Authors: Joe Camp

The Soul of a Horse (22 page)

www.aanhcp.org
This is the website for the American Association of Natural Hoof Care Practitioners.

NATURAL BOARDING

Once your horses are barefoot, please begin to figure out how to keep them out around the clock, day and night, moving constantly, or at least having that option. It’s really not as difficult as you might imagine, even if you only have access to a small piece of property. Every step your horse takes makes his hooves and his body healthier, his immune system better. And it really is not that difficult or expensive to figure it out. Much cheaper than barns and stalls.

Paddock Paradise: A Guide to Natural Horse Boarding
This book by Jaime Jackson begins with a study of horses in the wild, then describes many plans for getting your horses out 24/7, in replication of the wild. The designs are all very specific, but by reading the entire book, you begin to deduce what’s really important and what’s not so important, and why. We didn’t follow any of his plans, but we have one pasture that’s probably an acre and a half and two much smaller ones (the photos are on our website,
www.soulofahorse.com
). All of them function very well when combined with random food placement. They keep our horses on the move, as they would be in the wild. The big one is very inexpensively electrically fenced.
Paddock Paradise
is available, as are all of Jaime’s books, at
www.star-ridge.com
.

MEDICAL INFORMATION RELATING TO NATURAL HORSE CARE

Whereas medical information from various sources is mixed into all of the resource information above, we’ve found this to be an all-in-one source that that speaks to optimum horse health for the high-performance horse and lameness rehabilitation.

A Lifetime of Soundness: The Keys to Optimal Horse Health, Lameness Rehabilitation and the High-Performance Barefoot Horse
This book was written by Dr. Hiltrud Strasser, a doctor of veterinary medicine. It covers nutrition, natural boarding versus conventional boarding, blankets and leg wraps, barefoot versus shoes, posture when eating and riding, and much more. The introduction begins: “Most of the common health problems and lamenesses 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 a natural lifestyle.” This terrific resource and reference book is available at
www.TheHorsesHoof.com
.

www.shady-acres.com/susan/
The website of Susan Evans Garlinghouse, DVM, MSc Equine Nutrition, and self-proclaimed research geek, has a lot of good stuff about nutrition, especially alfalfa and why it should only be served up in small doses.

A
ND NEW RESOURCES
are regularly updated on Kathleen’s and my
www.soulofahorse.com
.

A
BOUT THE
A
UTHOR

Joe is the creator of the canine superstar Benji and the writer, producer, and director of all five Benji theatrical films and various television programs. He has authored several books, including
Benji & Me, Benji Off the Leash, For the Love of Benji, Oh Heavenly Dog, The Benji Method Dog Training Book,
and various children’s books. Joe spends a great deal of time speaking around the country on behalf of kids, homeless pets, and, recently, proper care for horses. He lives with his wife, Kathleen, and three stepchildren, five dogs (including Benji), two cats, and seven horses (including Cash) in Valley Center, California. For more about Joe, visit
www.Benji.com
or
www.soulofahorse.com
.

F
OR
K
ATHLEEN
W
ITHOUT HER LOVE THIS JOURNEY WOULD NOT HAVE EXISTED