SAN DIEGO -- Joe Camp made his name as the writer and director of the "Benji" movies.

But after moving to Valley Center, Camp happened into a love of horses.

"My wife, Kathleen, gave me a trail ride as a surprise birthday present. Three weeks later, we had 3 horses and they were living right down there," said Camp.

But things started to change after he did a little research.

"When they're in a stall, they're not getting the movement that they should and they're not getting the feed that they should, because they need to little bits at a time for 16 to 18 hours a day," said Camp.

Camp moved his horses out to pasture to forage as in the wild.

"A horse is genetically designed to move 10 to 30 miles a day," said Camp.

The more Camp researched, the more he felt horses should live in a natural state, especially when it comes to the hooves.

"As this hoof flexes upon impact, what it's doing is sucking in a lot of blood; that goes all through and irrigates the hoof and keeps it healthy, but it also provides an hydraulic-like shock absorption for the joints and ligaments and tendons of the leg, and with a metal shoe nailed to it, it cant flex at all," said Camp.

Now, Camp pointed to the success of Big Brown at the 2008 Kentucky Derby, a race the horse won with glued-on plastic horseshoes.

Camp is hoping the book he has written about what he's learned caring for his horses will open the eyes of other horse owners.

For more information on the book, visit www.thesoulofahorse.com.