He will have been here only two weeks tomorrow. And he came with a few issues, stemming I’m sure from having lived with six owners in six years, and one fully blown abandonment. Some of these issues show up more around feeding time which I’m pretty certain will vanish as soon as he realizes that he’ll never be short changed on food again. And I’m sure one or more of his owners was harsh with his training. And pretty sure he has never played and worked totally at liberty as we are doing in and around feeding times. He knew how to back up, but, at liberty, every time I asked for it he’d toss his head high, eyes wide, and step back lively, even reared once…as if someone had been shaking the lead rope hard with a big heavy clip on it whacking him in the chin. I take my adrenaline way down, and almost in a whisper say back up, easy, and add a small flick of my hand toward his chest. It’s been such a delight to watch his eyes and face and ears as the realization begins to sink in that this is a totally new experience, unlike any he’s had before; as he lets his fear dissipate and trust creep into his being. He steps quietly back a step. “One more,” whispers I, with another little flick of the hand. And he takes another step quietly backward. “Such a good boy!” says I.
He’s so smart and so quick to grasp. He’s smiling, flexing, lifting a foot, hugging, walking with me at liberty, coming to me with a call, and he began making little bows this morning. We’re moving really slowly, and casually. A little of this and a little of that then back to the business of feed prep. He’s so much more comfortable now being around us in the breezeway of the barn while we’re filling buckets or piling hay into the Gator to go out to the pasture. Sort of a No Agenda Time. And he’s settling in with the herd and hanging out a lot with Noelle and Saffy, the top two in the herd, both mustang mares.
I told Kathleen this morning, “I’m happy.” Of course that was when the sun was out, it was a warm Spring-like 54 degrees… before we get hit with the latest icy front this afternoon which will drive the temp down to 13 tonight and 0 by Wednesday. With 3-5 inches or more of snow on Monday :(.
But it does my heart so much good every time I see a bit more fear draining away, a bit more trust replacing it, and his funny little look as if he were saying “Really?? That’s all you wanted?? Really?? Wow.”
“Yeah, really.” says I.
“You’re grinning out loud,” says Kathleen.
I suppose I am.
Joe
——
The story of our journey with horses (to date) is told in the two books that follow: the national best seller The Soul of a Horse – Life Lessons from the Herd and its sequel Born Wild – The Soul of a Horse.
And what a story it is as two novices without a clue stumble and bumble their way through the learning process so that hopefully you won’t have to. If you haven’t read both of these books already please do because with that reading, I believe, will come not just the knowledge of discovery but the passion and the excitement to cause you to commit to your journey with horses, to do for the horse without waiver so that your relationship and experience will be with loving, happy and healthy horses who are willing partners and who never stop trying for you. Horses like ours.
Read the National Best Seller that started it all:
Amazon & Kindle
Barnes & Noble & NOOKbook
Apple iBooks
Order Personally Inscribed Copies of The Soul of a Horse – $15
Order Both The Soul of a Horse & Born Wild – Save 20%
Both Personally Inscribed – $24
Please list the names for each inscription in the “instructions to Seller” field as you check out!
Read More About Born Wild
Read More About The Soul of a Horse
Watch The Soul of a Horse Trailer
Watch the Born Wild Trailer
The highly acclaimed best selling sequel to
The Soul of a Horse – Life Lessons from the Herd
#1 Amazon Best Seller
#1 Amazon “Hot New Releases”
Amazon & Kindle
B&N and Nook
Apple iBooks
Google play
Order Personally Inscribed Copies of Born Wild – $15
Order Both The Soul of a Horse & Born Wild – Save 20%
Both Personally Inscribed – $24
Please list the names for each inscription in the “instructions to Seller” field as you check out!
Read More About Born Wild
Read More About The Soul of a Horse
Watch The Soul of a Horse Trailer
Watch the Born Wild Trailer
“Joe Camp is a master storyteller.” – The New York Times
“One cannot help but be touched by Camp’s love and sympathy for animals and by his eloquence on the subject.” – Michael Korda, The Washington Post
“Joe Camp is a natural when it comes to understanding how animals tick and a genius at telling us their story. His books are must-reads for those who love animals of any species.” – Monty Roberts – Author of New York Timers Best-seller The Man Who Listens to Horses
“Camp’s tightly-written, simply-designed and powerfully drawn chapters often read like short stories that flow from the heart.” Jack L. Kennedy – The Joplin Independent
“Joe Camp is a gifted storyteller and the results are magical. Joe entertains, educates and empowers, baring his own soul while articulating keystone principles of a modern revolution in horsemanship.” – Rick Lamb – TV/Radio host – The Horse Show
Watch The Soul of a Horse Book Trailer
Visit The Soul of a Horse Channel on YouTube
Follow our latest journey with two amazing new arrivals from the wild. Kathleen’s terrific photos are worth the click.
In chronological order:
What an Extraordinary Weekend!
Firestorm’s Amazing First Day in the Playpen
No-Agenda Time – So Much Value!
An Amazing Birthday Gift from a Wild Mustang!
Saffron and Firestorm – Progress and Photos – Lots of Both!
Two Mustangs – Three Mind-Boggling Months!
For more current posts go to the blog homepage and scroll down
Lucky Zeke! So glad & relieved that you found another horse that needed you. I imagine you have had your share of cold & snow by now! Not supposed to be that way in Tennessee. We kind of expect it here in NY – but then, this winter has been like the normal ones I remember years ago.
Hope you all stay warm – spring IS coming – its almost March.
Maggie
Thank you Maggie. Yes winter has been way out of whack here. Power outages. Gas outages. Freezing rain. And Zeke is still not up to weight so I had to break ranks and pt him in a blanket two nights.
I love it!!! Thank you so much for taking us on another journey, Joe. I wouldn’t mind daily postings about Zeke if you have time. I just know Cash is smiling too.
Hi Joe,
So glad Zeke is coming around. We had extremely cold weather today. Everyone was advised to stay home and inside, temp was 6, wind chill -25 to -45, with not much warmer tomorrow! Fed extra hay tonight. Charleson and Hvitaros don’t seem to mind it! They do stand out of the direct wind, and occasionally go into their ‘barn’, but, even that had snow in it! brrrr. Stay warm. Can’t wait to meet Zeke and the rest of the herd this spring! Have some ideas to share to…Deanna