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? Even if you’re not planning a paddock paradise I think you’ll enjoy it. – Joe
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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.
The highly acclaimed best selling sequel to the National Best Seller
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
But first read the National Best Seller that started it all
Now in it’s 13th printing:
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
“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
[…] California Paradise Paddock […]
Well, I now know how you stay so thin!!!
Got such a charge out of watching you & the dogs (and the horses) putting feed out am & pm. I am impressed.
Wish you had gotten “into” horses years earlier – My horse and I certainly could have gotten a lot of benefit. And his life probably would have been more satisfactory. Altho, as far as he was concerned he had his herd & he was No. 2 most of his life. So maybe I’m the one who would have gotten more out of the whole soul of a horse blog etc.
Thanks Joe – keep up the good work.
So enjoy reading your blog & seeing the videos.
Maggie
Perfect timing on your part. I just started research on Pasture/Paddock paradise. I have just one TWH and mini pony on 3 acres in the wet Pacific NW. Property is clay, so a lot of standing water and suck your boots off mud as a result. Someone complained to the county about my muddy pasture. Findings were, yes muddy and over-grazed but not a violation. My barefoot trimmer told me about pasture paradise because she knows it’s important to me to keep my guys moving and not stick them in a stall.
I look forward to your installment move to Tennessee to the wet and green which would be closer to my environment here in the Pacific NW. I remain optimistic this first day of spring and two days without rain.
Nancy… I assume you are feeding all hay, even in the summer as there is probably not much grass with two mouths on 3 acres so I would definitely recommend the track (Paddock Paradise) with one addition… as much pea gravel within the track as possible to give them (and you) some relief from the mud. We have pea gravel in the breezeway of the barn, which the horses have free access to, open doors on both ends, pea gravel where they drink, and pea gravel in the round pen here in Tennessee because 1) the MUD!… and 2) even when it’s not muddy the clay is not as hard as the terrain they were on in CA. So basically I’m recommending that you stick to our California plan and compensate for the mud like we have in Tennessee. If there is any pasture left when you finish the track and it will grow grass (mixed varieties with NO chemical fertilizer, some weeds,… like in the wild) let them on it as much as you can without it completely disappearing. Most of what we’re doing in Tennessee won’t apply to you because we have six horses on approx 21 acres (about 3.5 acres per horse) and the pasture so far has held up fine. And we have been able to design ensured movement without a track. If you can, get the new book The Soul of a Horse Blogged – The Journey Continues, there is a lot in the Tennessee half of that book about how a pasture should really be set up, which like so much of what we do (barefoot, out 24/7, the diet, movement, etc) goes against the “traditional” way of thinking. This blog also has some stuff on it. Scroll down to the post on first year anniversary. And I understan your happiness about dry. We have had 4 or 5 days without rain. The longest break in a while. – Joe