The Soul Of A Horse Blog

Saffron and Firestorm – Progress and Photos – Lots of Both!

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

…and the highly acclaimed…

The Soul of a Horse Blogged
The Journey Continues

First Romp in the Pasture for Saffron and Firestorm

First Pasture Outing for Saffron and Firestorm

admin — Sat, 12 May 2012 20:14:25 +0000

Look at all that space Mommy!

Stormy was coming up on seven weeks old and had never been out of her paddock and the adjacent paddock. We figured it was time. So we locked the herd in the eastern pasture, opened the gate from Mustang Paddock to the western pasture, and right out they came.

Eeeehawww!

But with all that space, Saffy chose to stay near the other horses. As we keep discovering, in the battle between being alone and being with, genetics always win. Even over worry.

Stormy meets Aunt Pocket

Why is there always a fence Mommy?

Oh, now I see!

Why is she taking so many pictures?

Because she loves us.

Time to head home.

Lots of attention from the peanut gallery.

Wow! That baby’s fast!

It’s been quite a day.

Here’s a short video clip of mama and baby having their first pasture romp together. It’s the first time Saffron has had a good run since she arrived. And she can’t keep up with baby :)

A Special Telling Moment with Baby Stormy

admin — Mon, 07 May 2012 19:55:27 +0000

Over the weekend we took Firestorm out for an adventure away from the paddock where she was born. Her first trip away from home. While mom munched away I walked little Miss Stormy into the round pen for the first time… and was blessed with a special telling moment. Stormy can be warm and fuzzy but at almost seven weeks old it usually relates to something she wants. Most often a scratch here or there, or a bite of my hat or work vest. But she can also be distant. Especially when her play mode is in gear. This morning when we walked into the round pen we were expanding her horizons. Though she steps easily and willingly onto her little pedestal, she was resistant to the first step up the ramp into this scary new territory.

Oh my. That’s really a big step Mr. Joe

But with encouragement, and after a little rear, she made a big reach.

I think I can do this.

Wow. Look at me! That didn’t hurt a bit.

But as we explored she suddenly realized she was in unfamiliar territory.

This is all pretty scary.

That’s when she blew her cool and snuggled up against my leg, pressing very close, as we walked to the center and stood quietly for a survey.

Very close.

The telling moment I mentioned above. I was surprised that I was quiet enough to notice it. To feel her warmth. All too often I’m out there somewhere like three steps ahead of her. Or three steps ahead of me. Trying to figure what to do next. But not this time.

It was just a moment, but a very sweet one. A moment that told me, when push comes to shove, I, like her mommy, become her safety net. Just a little secret she let slip out. But I gave her a rub and acted like I didn’t notice.

But I did.

Follow our latest journey with these two amazing new arrivals from the wild
Kathleen’s terrific photos are worth the click

In chronological order:

Saffron and Firestorm – Progress and Photos – Lots of Both!

For 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

…and the highly acclaimed…

The Soul of a Horse Blogged
The Journey Continues

Saffron and Firestorm – Progress and Photos – Lots of Both!

admin — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 04:17:07 +0000

I have to keep telling myself that a mere six weeks ago this mustang, fresh from the wild, had never willingly been touched by any human. And I keep hearing about domestic mares who go all crazy when they’ve had a foal and won’t let any human near the new baby. I pinch myself several times a day. Actually several times an hour. Because, as those of you who have followed the blog/newsletter know, on the evening of my birthday this very special lady, who had already trusted me to handle her new baby virtually from birth, threw a switch inside herself and gave me the best birthday I think I’ve ever had. Completely without warning she suddenly said I trust you completely. To touch me, rub me, scratch me anywhere. At any time. I will not flinch, I will not pull away. And I will thank you for being here.

Not just me. She totally accepts Kathleen as well. Scratching, rubbing, whatever. As does baby Stormy. Kathleen is giddy. She has probably never personally experienced such a shift in trust. If you want photos you’ll have to talk to her. She won’t let me get my hands on the camera :).

Both of these mustangs are simply amazing. Tonight I picked up both of Saffy’s front feet. A first! (see below a couple of frames from the video Kathleen was shooting at the time). Noelle has been with us for three years and I’ve only touched her front feet, never picked them up off the ground. If ever there was a clear example of how every horse is an individual with a personality and demeanor different from any other this has to be it.

The question of the day has been: Is it me or her? No question in my mind it’s HER. She’s a very special lady.

“Yes she is,” Kathleen says, ” but you are three years down the road from Noelle’s beginning. Even that first night when you were offering Saffy feed from your hand, your heart was expecting her to take it. With Noelle you “knew” she wouldn’t. With Saffron you were feeling and projecting warmth and trust. With Noelle you were only thinking it. And you know that makes all the difference.”

“A small percentage. I’ll give you that much. But this mustang is extraordinary.”

“I cannot deny that,” Kathleen said.

Who knows how much of what? But I do know that she is on my mind constantly. Barely six weeks away from being an unhandled wild horse… and look at these photos. She blows me away every day.

Meanwhile baby Firestorm is doing fantastic as well. We have one or two sessions a day in her playpen and out in the paddock. She sits on the beanbag. Stands on her pedestal. Gives all four feet on request. I scratch in and outside her ears and rub her all over. She leads on a loose line. Backs up a few steps on cue. Moves her hindquarters both ways with a touch, and her forequarters as well. And, unlike Saffy, with Stormy that’s all fully explainable. With the renowned imprinting methods of Dr. Robert M. Miller, all taken to the next level by Allen Pogue, each and every one of you can accomplish everything I’ve accomplished with this little wild horse, conceived in the wild, proof positive that every horse on the planet is genetically identical.

What a blessing these two have been to both of us!

Night night. It’s Been a hard day.
Time for a nap at Kathleen’s feet.

New Video Coming Soon

Follow our latest journey with these two amazing new arrivals from the wild.

In chronological order:

The Soul of a Horse
Life Lessons from the Herd

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

…and the highly acclaimed…

The Soul of a Horse Blogged
The Journey Continues

An Amazing Birthday Gift from a Wild Mustang!

admin — Sat, 21 Apr 2012 22:40:40 +0000

Barely a month ago we adopted a pregnant mustang from the BLM facility in southern Mississippi. At that time she had never been handled or even touched willingly by any human. Her seven-hour trailer ride home turned into nine, delayed by two wrecks on the freeway. She was covered in stressful sweat and not a happy camper. But still, less than an hour after arriving home, she took a bit of forage from my bare hand.

This was clearly an unusual mustang.

At least as judged from our limited experience. Noelle, our first pregnant mustang adoption, took 19 days to have a bite of food from a bowl in my hand. Longer to nibble from my bare hand. That was a bit more than three years ago. There has been progress, but it’s been slow and often regressive. Her fear quotient is still very high and she is very slow to trust. It comes in fractions of inches, not leaps and bounds. Her baby, Malachi, killed himself at three months in a freak accident during a storm when he ran into a pole and snapped his brain stem. We were devastated. It has taken us this long to have another go.

All clearly set up by God (see earlier posts). From the start it seemed that this was going to be a different experience.

We were told that she was due to foal in May. Until we arrived at the BLM facility to pick her up. That’s when we were told she was bagging up. Oh my. What to do? Vets have told us that a pregnant mare should not be trailered within 30 days of her due date. It was only 16 days from the time Noelle started bagging up until she delivered. The BLM agent said he thought everything would be fine. The ride is only six to seven hours, right?

Right

So off we went.

Three days later, at approximately 7:45 in the morning, Miss Saffron delivered a beautiful, healthy filly who we named Firestorm (for the firestorm she will likely cause in the traditional horse world :). And because she has a funnel cloud on her face.

Her mom, Saffron, was named because the spice is a deep golden color, as will be Miss Saffy when she sheds her winter coat. Saffron is the spice of kings, one of the rarest, costliest spices on the planet because it must be harvested by gentle hand. Certainly, even at the BLM, we recognized that we were with a very rare young lady (see the video: Here We Go Again). And her relationship will be harvested by the most gentle of hands. Saffron is a therapeutic spice and has been used for it’s medicinal and therapeutic values since at least 7000 years before Christ. If you should doubt Miss Saffron’s therapeutic value just look at the silly grins we’ve been wearing since she arrived.

Especially yesterday!

During the no-agenda time we spend with mama and baby every evening, mama Saffron quite simply and unexpectedly blew us away. Only a month ago she had never willingly been touched by any human. But yesterday evening, her ever so slowly eroding trust barrier suddenly cracked, crumbled, and fell completely away. With no advance notice she was suddenly all over me. Blowing noses, rubbing my cheek. Accepting scratches and rubs everywhere I could never touch before. Her neck, under her jaw, down her shoulder and leg. Her rib cage. Behind her ear.

You might remember that, for me, the most important element in Monty Roberts’ Join Up is that the choice to join up belongs to the horse. It is not forced by the human. And when the horse makes that choice freely, of its own free will, everything changes. And last night everything changed right before our eyes.

It was amazing. Kathleen says it’s because she told Saffy it was my birthday.

And what a spectacular birthday it was. With gifts that keep on giving: Kathleen… family… baby Stormy… and, especially last night, Miss Saffron. God is soooo good.

Enjoy the additional photos below. I apologize for the few fuzzy ones. It was well after sunset, cloudy, and as mentioned this was totally unexpected. Kathleen whipped out her iPhone and shot what she could.

Joe

A sweet nudge on my cheek

Don’t forget me!

After nearly five minutes of nuzzling and rubbing, Saffy
walked about three feet away and lay down right
beyond our feet to have a roll.

It was quite a birthday.

Follow our latest journey with these two amazing new arrivals from the wild.

In chronological order:

The Soul of a Horse
Life Lessons from the Herd

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

…and the highly acclaimed…

The Soul of a Horse Blogged
The Journey Continues

What the Devil is the Wild Horse Model…

admin — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:54:00 +0000

…and why did I need to know about it?

Because domestic horses are wild horses.

Excuse me??

That was exactly my first reaction. But it’s true. Domestic horses and wild horses are genetically precisely the same. The horses in our back yard are really wild horses in captivity. Just like a baby tiger would be, even though his mom, grand mom, and triple-great grand mom were all born in captivity. That baby’s genetics are still the same as those beasts roaming the African jungles. The scientific fact, we discovered, is that it takes between 5000 and 10,000 years to even begin to change the base genetics of any species.

Which means the horses in our back yard have been programmed for millions and millions of years to live in wide open spaces where they can see predators coming, eat small bits of grass forage around the clock up to 18 to 20 hours a day, move 8-20 miles a day, on bare feet that can flex with each step to circulate blood within the hoof capsules, live with multiple horses for safety and security, and even balance their own diets if provided with enough choices to do so.

Who knew?

Obviously not us when we acquired our first horses, nor the experienced experts who were advising us with phrases like: This is the way it’s always been done! Our guys and girls all lived in a manner diametrically opposed to what their genetics were calling for. They lived in tiny little stalls where they could move at best 800 steps in a 24-hour day as opposed to the 8-20 miles a day their genetics called for. And we ultimately discovered that such a huge differential was not just affecting physical structure, it was affecting their digestion, their breathing, the health of their feet, and thereby immensely affecting their stress levels which, as medical science has finally come to realize, substantially affects all of their health. Their diet was mostly sugar in a bag, which we discovered is the absolute worst thing one can feed a horse, especially a confined one. Molasses is part of virtually every packaged feed in existence. Every grain in the same bag turns to sugar the instant it gets inside the horse. And, as mentioned above, horses are genetically programmed to eat grass forage (real grass or grass hay), little bits at a time, up to 18-20 hours a day. The horse’s hind gut is programmed to release digestive acid around the clock. Acid that digests grass hay (not sugar, not alfalfa, not pellets, not carrots, just grass or grass hay). When that grass forage is not dribbling into the hind gut on a regular basis the acid has nothing to work on but the insides of the horse itself! Unlike humans whose digestive acid turns on and off depending upon whether food is present, the horse’s digestive acid never stops. So the grass forage needs to be there. Free-choice. Around the clock.

And then there’s the herd. We discovered that a horse in a stall who cannot commune with other horses gains yet another level of stress to endure. The purpose of the herd for a prey animal is safety and security. Being with other like animals is quite literally a safety net. There are more eyes to see trouble coming. And usually the dominant member of the group is also the number one watchdog. Being deprived of that comfort, at some level, breeds huge amounts of stress.

And please don’t ever let anyone tell you that horses should never eat green grass. Recently there have been a few voices out there claiming just that because the wild horses they studied were in an arid area of the Great Basin. But such a remark is scientifically incorrect. Horses have only been in the Great Basin for approximately 300 years. The wild horse evolved for those millions and millions of years in the American west from Texas through the Great Plains’ grasslands to the San Joaquin Valley and northward to the grasses of the Dakotas, Wyoming, Montana, Oregon and Washington. Horses are born to eat grass. Just be sure that when yours do, like in the wild, there are plenty of unfertilized native grass choices as well as other choices like weeds, brambles, berries, and trees so they can balance their own sugars which they are genetically capable of doing (see the mini-books Horses Were Born to Be On Grass and Horses Without Grass).

But as I mentioned earlier, we knew none of this a mere five years ago when we made the big leap into horses without a single clue. Maybe it helped, as they say, to come in with a clean plate. No baggage. No knowledge. Just an obsessive and compulsive urge to offer our new family members the very best life that we could. That urge-turned-insane-quest (see the mini-book Why Relationship First Works :) not only culminated in our herd living a life very close to the one they were genetically programmed to live, it spawned our first two books, The Soul of a Horse – Life Lessons from the Herd, a best seller thank you so much, and The Soul of a Horse Blogged – The Journey Continues, which together have changed the lives of thousands of horses and people all across the planet (read about Happier Healthier Horses), for which Kathleen and I will be eternally grateful. Thankfully they are also humorous books. When you start where we started and really push the envelope there’s going to be a lot of stumbling around, a bunch of wrong turns, botched efforts, and, yes, stooopid mistakes. But, the trip has been so worth it and we are ever grateful to God for the opportunity to help make this planet a little better than we found it.

Which is why we needed to know all this. Our horses were born to be wild and we needed to know why. And what we should do about it. Cash, Mouse, Noelle, Mariah, Pocket, and Skeeter tell us how grateful they are everyday of our lives, and I can promise you there is no better feeling on earth. – Joe Camp

Follow our latest journey with two amazing new arrivals actually from the wild.
Providing the ultimate answers to why we needed to know.

In chronological order:

The Soul of a Horse
Life Lessons from the Herd

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

…and the highly acclaimed…

The Soul of a Horse Blogged
The Journey Continues

No-Agenda Time – So Much Value

admin — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 16:10:15 +0000

No-agenda time is a ritual Kathleen and I began with Noelle after Malachi died. We’d go into Malachi’s playpen, open it up to Noelle, scatter a bit of hay around our feet, then sit there and talk, with no agenda whatsoever. Seriously, none. It yielded some of the best moments and lessons ever with Noelle. We began No-Agenda Time with Saffron and Stormy a week or so ago and the yield has been amazing. Last evening, just after sunset, Stormy fell asleep right at my feet. Shortly after, her mom, Miss Saffron, an untouched mustang from the wild just a few weeks ago, turned away and sauntered off to the water tub for a drink, maybe fifty feet away. Leaving her baby asleep on my boot. She won’t even let Stormy interact with the other horses through the fence. And has never before left her in our care. The trust it took to do that both surprised and overwhelmed us. How can we not exert every effort to be worthy.

Below are Saffron and Stormy’s first six posts:

(listed in chronlogical order)

The Soul of a Horse
Life Lessons from the Herd

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

…and the highly acclaimed…

The Soul of a Horse Blogged
The Journey Continues

Firestorm’s Amazing First Day in the Playpen

admin — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 22:28:30 +0000

Malachi had a playpen. We knew from the beginning that Noelle would not willingly allow us near her baby so we had no choice but to devise a way to separate them in order to imprint and train Malachi. But this time around (Here We Go Again), Miss Saffron, like Noelle an unhandled mustang from the wild, tricked us. She has been so much closer, so much more willing than Noelle ever was. Miss Saffy ate from my hand the same night she disembarked from the trailer after a nine-hour trip back from the BLM facility in south Mississippi. Noelle took 19 days to do that. Three days after Saffy arrived she had her baby (we were told she was not due until May)… and the new mom allowed me to begin the imprinting process with her baby immediately. My hands were on Firestorm within an hour after she was born. She was in my lap shortly after that. So Kathleen and I both felt that perhaps a “playpen” wouldn’t be necessary this time. What we didn’t realize was that everything would change the moment I was no longer sitting on the hay bale, the moment I stood up. Then I became a potential predator and Saffy began placing herself between me and Stormy.

Wait a minute. I’m the same guy who was sitting on that hay bale!

Don’t listen to him Stormy, Mom said. React first and ask questions later.

That’s the way of the horse. Amplified in the wild where everything is considered to be a predator until proven not. I knew that. But Saffron had lured me into her web of gentle kindness. Something I had never really experienced with Noelle. I was certain I could overcome this resistance.

“Every time you try you are forcing more conversation from Saffron about why baby shouldn’t trust you,” Kathleen warned.”Best to bite the bullet.”

And, of course, she was right. So finally, after I had accomplished all I could sitting on a hay bale, I gathered the material and built the playpen you’ll see below. With dark panels of landscape cloth covering the bars Miss Firestorm might try sticking her head between. And giving her only one good view of mom, and that’s standing on a small pedestal.

Heading into the playpen – first day

That was yesterday. Stormy’s 22nd day on the planet. And the results were amazing. All while mom quietly chomped hay just outside one of the gates. It was a day of falling thresholds and “first-time-evers”. It was Stormy’s first ever day to wear a halter and lead rope.

The halter and rope had been sitting on my old hay bale seat for days. Stormy had chewed on them and dragged them around the paddock. So it was not at all scary when I approached. She stood perfectly still and quiet as I tied the halter on. Then I pulled the lead rope just very slightly taut. With minimal squirming, she demonstrated how quickly she “gets” stuff. I would hold the line taut, not pulling. Just taut enough to be a little uncomfortable. In very short order she figured out that if she took a step forward it would relieve the pressure… and bring lots of praise and rubs. It took less than ten minutes for her to be following me with slack in the line all around the pen. Malachi got that pretty quickly as well but it still amazes me that they can put things together so young.

Oh, I get it. If I take a step the pressure goes away. If more pressure appears, I merely take another step. Or, better yet, why not just follow Joe when he walks and there’s never ANY pressure :)

Next came sitting time on the bean bag chair. She was well prepped for this as well. It evolved on the hay bale out of her lying in my lap. Very cute.

After a few more turns around the playpen, next came the pedestal. The toughest task. Oh, this one was truly scary. Could very well be a horse eating pedestal. She did not want to take that step up. At one point she reared and one foot accidentally came down on the pedestal.

Followed by much praise and lots of rubs on withers and tail (her favorites). With a little encouragement she managed one and a half feet on the pedestal.

And finally two feet up.

And that’s when I untied the halter and opened
the gate for her to trot out to Mom.

This morning she willingly put three feet on the pedestal and that won her the same reward. Back to mama. Kathleen was at school so no photo :(. But it’s truly fantastic to have my Sweetie re-inspired, taking brilliant beautiful pictures and loving it. She’s having fun. And so am I. I’m lapping this up like Benji laps up ice cream. It’s only taken us three years to get back to this.

Here are a couple more photos Kathleen shot last night before Firestorm and I headed into the playpen.

I love the rim light in that last one. These two photos and the one at the top were taken during our evening no-agenda time with mama and baby yesterday. Saffron was rounded up from the wild on August 1 of last year and has never been willingly touched until now. Her baby Firestorm was conceived in the wild on or around my birthday a year ago this month. And you see in these photos and those that have come during the past 22 days what a willing wonderful “wild mustang” she has become. And once again our life has been changed so much for the better. We are blessed.

Below are Saffron and Stormy’s first six posts:

(listed in chronlogical order)

The Soul of a Horse
Life Lessons from the Herd

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

…and the highly acclaimed…

The Soul of a Horse Blogged
The Journey Continues

This Morning. Baby Stormy Dozes in My Lap

admin — Tue, 03 Apr 2012 16:56:11 +0000

Two Weeks Old Tomorrow

Below are the first six posts:

(listed in chronlogical order)

The Soul of a Horse
Life Lessons from the Herd

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

…and the highly acclaimed…

The Soul of a Horse Blogged
The Journey Continues