To build a natural pasture yourself is way easier than you think (if I can do it anyone can do it!). Often, depending upon how many horses you have, you need little more room than required for a barn (see our original “pastures” Below, roughly 70′ x 140′).
Small patches of hay, scattered around the pasture (instead of one big wad all in one place) keeps the horses moving, which naturally wears their hooves and keeps their hooves flexing, creating better blood circulation, thus healthier, happier horses.
Our ultimate one-and-a-half acre natural pasture in California (see video above and photos farther below) was very loosely based upon Jaime Jackson’s book Paddock Paradise. For updates on our herd and their response to their new digs in middle Tennessee see our Two Year Anniversary blog post.
I understand that not everyone has access to an acre or an acre-and-a-half. But everyone who really cares for their horses can figure out a better way than standing around in a box stall day in and day out. Natural boarding facilities are popping up all over the country. The more we bear down upon traditional boarding, the more natural boarding there will be. Although our first two natural pastures were barely larger than the footprint of a big barn they worked and kept the horses moving.
In her book, A Lifetime of Soundness, Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Hiltrud Strasser says that “most of the common health problems and lameness afflicting domestic horses are a direct result of man-made violations of their natural lifestyle, and can be prevented or cured through a removal of the cause and a return to natural lifestyle.” In nature, horses are in virtual constant motion, foraging for food, moving to water, staying ahead of predators. Because we humans are cave dwellers, we have tried to force upon our equine partners the things we prefer. We put them alone in box stalls when they much prefer to be out with the herd in wide open spaces where they can see predators coming. We make them stand on soft bedding when their natural lifestyle is a preference for hard ground and near constant movement.
Feeding hay at ground level, which is the natural way for horses to eat (instead of a feeder at table height), keeps the respiratory system working properly. Particles, germs and viruses can easily travel all the way to the horse’s filtration system which puts them in their proper place. When the head is up while eating, those same particles, germs and viruses cannot not travel a clear and open path, so they ram against the throat and embed themselves into the mucous membranes where they can stick, breed, enter the tissues, and make their way into the bloodstream.
We restrict their movement when Mother Nature has designed them to move ten to fifteen miles a day in the wild. We make them stand in one place and eat, when in the wild they are constantly on the move. We do all sorts of things that confound their natural ability to control their own internal body temperature. We put metal shoes on them which eliminates the natural flexing of the hoof that not only cushions impact but actually pumps blood through the hoof and back up the legs, taking load off the heart, providing a better circulatory system and better overeall health (see Going Barefoot). For more on all this, read the books linked below. It’s amazing stuff and so very logical. All of our horses are now barefoot and living a natural lifestyle.
“But, Joe,” I’ve been told, “if my horse is with a herd 24/7, he will no longer love me or want to be with me.”
“Then, he doesn’t love you or want to be with you in the first place,” I say, “because when you have properly “joined up” with your horse, as Monty Roberts teaches, you have given him the choice of being with you right from the get-go, and when your horse has made that choice on his own, he will not change his mind unless you do something that causes him to do so.”
When you are with your horse, you are a herd of two, and if you have proven to her that you are a good leader and partner, she will trust you, feel safe with you, and will want to be with you.
Ours are out, with each other, virtually all of the time when they are not with us, and they are always happy to see us coming.
Being out with the herd 24/7 is more than just being with buddies. Fifty million years of genetics have embedded within the horse psyche that being with the herd means safety. Being away from the herd creates fear and emotional stress. Being locked in a box stall does not replace the herd or give your horse a feeling of safety. Nor does it allow the opportunity for movement that makes for a much healthier horse. In the wild a horse will often cover ten to fifteen miles a day.
Our larger natural pasture (about an acre and a half), was created on a very steep hill, inside a perimeter chain link fence, utilizing an inexpensive Premiere 1 electric fence system that creates a big circle around a smaller circle in which hay is distributed in more than a hundred small piles every morning and evening. In one of photos below, the yellow dots follow the outer circle and the blue dots follow the inner circle creating a “no-horse zone”.
See this Video:
This video will hopefully bring a smile and might very well
inspire happier and healthier horses in your life. But beware, it’s
probably a shock for those who believe pastures should be flat.
Also see
Horses Were Born to Be on Grass
and
Horses Without Grass
——
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
Order Personally Inscribed Copies of Born Wild
Order Both The Soul of a Horse & Born Wild – Save 20%
Both Personally Inscribed
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 17th printing:
Amazon & Kindle
Barnes & Noble
Order Personally Inscribed Copies of The Soul of a Horse
Order Both The Soul of a Horse & Born Wild – Save 20%
Both Personally Inscribed
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
Visit The Soul of a Horse Channel on YouTube
Hopefully, you’ll also want to read
one or more of these:
Hover your cursor to pause the slideshow
Click any book cover below to read more or purchase
Go to TheSoulOfaHorse.com Homepage
The Soul of a Horse Video Channel on Vimeo
Visit The Soul of a Horse Channel on YouTube
Read the cover story interview with Joe in The Horse’s Hoof Magazine
Click any book cover below to read more or purchase
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
Follow Our Entire Journey
From no horses and no clue to stumbling through mistakes, fear, fascination and frustration on a collision course with the ultimate discovery that something was very wrong in the world of horses.
Read the National Best Seller
The Soul of a Horse
Life Lessons from the Herd
Go to TheSoulOfaHorse.com Homepage
