I have had the good fortune to have met and talked with Dr.
Miller on several occasions and I have found him to a most thoughtful scientist
who cares deeply about the horses and other critters he has treated over his
many years of veterinary practice. I’ve read and learned from his books
on horse behavior and imprinting foals. The article reprinted on this
website is, in my view, very timely and very accurate. He is saying things that
need to be said. And he has the stature to be heard. That he apparently believes
that some endurance riders are more interested in winning than in the welfare
of their horses is unfortunate. But rather than condemn him, or this
point of view, maybe we should concentrate more on educating him on the modern
mindset of those who participate in our sport. I believe him to be
fair-minded and perhaps we, as an organization, should invite him to one of our
rides, such as the Tevis or the Old Dominion and encourage him observe for
himself the care we give to our four-footed partners. And at the same time,
perhaps we ought to reexamine our own motivations and behavior just to assure ourselves
that he isn’t seeing something that we have been too blind to see.
