Soul of a Horse Joe Camp's insightful study of the horse’s nature and humans' relationships with them By Nancy Brannon Joe Camp is best known for training the famous dog Benji and the series about the adorable dog. Joe’s insight into the soul of dogs, and successful training techniques, are now brought to bear on the horse n to further our understanding of the horse’s nature and how humans can develop better relationships with these amazing animals. Soul of a Horse is at once the story of Joe’s and his wife Kathleen’s unexpected plunge into horse “ownership;” of their education about Monty Roberts’ horsemanship methods; and of horses in the wild n how they live and survive. Joe writes, “Thank God for a chance meeting with Monty Roberts. This man is responsible for us beginning our relationship with horses as it should begin.” All the while, he cautions, “No expert should ever be beyond question; everybody and everything is up for study. I have discovered that intelligent conscientious, hardworking people can sometimes make really big mistakes because they don’t ask enough questions, or they take something for granted, or they just want to take the easiest way.” Joe successfully utilizes Monty’s Join-Up process, which is “built on the language of the horse and the fact that horses inherently perceive humans as predators. Their response is flight and it’s as automatic as breathing. Desensitize the horse to whatever makes her afraid. Let her know that in your presence she’s safe. All the while teaching the horse to respect your personal space, and teaching her to focus, to get back to thinking instead of reacting.” Chapters throughout the book explain observations of wild horses’ behavior to further understand how domesticated horses interact with humans. Domestication does not mean we have diminished the principles by which wild horses survive. “According to [veterinarian] Dr. Hiltrud Strasser, horses in the care of man [sic] have a life expectancy that is only a fraction of that of their wild-living counterparts, usually because of problems with lameness.” Joe explains how wild horses get their required REM sleep; how they control their own thermoregulatory system; and other survival mechanisms that don’t require interference from humans. “It is a mystery to me how people can ignore what seems so obvious, so logical simply because it would mean change, even though change is for the better. Just because something has always been done a certain way does not necessarily mean it’s the best way or the correct way or the healthiest way for your horse. The truth is many horse owners are shortening their horses’ lives, degrading their health, limiting their happiness by the way they keep and care for them. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Information is king. Gather it from every source.” Joe advocates removing metal shoes and “natural trimming.” “The hoof is supposed to flex with every step taken. The flexing provides shock absorption, acts as a circulatory pump, and helps the heart get blood flowing back up the leg. Without flexing the hoof mechanism will not have good circulation and will not be healthy.” He argues that the metal shoe reduces the hoof’s ability to flex and “to pump blood, virtually eliminating circulation in the hoof mechanism.” Countering arguments that high performance horses need shoes, he cites reports of “barefoot winners in virtually every discipline.” Joe emphasizes that humans need to learn “how to behave like a herd leader. The object for the human is to become part of the herd in a leadership role. It means love, language, and leadership in equal doses.” Some horses are “hungry for a leader, a compassionate partner.” His insights with horses have far-reaching applications to our relationships with people. “Give the choice of choice: to your horse, or your employee, or your friend, your loved ones. Care enough to want them to be healthy and happy. And always question everything. Be your own expert. Gather information and make decisions based upon knowledge and wisdom, not hearsay.” Joe’s herd lives in Bell Buckle, TN. Visit his websites: www.nakedhorsemanship.com/ and www.thesoulofahorse.com.