Ep 31: Dr Robert M Miller - Equine Veterinarian, Cartoonist, Legend

On today’s show, I’m joined by Dr Robert M Miller. Dr Miller is an equine behaviourist, veterinarian, and author. He was born in New York on March 4, 1927, and raised in Tucson, Arizona. After serving in the infantry in World War II, he attended and graduated from the veterinary school at Colorado State University in 1956. He established the Conejo Valley Veterinary Clinic in Thousand Oaks, California in 1959 and was the pioneer of the larger multi-doctor practice - a rarity at the time. Thirty-one years later, he retired as a renowned veterinarian and expert in ethology and began a speaking career. Dr Miller has visited every continent giving lectures to colleges, conventions for animal groups, horse organizations, breed associations and other clients. He has published many books on horsemanship, but what you might not know is that his list of credits also includes seven books of comedic cartoons. His acute sense of humour and love of drawing spilling out onto the pages of magazines and books as fast as the insights came to his quick-witted and creative mind. To date, Dr Miller has published a staggering total of over 20 books. On top of this he has authored 50 scientific papers and hundreds of magazine articles for both veterinary journals and equine publications and has served on the editorial staff of Veterinary Medicine, for which he is best known for his long-running “Mind Over Miller” column, as well as Modern Veterinary Practice, Veterinary Forum, and Western Horseman magazines. Dr Miller has received multiple professional awards for his achievements in both veterinary medicine and equine behavior. In 2004, Miller was inducted into the Hall of Fame by the Western States Horse Expo, and is a recipient of the Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year Award in 1995. Plus numerous other accolades. Now, before I get into this episode, I wanted to let you guys know that we have brand new, limited-edition Blunt Dissection Podcast T-shirts available. If you would like to show your appreciation and support the work I do in creating these podcasts then jump across to my website www.drdavenicol.com/shop and you’ll find pictures of the merch there. Every T-shirt purchaser gets a free podcast laptop sticker too! And of course, my enormous gratitude. The t-shirts and hand-printed here in Brighton, use organic fair trade cotton and environmentally safe inks. But most importantly, they make the wearer look smoking hot. Get yours while stocks last today. Now back to the show, as I listen back to this episode it struck me how much I was smiling and felt joy in my heart. Partly this is due to a level of nostalgia from the insight into a time and world veterinary medicine is in danger of forgetting, it’s also because Dr Miller is such a funny, warm and engaging person to spend time with. The insights, story telling and humour that Dr Miller shares make this one of my all time favourite episodes, and I rather suspect that by the end, you’ll feel the same way too. So sit back and enjoy this episode with a man for whom legend seems to small a word. I give you my conversation with the wonderful Dr Robert M Miller.