Book Review: The Soul of a Horse

I had been receiving email notices about the release of The Soul of a Horse for several months. It said it was a book from “the creator of Benji – canine superstar,” Joe Camp. I puzzled over this information. The “Benji” I remembered was a regular on Petticoat Junction, appeared in a Jerry Lewis movie in a small role, and I thought was owned by an man named Frank Inn. “Benji” was actually a rescue dog named Higgins. I was obviously not up to speed on the creator of “Benji” so I requested a review copy.

I found I was correct about Higgins and found that Joe Camp was the writer, director and producer of the “Benji” movies. He has also written other books, three novels and an inspirational nonfiction book.

I received the copy very quickly and instead of sitting it on the “to be read” shelf, started reading the next day. The introduction by Cash worried me by the third paragraph when Cash (Joe’s horse) proclaims horses have “been through it all. Ice Ages. Volcanic periods, Meteor strikes. Dinosaurs…” Dinosaurs? Not from any fossil evidence I have ever heard about. The rise of mammals was a long, long time after dinos.

The story then actually starts with a fictionalized account of a wild mustang’s life. This story continues throughout the actual story of Joe and his relationships with his horses. This part of the book I truly felt needed to be a book of its own. It is a nice story for fifth and sixth grades, but though he tries to tie the threads of his two stories together, the tie is weak and for the most part, I felt there should have been two books here.

I was delightfully surprised when I got to the actual writing about Joe and his experience in wanting to add horses to his life and his subsequent experiences. It was a delightful read and I found myself not wanting to put the book down and finding excuses during the day to return to snag a few more chapters in some stolen spare moments.

Joe says himself: “Discovering the mysteries of the horse is a never-ending journey, but the rewards are an elixir. The soul prospers from sharing, caring, relating and fulfilling. Nothing can make you feel better than doing something good for another being. Not cars. Not houses. Not face-lifts. Not blue ribbons or trophies. And there is nothing more important in life than love. Not money. Not status. Not winning. Try it and you will understand what I mean. Apply it to your life. It is the synthesis of this book and why it came into being.”

The book has great insights and is told in an engaging manner. Highly recommended.

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