Las Vegas Review-Journal - The Book Nook

  When Joe Camp’s wife gave him a horse as a surprise birthday present, the Benji writer-producer-director, an expert on dogs but not equines, set about learning what to do with the magnificent creature. But the more he learned about traditional horse-training methods, the more  dismayed he became. It contradicted what he had learned in a lifetime of dealing with smaller animals. He resolved that he would interact with his horse without resorting to the punishing behavior — in some cases cruelty  — of traditional Western horsemanship.
   That vow took Camp and his wife, Kathleen, into a world they would not have imagined, and he invites us along on that journey in "The Soul of a Horse — Life Lessons from the Herd" (2008, Harmony Books, Random House).
   Horses have existed for thousands and thousands of years. For much of that time they lived and thrived outdoors, without stables, without shoes, without man-supplied food, without being ''broken.’’ What if the way Westerners treat horses, while usually well-intentioned, is often not only cruel, but actually shortens the animal’s life and forces it to live in boredom, if not outright pain?
   As he worked with his horse Cash, Camp turned to instruction videos from renowned horse trainer Monty Roberts and from other trainers and veterinarians who advocate a system called ''Join Up.’’ In ''Join Up,’’ the horse decides whether and when to interact and have a relationship with a human. The theory is controversial — not all trainers agree with it.
   Camp found that sometimes his best guide was his own intuition, as he watched and studied and simply spent time with Cash and the other horses that came to live at his ranch.
   Does an animal have a soul? Many of us who have loved and lived with a pet dog or cat or other animal would say that’s a question worth debating. Animals can exhibit a spirituality and understanding that puts human behavior, with its selfishness, self-centeredness and random cruelty, to shame. They have knowledge that we cannot understand, scientific admonitions about a dog’s limited brain capacity or a cat’s restricted consciousness notwithstanding.
   "The Soul of a Horse" is an engaging, thought-provoking book, and anyone who appreciates animals or wants to further understand them should read it. Having done so, you will never look at a horse race, or a herd of mustangs, or even the canine of dubious parentage that is lounging on your couch, the same way.