The Soul of a Horse: Life Lessons from the Herd

A wonderful, compassionate and wise insight into horses (and people). Joe Camp's writing is beautiful and so are his ideas. My horses are glad I read this book because they know they can trust me to care for them as they want me to. Since reading this book I've gone on to gather all of Joe's writing and to soak up the information he presents so succinctly and in such a lively and enjoyable manner. By telling the story of his and Kathleen's journey with their own horses he conveys important ideas that will interest all horse owners who want to improve their horses' lives. This can mean changing some attitudes and behaviors, but Joe provides the evidence to support these changes and expand our understanding.

I've horses for 20 years, I was a late bloomer and got my first horse Cody when I turned 30. Him and I have been bonded ever since, Cody and a herd of horses I was responsible for educated me about what their needs were and what made them feel safe and happy. I learned over the years to wade through the ego and commercialism of the horse world. This book was a pleasure to read because it sort of summed it all up with supporting research, some really great hands on experience and a story about a boy and a horse weaved through the pages. Reading this book also lent me some reassurance and confidence in all the things I learned by simply observing the "herd", this particular philosophy is gaining momentum but it is still pretty brutal in the horse world to go against the common practices and beliefs that dominate the culture. Reading the stories also reminded me of the best moments of my life, the times I spent in the midst of a herd of horses giving their acceptance, respect, and affection willingly.

This is not only a great read but I learned some things that I didn't know as to the history of the Mustang horse, I happen to love 5 Mustangs and this helped me to understand them better, I knew some of the things the book offered prior to reading it and already I have tried some of the training techniques and yep they do work and pretty quickly depending on the horse. Highly recommend because the book also tells a story so it becomes hard to put down, I fell asleep reading it as I got into the wee hours of the morning because I couldn't stop reading, and evetually sleepiness won the race!

I really liked this book as it just makes sence. I have been into natural horsemanship for a few years now and the way it all works just keeps getting clearer. I loved the way the book is written, I do not read alot but i read this book in a few days, cover to cover. I liked how it tells a few stories. It has to change the way the average person thinks about horses. The most profound change the book made was after I gave the book to my mother and she gave it to my father. When i was a young girl we had horses and were lucky enough to have one foal. That little fella loved my dad and us. When it was time to BREAK him in my father sent him away. He came back broken allright......... he never trusted again,He had been beaten into submission, i think he was given away as he was so dangerous. Dad never really spoke of that foal until he read Joes book. I thought he was going to cry, the guilt he feels for letting that horse down, that horse trusted and loved him and he lost it, he let that horse down, fed him to the worst preditor out there. Back then he didn't know how to fix it. If he only had Parelli, Monty, Joe and many other great horseman back then. I have seen the change in my own horses as they see the change in ME. They now roam as a herd on 200acres, shoeless & rugless. They come back in a few times a day to check in and say hi. They really do like being with me now, I ride all five bitless now and they are fantastic, im so glad i gave them the choice, they never let me down. Anyway so so many lessons learnt from this book and from THE HERD. I could go on and on ! I bought two books, one to keep and one to lend to as many people as I can. When they know better they might do better ! De

Even thought I have been around horses my whole life I FINALLY have my OWN horse. Trying to learn as much as I can I am sure there are those out there that have forgotten more than I'll ever know. I was recommended this book by a few "horse" people so with an open mind I bought the book and actually finished it in about a week. I agree, and can understand, just about everything that was said in this book. Once again being new and wanting to learn MOST of what is said and done in this book I really do follow, little alfalfa, the natural trimming of the feet, "talking" to your horse and lets just say the list goes on. I have a three Y.O. Quarter Horse Bay colt and either I am the luckiest SOB on the planet or I have got my act together when it comes to training. There are sections that explain how to behave around a horse, then there are sections where you are nose to nose. I am not afraid around horses BUT I have a huge respect for them. They can hurt you really bad, really fast. This book is a slight, I feel, advertisement for Perrelli and some times Anderson BUT I have recommended this book to others as a teaching tool in which you can get some GOOD ideas out of it. I have yet to put shoes on my horse and I refuse to. The Natural Trim is what I have done. Alfalfa is another no-no except as a treat, like candy. I am not afraid to go into the rocks for that "natural trim". To sum this book up I really do recommend it to others as a learning aid. Like everything else I am finding out NO ONE had the answer BUT with a combination of everyones advise, you will find what works best for you. Good luck. The snow had hit here in Escalante, UT so no riding until the spring, but with MILLIONS of acres to ride, there is never enough time. Giddy-Up you-all!!!

The author gave a touching account of dipping his toe into the horse world and then diving into the whole experience. He educated himself and learned from others to be the best horse dad he could. Great read!

This was an absolutley excellent book and reading it introduced me to other trainers and ideas i hadn' t heard of before. Its style is beautifully written, funny and moving. I cannot recommend it enough. However Im sure there will be certain people who will not like what it has to say, but thats life i suppose, and anyone who is truely interested and inspired by the horse as a creature of beauty and freedom will think twice about what they assume is 'right' and 'wrong' and at least do the research for themselves. I like the fact it is written by someone who is a 'beginner' or at least was at the time and it shows you dont have to have been riding fifty years, nearly killed several times and ruined a hundred horses before you can be called a horseman. With the right kind of attitde, open mind and heart you can use all the brilliant knowledge available today and do astounding things, when you let go of everything you think you know. loved it.

This is an excellent book for any horse lover! I loved it so much that I bought two for my sisters as we all use to ride. I recently purchased another for a lady I met at a horse event as a 'thank you' gift. I am hoping she will, after reading this, make all of her horses 'shoeless'. Joe Camp has some excellent, common sense advice and it's a book for any horse lover's library. Bravo Joe!

Gave me the courage to transform my property and take a different approach to my horses. And it worked. So happy I read this.

5 Sterne fuer DAS beste Buch ueber Pferde, das ich je gelesen habe. Man merkt mit jedem Wort, dass Joe die Pferde liebt. Wer wissen will, wie man Pferde artgerecht haelt und pflegt hat mit diesem Buch die beste Anleitung zur Hand. Ein Muss fuer alle, die sich ein Pferd kaufen wollen, doch genauso fuer alle, die schon Pferde haben und Richtlinien fuer einen besseren Umgang mit ihnen suchen.

This book is fantastic. Every horse owner should read it again and again until his words sink in. Joe has learned more about horses in the few years he has had them as some owners and trainers have in 40+ years. He has combined methods from various natural horse trainers and adjusted them to suit each horse. His experiences validate what many of us have already gone through and that it's okay to learn from our mistakes. Proper communication without the need for force or violence is the best tool we can use.