Renowned Equine Behaviorist to Receive
2012 Western Horseman Award
-From Western Horseman Magazine
Recognized internationally as one of the foremost authorities on equine behavior, Dr. Robert M. Miller has been named the recipient of the 2012 Western Horseman Award. Each year since 2005, Western Horseman has honored a legendary horseman and industry leader with a limited edition bronze by Charlene Morgan, based on the iconic pen and ink sketch by Cowboy Artists of America founder, George Phippen.
This year, the award will be presented at Road to The Horse, the "World Championship of Colt Starting," on Saturday, March 10 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
When Dr. Robert Miller’s video titled "Imprint Training of the Foal" was released in 1986, horseman around the country seemed to line up in two camps. On the one hand, the ideas presented by Miller challenged the assumptions of many horsemen that coddling a newborn foal would limit their potential. Others saw a breakthrough in understanding equine behavior and began adopting Miller’s kinder, gentler approach.
The subsequent release of the book with the same title propelled Miller into the center of the emerging "Natural Horsemanship" movement and made him one of the most sought out lecturers at veterinary schools, equine symposiums and clinics on equine behavior. A decade later he made an updated video titled "Early Learning" with the subtitle "The Complete Training of the Newborn Foal During Its Imprinting and Critical Learning Periods."
Since the initial work on foal imprinting, Dr. Miller has not only authored dozens of other books and videos on equine behavior, he is also recognized as a world-class cartoonist. Much of his material has been drawn from his 31-year career as founder and Chief-Of-Staff of the Conejo Valley Veterinary Clinic in Thousand Oaks, California.
"We have been very fortunate to have Dr. Miller as a contributing editor to Western Horseman magazine for more than three decades," said publisher Darrell Dodds. "His knowledge of the horse is well-known, but it is his understanding of the unique relationship between horse and human that is truly extraordinary. His work will have a positive impact on how people view the horse/human relationship for many years to come."
