It’s not every day that you meet a professional sports cameraman, especially one that is rather large, loud, and imposing, but obviously with a heart of gold and a deep love of animals. Not to mention someone who has some pretty wild stories to share, cultivated during his 20 year career filming Super Bowls and all other manner of National Championships.

We met at a birthday party of a mutual friend, and he self admittedly invited himself to come out to the ranch for a visit. He only had a few hours before he had to head out of town, but he really wanted to come and see the horses. I rearranged my schedule to accommodate him. I didn’t know him very well, or what to expect, but I liked him quite a lot at the party, and was eager to share the horses with him.

He was honestly quite cautious of the horses upon his initial arrival, which I really liked. He explained to me that he loved animals, and had had many over the years, dogs, cats, fish tanks, reptiles, but that he had a very bad experience around horses and he was very wary of them. His wife and daughters loved horses and always begged him about it, but he had always put his foot down pretty sternly because he had such a traumatic experience and he was afraid for his family. He thought horses must be just too dangerous and unpredictable, but he was still fascinated by them at the same time.

So we talked it through and realized that yes indeed he had been at some ranch where, although his gut feeling told him to be cautious of the horses, the people running the operation just slapped him on the shoulder and said “Don’t worry about it! These animals are perfectly broke and never act up or run off!”. So, like any normal person, he buried his concerns, and tried to interact with the horses the way he was told to by the people in charge of the horses, although he didn’t like how it felt.

Guess what? The crippled horse who can’t even run, ran off with him, and he got quite hurt, and a lifelong fear of horses despite being an avid animal lover. So I explained to him that sadly, this is the reality for about 80% or more of people in the horse world. They are confident they know what they are doing (is this you?), because making horses do things is what they were taught, and it’s what (seemingly) everyone does. But that level of force that is used in the horse industry, and taught to young children, normalizing the violence, is exactly what got him, and thousands of children and adults, hurt each year. This is not a joke. The horse industry in general is about 100 years behind in how it trains and handles horses. Every marine mammal trainer in the world knows this, and just shakes their head sadly when reminded of this.

So here we have a man, a true animal lover, who had used gentle techniques with all of his animals his entire life, because it just felt right, who was actually using positive reinforcement for years, without even realizing it. He had wanted to follow his heart and interact with horses the same way, but was told ‘no’, you have to “be the boss” and “tell them what to do”. So against his better instincts, he did, and he got hurt, and a dream, crushed.

So when he came, and we talked all of this through, and he got to interact with Sugar, through the corral fence, where he could feel safe. I gave him just a couple of pointers on how to interpret horse body language, when it was safe to touch and interact with her. He was in no time confidently speaking with her, petting her, training her for me. Yes, it is true, I can turn a good listener into a helpful horse trainer in under 10 minutes! While I mucked stalls, he spoke to her, felt safe with her, helped train her, and generally had such a magical experience, we both had tears in our eyes. He thanked me again and again for the privilege, and the experience, and the renewed confidence in himself, and what he knew all along but didn’t have anyone to confirm it for him. He almost choked up when he said, I am almost 50 years old and never fed a horse a treat before, today, thank you. He said he can’t wait to come back with his wife. And later that night, he texted me again, how grateful he was, that it had been so good for his mental health to have this experience.

It was absolutely amazing, and I can’t wait to have him and his wife come back. This is what I am looking for, to gather an entire community of people like him, and Animal Loving Angels, like you, to come, interact, and experience horses on their terms, the way it should be, at the ResqRanch. And to that end I am happy to announce we are now officially offering experiences like what we described here on our website ResqRanch.org.

Last but certainly not least, I am so excited and grateful to announce we have been nominated for Non-Profit of the Year! Just as much as I am grateful I was able to facilitate that moving experience for one person, I know we can do that for many others. What I am doing here at the ResqRanch can change people’s lives. We have solid proof of the deep emotional impact positive reinforcement animal training can have on a person’s mental and emotional health. It works, and I have known it all along although some just ‘don’t get it’. But I knew it. Now, won’t you help me share this with as many others as I can who need this too?

Please vote for the ResqRanch, in the Everything Evergreen App on our phone, for non-profit of the year. Together, we can change people’s, and horses, lives for the better.

Check out my YouTube channel for a daily "Good Morning!" from the rescues and lots of free tips and training resources. https://www.youtube.com/@the1drq







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