Archive for December 2014

I called him… and he came.

He always came. Any time. Every time.

He was the original Soul of a Horse and will always be. Cash is where it all started, both our journey with horses, and that first book. It was his book, I the mere interpreter. The one who passed along what he taught me. And, as the book became a national best seller, he became The Soul of a Horse to so many.

Dawn Hubbard wrote: “Joe, the pictures you and Kathleen shared brought him alive for us. We can never say thank you enough. He, more so than any human, lived a life larger than life. He will always be Read More→

Powerful Stories from Happier Healthier Horses Around the World

Rarely 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. Read More→

Kathleen Writes About Cash

Kathleen finally showed me a note she wrote about Cash last night. She writes as well as she photographs. Tears were pouring down her cheeks as she handed it to me. And now I’m sobbing again. It reads: “He’d be alive if we kept him in a stall. Letting him live freely meant that we understood the risk that letting him live as a horse should live would expose him to, the risks that horses have when living as they should. Would he have been Cash if we kept him in a stall? Would he have been so happy? Would he have been so curious? Would he have been so thankful for the opportunity to finally live freely? We gave him the choices he richly deserved and he took full appreciation of those choices and thanked us with his complete trust. We should certainly celebrate this profoundly complex relationship we have been honored to experience. There…I said it. – Kathleen”

The Soul of a Horse – Life Lessons from the Herd