The Soul of a Horse Paddock Paradise - What We Did, How We Did It & Why?

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 tracking system 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 :). Even if you're not planning a paddock paradise I think you'll enjoy it. Have a look then go create :) - Joe

[@Toretobs]

It's all great and I love it, but what bothers me is the mentality of it all. I mean, "discovered it a few years ago"? Come on, horses are running free for ages, my country was founded by nomad tribes on horses, back in the 7th century, of course it's in their DNA to roam free!!! It's really frustrating, so many people think it's normal for a horse to be locked up in a 15x15 ft box all day long, and what's even worse - they don't wanna hear different! So, thumbs up and keep going!!!

[@colbyklink4636]

your horses look well fed. I particularly noticed what you referred to as the articulation of the feet and agree, the hill provides something inherintly nevessary for the right usage of the feet.

[@joecamp220]

Thank you.

[@colbyklink4636]

@@joecamp220 I hope you two are well.retirement agreeing with me wholeheartedly. I am going full time rv'ing, while retaining my big bear home. had enough of the beach. I hope you,K, and the animals are well. if ever in tennesee, I will visit. God bless you, ck

[@joecamp220]

@@colbyklink4636 Please do. Would be great to see you. Where all have you been? Where going?

[@atarratrynkette]

That is exactly what my horses told me, and I have been raising and training them such for over 25 years! A Native Amreican friend told me that horses were meant to roam the earth... what a great idea to implement. Gave me me ideas to improve their movement!

[@computerexplorerNJ]

I have done this for 14 years now. WE no longer have cold or upper respiratory problems. No lameness Nothing knock on word

[@AishaAlMidfa]

thank you far all you have done for our horses, sultan and i could not be more thankful, thanks to you our horses now have turn out, no shoes and are bitless, and i dont know how to begin to explain the changes, all of it was uphill, all positive, and none negative, we spread the word abt ur book and im happy to say that now we have three people who are barefoot! all thx to you, and all in sharjah club! xx

[@atarratrynkette]

That is exactly what my horses told me, and I have been raising and training them such for over 25 years!

[@wildgirlne42]

brilliant, thanks for getting this message out to everyone.

[@Bootbitch]

you did such a good job with the lad you had. great vid!!

[@joecamp220]

Thank you.

[@elexotto2153]

Thank for sharing this. I come from the Italian Alps and thought it wasn't possible to create a PP on the mountains. Now I see it is possible. Hurray!

[@joecamp220]

We used a t-post driver (on sale by Amazon) with a bit of shovel help.

[@heidikindon5182]

It is plain to see they are happy to be using their muscles and to have interesting terrain to explore!

[@thesoulofahorse]

Well... it's not a mountain but it surely felt like one walking it. - Joe

[@fantasyreflection]

I pile a bale on both racks on a quad and toss handfuls of hay all over 5 acres.

[@stinahumana]

Very nice video, thanks for sharing. Greetings from the Caribbean.

[@joecamp220]

Oh wow! What part of the Caribbean?

[@stinahumana]

@@joecamp220 Hi Joe, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

[@joecamp220]

@@stinahumana Beautiful. A native?

[@stinahumana]

@@joecamp220 I am born in Norway and live here 13 years.

[@sonseere10]

Check out Rick Gore and his Think Like a Horse web site.

[@candicejohnson5577]

Love what you have to say but I will correct you in one small place. Horses did not evolve in the western basin. They were brought here from Europe and evolved in areas of Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Other than that I love the video!

[@wildgirlne42]

brilliant thank you

[@Sofiarivassculptor]

Very interesting project, how wide are the channels?

[@joecamp220]

Sometimes as little as ten feet, sometimes as wide as 40-50 feet, depending upon terrain.

[@yaysunny]

Takeaway Notes from this video for anyone else... And myself when I come back to this video later haha: @9:33 "The Soul Of The Horse" by Joe Camp --- talks about his book Yellow line perimeter as shown in the video: outer fence Blue: inner perimeter fencing 1.5 acre (maybe a lil less than 1.5 acres due to the inner circle/perimeter). 5 or 6 horses Creating about 8-10 miles, in a 24-hour day, of movement for the horses. They used 3 different types of hay and placed the diff types of hay scattered about (feeding 2x a day) (free choice hay) encouraged movement around the track. Feeding routine with UTV starts at: @7:03 From the horses' point of view: @11:27

[@spotsandfeathers]

I want to create one. We have rocky ground. How did you drive your posts in?

[@PoodleParti]

In winter after some rains.

[@computerexplorerNJ]

The word is wood

[@donnagarlock3942]

That must have been one heck of a job cleaning up poo!

[@joecamp220]

Not at all. A lot of kicking. To separate it. It's hot and dry there. Horse poop is only desired by flies when it's wet or damp. Once dry (which was quick back in the California days) it becomes dirt.

[@thesoulofahorse]

No worries. Millions of horses are living in box stalls. Eating sugar from a bag. Living unhealthy lives. We keep chipping away for the horse. Maybe someday...

[@leealexander3507]

thesoulofahorse my horse wouldn't like the center fenced off since he likes to move there also. He's a constant motion machine. Yes, he does have companions to socialize and play with. Right now he has five newly weaned foals keeping him company along with a gelding.

[@46rambo49]

$13.30 paperback/ nook book $14.99? hmmm

[@joecamp220]

Agree. Weird. That's a Random House decision over which we have no control.