately we discovered that it’s amazing what you can come up with when you really put you mind to it. With less than 1.5 usable acres we wound up creating a Paddock Paradise that generated approximately 8-10 miles of movement every 24-hour day for all six of our horses, and we did it quite simply and inexpensively using what we had available. It’s all explained in the new video, with specifics and on-the-scene videos (one of them quite whimsical according to Kathleen and I’m not sure how to take that :). Click this link and take a look: Our Paddock Paradise: What We Did, How We Did It and Why? Read More→
No Dog Should Be Without this…
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For all of you who have a dog: The Benji Method – Teach Your Dog To Do What Benji Does in the Movies… EBOOK with 90 MINUTES OF VIDEO demonstration embedded in the book (Benji and yours truly). Only $5.99. Also available in paperback :).
It’s a non-regulation Read More→
EBooks with Video – Who’d've Thought?
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I cannot believe that a few short weeks ago I had no clue about any of this. Kathleen had been into it for some time, but for pleasure, not for horses. Then a conversation with Casey Pugh, a vet tech friend, clicked on the light bulb. Quite by accident because she, like Kathleen, was using it only for pleasure.
What the devil am I talking about?? Read More→
Another Amazing Experience at Road to the Horse!
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Just imagine! Pat Parelli, Clinton Anderson, and Chris Cox all under one roof for three incredible days! That was Road to the Horse 2011 which wrapped up last night. It was such a close, tight competition that I would’ve hated to have been one of the judges trying to make a decision. You always hear folks saying “everyone who competed here was a winner” but Kathleen and I can vouch for that statement in this case because everyone was a winner, especially the sold-out coliseum audience because Read More→
Winter Breakthrough!
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This has been the coldest December in middle Tennessee since the early 1940s. Another record. Of course. At least we’re consistent. We just came through eight days of below freezing temperatures. It got so low the first night that the pond totally froze. I kept trying to break up the ice along the edges so the horses could get to water (the remnants seen on the gravel in the photo above) but it soon reached the point where it was re-freezing almost before I got back into the house. So finally Read More→
The Soul of a Horse Blogged – The Journey Continues Now Available Everywhere
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Available Everywhere
Barnes & Noble – Paperback & NOOKbook
Buy personally inscribed copies
This book has had more pre-sales than any book I’ve ever written and I can’t thank y’all enough for that. If you plan to buy it, for yourself or as a gift, please, please, please, go to Amazon and help kick it off with a good ranking. Personally inscribed copies are still available on the website.
Thank you so much for all the support you have given to us and our efforts through the years to make life better for horses (and people) everywhere. Kathleen and I feel very blessed at a very blessed time of year.
We wish you all a warm and wonderful Christmas filled with love. – Joe
Barnes & Noble – Paperback & NOOKbook
Buy personally inscribed copies
Happy Thanksgiving! Hope Yours is as Wonderful as Ours!
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Kathleen and the twins have been here for a week of unbelievably beautiful Indian Summer weather. Unreal for late November (more records?). We’ve ridden as a family four times… all with the three B’s…barefoot, bareback, and bitless. We figure it’s the first time Mariah and Pocket have been ridden in at least two years… and the first time ever that these two have been ridden bitless. But all concerned were delighted with each ride. Above Allegra, Kathleen, and Dylan on Pocket, Mariah, and Skeeter pause for a picture, a rare occurrence that I’m allowed behind the lens.
Allegra was convinced that should could do the Kevin Costner/Silverado running/leaping mount onto Mariah so I told her to give it a shot. Read More→
Look into the Heart and Soul of a Horse
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Due out December 1st.
I want to thank each of you who caused our publication year to be so incredibly special by helping to push The Soul of a Horse into seven printings and make it an official best seller. We are indebted to you all and appreciate you very much. This new book, this continuation of that journey which began with The Soul of a Horse, is for you. And for every horse on the planet. – Joe
Now the commercial :)
The Soul of a Horse BLOGGED – The Journey Continues can be pre-ordered and personally inscribed in time for Christmas. Click here.
This is Joe and Kathleen’s continuing journey from the end of the best selling The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd through their adoption of a wild pregnant mustang and on through their move from the dry rocky hillsides of southern California to the wet grassy hillsides of Read More→
What a Year!
Posted by: | CommentsToday marks the one-year anniversary of our southern California herd’s arrival in middle Tennessee, and what a year it’s been, moving from this:
To this:
Last September 17th our horses arrived, after dark, amidst seven inches of rain that went on to become 26 inches over the next four weeks. We were worried sick Read More→
Fear and Faith: Sometimes It’s Hard to Stay on the Horse’s End of the Lead Rope
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Mariah Healed Herself
I’ll never forget standing out in the rain one cold October day, soaked from head to foot because the rain wasn’t expected. The temperature was only in the mid-fifties, but to me, sopping wet, that was freezing.
I looked at our horses, heads down, dripping with water, and I just couldn’t stand it. Read More→
Joe Camp’s answer to Who needs Hollywood, August 31, 2010
By Jack L. Kennedy for the Joplin Independent
A wise elder once said, “You can’t tell a book by its cover.”
He or she must have been referring to Who Needs Hollywood.
If you want or expect a namedropping foray through Tinsel Town, or a nice cute tale about dogs by the guy in 1974 who forged the first Benji movie almost with his bare hands, you won’t be too disappointed as author Joe Camp does throw in a few names and battles with stereotypical Hollywood forms and other more conventional devices.
But the Hollywood glamour days are almost secondary, the theatrical drama virtually anti-climactic. In a strange, strong, compelling sense, the book is not about the making of a Hollywood movie. It is about faith….having faith in what you can do, in hanging on.
It also is a love story, Read More→
Blogger News Network’s Maryann Miller Reviews Who Needs Hollywood
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“Granted, not everyone wants to buck Hollywood and the odds to make a movie, but everyone has a dream of some sort, and this book encourages people to fight for that dream. Work for that dream. Even if it takes half a lifetime to make it come true. Who Needs Hollywood is so much more than a story about a dog or about making a movie. Like Camp’s best seller, The Soul of a Horse, this one is full of insight and inspiration. And how to make things happen against all odds. Who Needs Hollywood is written with candor, and at times a self-effacing humility and is a refreshing break from some celebrity books that are all about me.” – Maryann Miller, Blogger News Network
Link to full review: http://www.bloggernews.net/125128
After Eleven Months of Record-Setting Weather…
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Cash’s left rear – Photo taken two weeks ago
Eleven months ago we moved from dry, rocky southern California to middle Tennessee. I had done my homework and had conversed a lot with my pasture mentor Melanie Bowles (The Horses of Proud Spirit Sanctuary). Still I was very nervous. Our guys and gals had been living on hard rocky desert-like ground. All barefoot. Their hoof trims every eight weeks amounted to maintenance trims as they were wearing their hooves much like they would if they were in the wild. But they were moving to the soft (it turns out mushy) green grass pastures of middle Tennessee and we were being advised by many that our herd simply could not be out 24/7 on the “rich grasses” of this area. Read More→
New TV Interview with Joe & Kathleen On Location At Their Tennessee Farm
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Nashville Newzine taped a new TV interview with Kathleen and moi on location at our middle Tennessee place. Kathleen and Skeeter did super but the old guy in the interview needs a haircut in the worst way. And seeing this actually motivated Kathleen to do the job before she headed back to California yesterday. The days and nights when she’s not here seem to drag by at a snail’s pace… and when she’s here they fly by at the speed of light. And now we’re back to the every-once-in-a-while schedule until next summer when the twins graduate. Sad. But I keep telling myself: We can do it. We can do it. The link to the TV interview is: http://www.nashvillenewzine.com/JWplayer/JoeCampInterviewSM.html. Several of the herd are featured as well.
Are You Living Your Passion?
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Every time I look at one of these photos of Kathleen’s and think about how much I lusted after the very life we’re living I have no choice but to reflect upon how very blessed we are. Have always been. I’ll never forget asking my dad when I was a junior in high school, “How am I supposed to go about choosing a career? Where do I start?” His response was profound, and not of the times, and for some reason that surprised me. Read More→
Kathleen Talks About Joe’s New Book
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Hi everybody. This is Kathleen. I sent Joe to the barn so I could write this piece of truth. His next book has just come out and no it’s not the follow up to The Soul of a Horse. Joe had this book and two others almost finished when he pushed them aside to write “Soul”. This one’s not even about horses… unless you’ve ever wondered what kind of person could begin writing a book like The Soul of a Horse less than a year-and-a-half after acquiring his very first one. This new book will answer that question (in spades!). So, in truth, it is about horses because this journey is the one Read More→
Only 21 Days Until Tele-Workshop #2
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Just a reminder that there are only 21 days until TW2 on diet and nutrition – or – WHY WOULD YOU EVER LET YOUR HORSE EAT THAT? Diet and lifestyle are the real keys to going barefoot and the natural wild horse model. Learn first hand from Dr Juliette Getty, author of Feed Your Horse Like a Horse… and from natural hoof care specialists Eddie Drabek and Mark Taylor, who both have proven Read More→
Yippee! At Last! No More Excuses!
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Finally. Enough days of dry weather sandwiched together to get the grading done and get the pea gravel delivered and voila! We have a round pen. Kathleen returns for the summer (another yippee) in a couple of weeks – with her cameras – and then work with Noelle will begin in earnest. No more excuses. A Join-Up and a lead rope are in her future :). Meanwhile she will spend time Read More→
The next Tele-Workshop is set for July 17: Diet & Nutrition
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This 6-pound stone was taken from the tummy of a horse. It was
given to us by Dr. Matt and we keep it on a prominent
pedestal to remind us how important it is that we get
the diet right for our horses.
By popular demand the next tele-workshop will be on diet and nutrition. A Crazy Little Thing Called Love (TW2) – OR – Why Would You Ever Let Your Horse Eat That? This topic is a slippery slope, like running a military obstacle course, but we have a super group of guests who know the subject inside and out. First Read More→
The Absolute Best Film About Wild Horses I Ever Hope to See
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Cloud (on the right), mustang stallion of the
Pryor Mountains winning a mare
Ginger Kathrens’ motion picture camera has followed the life of Cloud since the day he was born – the day she named him – more than nine years ago. Across those years she has filmed three incredible PBS Specials on Cloud and his wild herd, but the latest one Cloud: Challenge of the Stallions (I call it Cloud 3 :) is truly the best compilation of the the most amazing footage I’ve ever seen that tells a story story so remarkable Read More→
Noelle Has a Sweet Spot
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Unfortunately it was a tick bite, but at least it served a purpose. I could give her something she loved. This became the routine for more than a week, until the bite began to heal and was no longer itchy. I immediately looked around for another tick…nooo, just kidding. Anyway, around here you don’t have to look far to find ‘em.
I love it when Kathleen comes home, camera in hand. I tend to forget about these sweet moments until I start browsing through her weekend of photos. I didn’t even know she was standing behind me when this next batch was taken. Read More→
Other Things That Make My Day
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Kent Maddock was after us for months and months to allow them to acquire Scribbles. If you’ve read the book you cannot help but remember Scribbles. One December Kent called and begged, saying he wanted Scribbles to be a surprise Christmas gift for his wife Laurra.
“Ohhh that’s so sweet,” Kathleen cooed, and my resistance shield Read More→
The Soul of a Horse Facebook Fan Page Draws More Than 1000 Fans in Two Days
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Yesterday I spent the entire day uploading 77 photos of Noelle and Malachi to our new Facebook fan page for the The Soul of a Horse. I don’t think I have the patience to do this. And I know I don’t have the emotional stability to do it when it means going back through all the photos of our wonderful boy horse Malachi. But do it I did, buckets of tears and all. The one above struck me hard. It was taken Read More→
I Wish You Moments That Calm Your Soul like This Does Mine
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It’s been too long. This is where Kathleen and I ate our first several dozen meals after the move last September. Breakfasts. Lunches. Dinners (or as they say here in middle Tennessee: Suppers). We would sit sometimes for an hour without a word. Just watching the herd. Listening to the symphony of the frogs at night. The birds. The crickets. Smelling the roses. Without alternative. Locked up in the house over a seemingly endless winter, buried in work and warmth, the roses were fewer and further between. And easy to ignore. I often looked at it as a good thing because I was getting so much work done. Not bothered by those smelly old roses. But my spirit suffered. Read More→
A Crazy Little Thing Called Love
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Finally we’ve got the date set for our barefoot TeleWorkshop. Sorry it took so long. It’s called A Crazy Little Thing Called Love – or – Why Would You Ever Let Your Horses Go Barefoot? It’s not a “how-to” but rather a “why-to” workshop designed for people who are not yet convinced barefoot is the right thing to do, the loving thing to do. And for everyone who is already there but needs ammunition to ward off and convince all those friends and “not-so-friends” who think you’re nuts. This is a two-hour workshop with Joe, Kathleen, and Eddie Drabek, one of the foremost natural hoof specialists in the country, jammed full of facts, undeniable truths, and real-life experiences, with lots of Q&A after. Send your farrier! Check it out.
Benji and The Soul of a Horse Are Big Hits at Road to the Horse
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Being called an entertainer had little effect on Benji. She’s been there, done that. Me? I think I’ll have my badge framed as it’s the first (and probably the only) time it’ll ever happen to me. But what a fun, fun weekend it was. Kathleen and I feel very honored to be invited into inner circle with Read More→
Ahhhh…. sunshine at last!
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Four consecutive days of sun! The first time that’s happened since we moved in last September. Kathleen flew in Wednesday night and brought it all with her. There wasn’t Read More→
Joe, Kathleen, and Benji will be at Road to the Horse
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Meet Benji, Kathleen, and moi at Road the the Horse, the World Championship colt starting competition March 5-7 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Benji will make a special appearance at the event; I’ll be signing copies of The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd; and – by popular demand – Kathleen will be introducing Read More→
…like this. The calm before the storm! Learning the Hard Way
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I was so proud of myself. I would go out several times a day and chop the edges of the pond so the horses would have no problem getting water. I would often watch them when they came to the pond and if a thin coating of ice had formed one tap with a hoof would produce water and they would drink. As the number of days below freezing began to build into the double digits Read More→
Day 2 of the New Year: Another Awesome Day!
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This is what we woke up to this morning. How awesome is that? Kathleen has been here since the 24th and she goes back to SoCal tomorrow. I wanted so much for her to experience the joy of waking up and seeing her new home covered with snow. And here it is. God is so good :) Read More→
Happy New Year Y’all! Ours Began Awesomely!
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2009 was a tough year; full of struggles, change, and pain. And much to remember. But 2010 began with an awesome reminder of what our task on this planet is all about. Read More→
Words That Made My Day!
Posted by: | CommentsA day doesn’t pass that we don’t receive several beautiful emails from folks who have read the book, the blog, a newsletter, or been on the website and been moved by something we’ve said or done. These words are what make it all worthwhile. The juice that keeps our wheels turning and keeps us fired up about what we do. And keeps us ever Read More→
Cash’s First Ever Snowfall
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Actually it’s the first snowfall for four of our six horses, three of our four dogs, and our kitty. Okay, okay, I know all you guys who live way on up there in the freezer are laughing your heads off at me calling this snow, but Read More→
Hope Yours is a Happy as Ours
Posted by: | Comments40 degrees here. Blustery. Family here. Turkey cooking. Happy. Hope yours is as happy! – Joe
Two Month Report: Happy Healthy Mustang Joins Happy Healthy Herd; Life Lessons
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Sometimes I have to haul off and slap myself.
Seriously.
Something to force the brain to stop racing around like a crazed maniac and take a deep breath. To pause and smell the roses. Or at least look at them. How many times in my life have I closed my eyes and dreamed of the above picture? And here it is. Part of our life. And I’m fretting about how far behind I am and how much I have to do. Read More→
Benji Helps Raise Money for Gentle Carousel Therapy Minature Horses in Ocala
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Benji leads Magic into the Ocala Mayor’s office to receive a special
presentation for making a difference in the Ocala community
What a spectacular weekend this was in Ocala, Florida. Wall-to-wall events and media interviews all focused on fund-raising for the Gentle Carousel Therapy Miniature Horses and bringing a bit of happiness into the lives of hospitalized children and senior citizens. Gentle Carousel is a non-profit organization lead by Debbie and Jorge Garcia-Bengochea, two of the most caring, selfless individuals I’ve ever met. Their miniature horses visit kids in children’s hospitals and Read More→
How can Sailing and and Horses be Similar?
Posted by: | CommentsThis whole move thing to TN has been a bit overwhelming. I told Kathleen tonight that this experience in moving to Tennessee was like my former sailing days. When it was bad it was usually really bad, but when it was good it was glorious. Highs and lows. That’s what life is made of :). I guess that’s why I never cared for California. It’s pretty much always the same. Today in middle Tennessee it was (finally) sunny and incredible. The dogs and the horses and I all loved it. Together.
Joe
Could Be a Book Cover!
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Sorry to digress but Kathleen just uncovered this photo in her archives, which I had never seen, and sent it to me in Tennessee under the subject line: Missing the boy. God knows I do everyday, and I try to stay focused, but really wanted y’all to see this one. It’s what I loved about him and still love about her. Thank you Sweetie for shooting it vertically :)
Joe
Last night I finally bit the bullet and began reading the huge stack of cards and letters that you sent to Kathleen and me after Malachi’s death. I had put it off time and time again. I considered not packing them when we approached the move to Tennessee. I knew they were all Read More→
It was the best of times… It was the worst of times
Posted by: | CommentsI sat on the front porch tonight and ate broiled salmon and spinach sautéed in olive oil and garlic while listening to the rain. What Kathleen and I call an Asheville rain, in honor of what was perhaps her first understanding (for a California girl) of how nice a rain can be. We were attending a Celtic music festival in Asheville. It was a Sunday morning Read More→
The First Day of Sunshine Since We Arrived
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Yesterday. Photo from high up the hill. Everybody is present except Mariah. Even Noelle can barely be seen behind the tree by the barn. Sort of makes it all worthwhile. – Joe
The Horses Have Landed
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Pocket, Mouse and Skeeter enjoy their new home.
Shot from our new front porch while eating breakfast this morning.
Once again our timing was perfect. The move from southern California landed us right in the middle of a “most unusual” weather pattern that has set records for rainfall. It’s been raining for days and days. Seven inches the day the horses came in. The weather slowed the progress Read More→
Love Happens Premiere Photos
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The Westwood Village Theater has been hosting world premieres forever. There’s a photo in the men’s room of the 1948 premiere of Casanova. This was a spectacular night for a very proud papa celebrating son Brandon’s first film as writer/director. Read More→
LOVE HAPPENS This Friday!
Posted by: | CommentsGoing to Brandon’s premiere of LOVE HAPPENS tonight. The twins are beyond excited. It opens everywhere on Friday. You are going to love this film. I promise. Please go the first day. Kathleen and I are on a plane tomorrow morning to Bell Buckle. We’ll have to buy our movie tickets in Nashville or Franklin. BTW, just got a call from Gail and Max who are transporting the herd. All are traveling nicely and Noelle ate from a bucket in hand this morning. Not without a shiver or two, but she did it. Tres cool.
Don’t forget: LOVE HAPPENS on Friday. Let it happen to you :)
Joe
Spent!
Posted by: | CommentsIt took 4 hours to load Noelle into the shuttle trailer! About a minute and a half from the shuttle into the big transport. Kathleen filmed it all. A mini-series! And several very tired folks. One very close call. Thanks so much Dani, Gail, Dar, Mary Ann, and Julio… and, of course my sweetie. Now the herd is headed for Tennessee. Noelle and Cash will sleep well tonight. As will we.
Joe
Reflections
Posted by: | CommentsOur herd had it’s last feed on their dusty rocky hillside this morning. We’ve had a bit of a time holding ourselves together. Kathleen filmed the entire round and we realized that we had never recorded the whole procedure before. The gang seemed to know something was afoot, especially when I walked out after with all five of their tubs. Noelle is the big question mark and moving her into the shuttle trailer that will take her down the hill to the big travel trailer (which cannot get up the hill) is our primary concern at the moment. It will be an interesting test of keeping our adrenaline down at rock bottom, and taking the time that it takes. Please say a prayer.
Joe
Moving Week is Here!
Posted by: | CommentsSuddenly scary. We’re actually going to do this. Movers come Friday. Horses leave Sunday. Love Happens premiere on Tuesday. Kathleen, Benji and I leave Wed for Bell Buckle TN. Horses arrive the 17th. Movers the 18th. Kathleen will be at both ends filming the horses and maybe a photo or two which we can pass along. So much going on my fret level (always way above normal) is up around the moon. Driving Kathleen crazy. Will report on the other side. Please don’t forget to tell everyone to go see Love Happens on the first day, Friday September 18th. Thanks much.
Joe
Mouse Returns Home… sort of. Gets Standing Ovation!
Posted by: | CommentsLast night was an emotional ride. Benji and I were invited to speak at The Animal Rescue League of Iowa’s annual fund raiser: The Mane Event. At the end of the presentation I attempted to demonstrate to the supporters of the ARL how important they are to the League’s work of saving animals; how their support is actually making a difference. Not only saving but changing lives… of people (mine and Kathleen’s) as well as animals. Our Mouse was the subject.
Mouse on the far outside
Two years ago, nine-month-old Mouse was among 14 horses rescued by the ARL from just horrendous, Read More→
Escaping Taxafornia
Posted by: | CommentsThis was no easy decision. It was overflowing with complexities and angst. Kathleen had lived her entire life in southern California. All of her immediate family is here. And half of mine, the other half in Montana. So the notion of moving to middle Tennessee left a few chords unstruck. Read More→
Watch for Love Happens!
Posted by: | CommentsMy youngest son Brandon’s new movie with Jennifer Aniston and Aaron Eckhart opens September 18th. It’s fantastic! A real movie! And yes, I’m prejudiced :) but I promise you’re gonna love it!
See the trailer: http://www.lovehappensmovie.com … or on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYvFA0MFd-Y
Sometimes when you least expect it… LOVE HAPPENS. Please spread the word!
Joe
Federal Court Slaps the BLM – Says Mustang Removal Illegal
Posted by: | CommentsA federal district court in Washington DC has granted a Summary Judgment Motion Against Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar et al forbidding removal of the West Douglas Herd of Wild Mustangs from their range in Colorado. This could be huge for all mustangs.
In the case of Colorado Wild Horse and Burro Coalition vs Ken Salazar, Secretary, U.S. Department of the Interior, Read More→
Never Pray for Patience. God will Give you a Horse.
Posted by: | CommentsPatience is not a concept I’ve had much contact with in the past. Like so many homo sapiens, I’ve always wanted everything to happen right now. I think it’s genetic. The shortest distance has always been a straight line. We humans tend to be that way. Especially in this millennium of instant gratification. But since my introduction to horses, I’ve come to learn Read More→
No More Salt Blocks
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I have never been licked by a horse before. Lots of sniffing, nudging, lip nibbling, and just hanging out close by. But never a full-blown, full-tongue lick on the arm. Especially by a mustang who’s never even had a lead rope on. That is I’ve never been licked until yesterday. Kathleen and I (and ALL of the dogs) were sitting in the play pen Read More→
Keeping Your Head
Posted by: | CommentsPatience has never been my long suit. And the ability to panic at the least little thing seems to be embedded in my genetics. So maybe you can imagine what was going on in my tummy the morning that Noelle, our unhandled wild mustang, decided she would take a walkabout out in the free world. Read More→
Noelle Helps Us Rise from the Ashes
Posted by: | CommentsFor those who wonder whether horses grieve let me assure you that they do. Noelle’s demeanor has changed completely since the loss of Malachi. She wanted – needed – companionship and I was the only one around. We helped each other. Consoled each other. Reassured each other. And the net result for both of us has been Read More→
Thank You so Much!
Posted by: | CommentsKathleen and I want to thank all of you who sent emails and cards of condolence, prayers, and warm thoughts after the tragic death of our beloved Malachi. I must admit to you that I have so far only read the barest few of the hundreds that came in. But we intend to read Read More→
A Brilliant Star Extinguished – Malachi Killed in Violent Storm Aftermath
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Our Hearts Are Breaking
On the evening of June 3rd, exactly three months from the day of his birth, we lost Malachi in the aftermath of a violent thunder and lightning storm that knocked out a power pole on our property. As we piece together what happened, a fleet of huge power company trucks climbed our driveway that night which passes right by Noelle and Malachi’s paddocks and stalls. These gigantic loud monsters Read More→
The Buckskin Emerges
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Journal entry of May 25, 2009 – Not only does Malachi continue to grow (I had to raise the plank that keeps Noelle out of his playpen this week) his whiteness is now giving way to the buckskin underneath. Especially on his neck. See the photos above and below. Kathleen doesn’t usually get to show up in these posts because Read More→
Below is a portion of a chapter from my next book, which might give you a hint as to why we adopted Miss Noelle, who was pregnant with Malachi when we brought her home.
I was astonished when I learned that we were at risk of losing America’s wild horses. How could that be? These horses are not only a living laboratory, as a group they are a legendary icon of Read More→
Quite a Morning Adventure for Malachi!
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What a spectacular morning! Malachi really stretched his boundaries on his at-liberty walkabout. Although today it was a race-about. He had never ventured farther than Read More→
New Video is Up: Benji Gets a New Baby…Horse
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Our canine superstar Benji, Oprah’s favorite onscreen animal, has never had anything to do with our other horses. Not even sweet Cash. Along comes our unhandled pregnant mustang adopted from the BLM Dec 10. Malachi was born on March 3 and from the very first day Benji was taken with him. Maybe because Benji was adopted from a shelter as well Read More→
Hard to Believe Malachi is 7 Weeks Old! Lots of New Photos Below
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This photo was taken at 3 weeks old, but our boy horse is almost two months now (see below) and is definitely proving every day that deep down every horse on the planet would prefer to be in relationship than not. Born of two wild unhandled parents he is completely unafraid of people or other horses. Perhaps too much so. I’ve brought everyone from the herd Read More→
Spending Quality Time with Malachi
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I’m writing this on the 17th day of Malachi’s life, but this photo and all the ones below were actually taken on his 12th day. I’m spending so much time with him and Noelle that I’m sorry to say I’m having trouble keeping up with everything else, like photos, newsletters, even email. By the way, all the fantastic photos you’ll see in this journal entry Read More→
Malachi – The Soul of a Horse Continues
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Malachi’s 8th day on the planet.
Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament of the Bible. In Hebrew the word means messenger, and in the Book of Malachi the message is that change is coming.
Malachi intended to write a book about change.
I didn’t.
In fact I didn’t set out to write a book at all. Kathleen and I were just trying to figure out how to keep and care for a small group of horses that had somehow landed quite unexpectedly in our front yard. We were asking Read More→
