Milliron Monday: The Journals October - December 1981

 

Abbott "Pete" Smith D.V.M.:  

June 16, 1938 - February 22, 2010

Virginia Joyann "Jody" Haley Smith: 

April 2, 1938 - May 9, 2021

Welcome to Milliron Monday where every Monday we celebrate 

the legacy of Milliron Farm and Clinic, 

Dr. Pete and Jody Smith.

A continuation of Jody’s Journals.

October 1981

·        To Charleston with Pete on calls, Nancy Bonnett’s dinner

·        Up at 4 am, to clinic > Apple, Junie, across cattle guard again > tried to finishing balancing clinic books, unsuccessful

·        Worked at clinic, voice very hoarse > very tired

·        Sunday early church (interesting), brunch at CJs > Pete worked in woods > rode Junie around hay meadows, took Puff, Streak, drove Junie out thru Schmittauers, back thru New Covenant, gave Nicki, 2 other little girls rides at Crall’s, saw Dottie/Spence riding > rode again, Pete took Puff, Streak

·        Worked at clinic, throat/voice bad > got horses back from Windy Hills

·        Up at 5 am > Pete horse surgery > I took his car, got mops, etc., for FLB timber cruise, got a few groceries in Sugar Creek > Bullet got out, followed me back to clinic > Con’t Ed Class, long discussion on reincarnation after class, to CJs for dinner > Hartley’s feel asleep in chair, Pete treated their horses, we had cherry pie/ice cream

·        Got Apple from Windy Hills, Junie came back to barn by himself, evidently jumping cattle guard > worked at clinic > crying discussion about finances > Bullet got out, followed me up to barn

·        Drove my car, Tim finally put transmission back in, ran errands, got timber plan, etc., for FLB timber cruise > Pete horse surgery > on calls to Fairgrounds > FLB Carl Webster > ate in Gallipolis > Pete rode Apple, moonlight > Pat here studying

·        Junie at Windy Hills, back again by himself > worked at clinic > shut up both Apple and Junie, fed at barn > made more yogurt, horse spilled first batch

·        Worked at clinic > Pete on calls > put electric fence “gate” up at cattle guard, ate at CJs, lovely Irish music

·        Christian Ed group, to church > rode to Dow Lake, Sailor bogged down in slip > went to bed early > Pete on late call, Mrs. L. horse colic

·        Kanga turned 10 years

·        Worked at clinic > Pete up, on calls early > sold car to Fritz, Pat Connor, Nannette picked up money, took it to bank to pay payroll taxes > Pete worked in woods > went down to sign, check for UPS, took Puff > Paul Ash, Paul Lewis here, coffee

·        To church, Christian Ed hour, Nigerian Bishop

·        Land Bank, oil/gas > went to St. Mary’s WV, worked on lease > Carl Meeks reset Junie, Apple

·        Took Pete’s car, ran errands > to OU Symphony, Irish music

·        Worked at clinic > Mr. Fryman sorted turnovers, etc.

·        O’Hooley’s Irish Brigade, Ann, Jerry, met us there, then to midnight movie

·        Worked at clinic, Mr. Fryman til midnight

·        Ran errands, faculty exhibit Siegfried > to clinic briefly > barn sagging

·        Worked at clinic > Pat, Carl, B, moved hay from loft to clinic barn and sheep shed > Pete, Buddy Sycks, brick stove for garage > 11:00 Morton Hall “The Graduate”

November

·        Early church C.E. Lew Kemmerle > Pete worked in woods, forked loose hay into shed > I took Puff, Bullet, run in paddock > rode Junie, took Streak, saw pony on gas line road, ponied it home to owners

·        Up at 2:30 am, did dishes, fox screaming in valley again > spread out hay in barn, nailed up back door, etc., did laundry, buried trash, put cans/glass in garage > brief nap in hammock, warm/sunny > Pete on calls > spray painted mailbox > Pat took me to vote, took me to class, Pete was there

·        Carl Webster here, look at house/barns > fed at barns, got speckled rooster from under boards in barn

·        To clinic > lunch with Pete at CJs, Paul Ash, Paul Lewis > to courthouse, recorded lease > Gallipolis FLB Land B paid off PCA

·        To Charleston > dinner at Bonnett’s, Nancy, Jamie went on calls with Pete > home 3:30 am

·        To clinic, Puff, Ruff, Jim, Sissy, Streak, booster shots > Mr. Fryman

·        Went after Pete on Junie (woods) plotted out well sites with John Branner, rode in pasture, took Puff, Streak, fixed electric fence/gate > SEOAV in Marietta, walked to “Becky Thatcher” riverboat with Sheila Theiss

·        To church, took Rosemary and son home, lunch OU Inn > Pete rode Apple, John Branner rode his mare, surveyed well sites, I rode Junie, saw several deer up close, challenged by buck on logging road

·        Made cornbread, Kathryn Foster here, watched Barbara Woodhouse

·        Bullet out, hooked up electric fence, moved snow fence, moved doghouse to porch, Gene helped > rode Apple, Jelea rode Junie

·        Made beer bread > to clinic, office meeting, Mr. Fryman

·        Pete to Engle’s, cattle call > Pat helped put storm windows in > rode Junie, trail by Turtle Shell Spring completely blocked by down trees > Gene, Candice Blocker, CJs dinner, O’Hooley’s

·        To church, OU Inn lunch, Clarissa Campbell > walked up thru meadow with Pete

·        To courthouse, Pete’s taxes, title for trailer > Pete to Engle’s

·        To clinic, Earl Matthews insurance, took picture

·        To church, picked up Clarissa, joint service Lutheran Church > dinner with Gary, Aggie

·        Baby goat had jumped out of clinic corral > J took ram, billy, 5 s/w western ewes to sale > fed at barn > went with Pete to Gus/Susan Sherman’s, pie, looked at pottery

·        To church > worked at clinic > Pete took bulldozer, worked on trails, put up barricade on gas line road > rode Junie, saw a few deer

·        Rode June, saw lots of deer, hauled deer in for Don E. from tree stand

December

·        Rode Junie, Don E got buck > Jim Bonnett 2 am > Pete and Jim hunted

·        Rode Junie, saw one deer > roasted lamb, made spoon bread

·        Pete, Jim hunted, rode Junie, Jim Bonnett left > I took Puff/Streak out of pen to look for wounded deer

·        Pete shot doe, I rode Junie to Nadroski’s place

·        Junie to Windy Hills > to church, OU Inn > walked down to check water gap, took Puff, Streak to clinic > popped popcorn, Pete on calls

·        Will Tevis here > put metal gate up at horse pasture water gap > Pat drove “Silver”, took P to Anne Culbert, lunch at Rox’s > put horses back in pasture > Pete on calls

·        Took several items into Artifacts Gallery, left Kevin Burke tape for Mimi Hart > Dave Smart, haircuts > CJs

·        Worked on electric fence, Will finished it > Fed Land Bank signed mortgage, got release for Tevis place > tax meeting > Pete jogged > walked over to Schmittauers, brought horses back

·        To clinic > shop hop, Gary Statham

·        Early church > John Branner, Pete, well surveying > cut up deer

·        Will, Pat, Pete, put up plywood in barn

·        Beautiful snow > electric fence/oxen > fed at barn > Pat Black’s tree decorating party

·        Wrapped packages, put up creche, etc. > fed at barn > Craig, J, worked oxen, here for dinner > Gerry/Ann’s staff party

·        Pete jogged > to church > OU Inn lunch > rode Junie, took Streak, Puff, many tracks in snow > Marshall, John Reynolds arrived

·        Walked in mist/fog/rain, took Streak, Puff, Missy

·        Marshall here > baked cookies, 2 pumpkin pies > to church

·        Christmas Day > Pete rode > Marshall, Brent, J, P, here for dinner

·        Charleston postmortem Hopkin’s horse > dinner with Nancy Bonnett, went on calls with us

·        To church > rode Junie, took Puff, Streak

·        Played darts, I beat Pete > Mr. Fryman

·        Finished reading Bible > Eslockers lunch at CJs > Court Street collection A.C. museum > brought Apple, Junie home from Windy Hills

Connect with Gina

Amazon Author Page

Milliron: The Biography

www.gmcknight.com

www.mondaycreekpublishing.com

Through captivating, powerful, and emotional anecdotes, we celebrate the life of Dr. Abbott P. Smith. His biography takes the reader from smiles to laughter to empathy and tears. Dr. Smith gave us compelling lessons learned from animals; the role animals play in the human condition, the joy of loving an animal, and the awe of their spirituality. A tender and profound look into the life of a skilled veterinarian. 

For the Love of Horses: An Interview with Tim Hayes

For the Love of Horses: An Interview with Tim Hayes

by Gina McKnight

Archived from the May 2025 Issue of Florida Equine Athlete

No duplication without permission.

In March, it was snowing in Vermont. That’s when Tim Hayes and I scheduled a phone conversation about horses and his new book. In 2015, I interviewed Tim about his first book Riding Home ~ The Power of Horses to Heal for True Cowboy Magazine. I have followed Tim ever since and appreciate his genuine insight to horses. Now, with the release of his second book, Horses, Humans, and Love: Powerful Lessons from the Herd―Compassion, Self-Worth, True Partnering, Heartfelt Parenting, I find Tim continuing to promote compassionate horsemanship. Recommended reading, Tim’s books have been endorsed by Robert Redford, Temple Grandin, and more.

Welcome, Tim!

GM: Tim, it’s good to connect with you after many years! Congratulations on your success and your new book. Let’s start at the beginning...

TH: Well, I just turned 80 years old this month, which is a shock to me and to most people who know me. And looking back, I got on my first horse when I was 47. I grew up in New York City, in Greenwich Village and I went into the TV commercial business. I loved making movies and commercials and I thought I'd do it forever. In 1992 I went to visit some friends who lived in Idaho and they introduced me to a family who had a big cattle ranch. I had never been on a horse and they put me on a horse; my life changed forever. There was something about being on a horse and it just felt so right. I just wanted to know as much as I could about horses, so I kept going back to the ranch and they taught me how to be a cowboy, they taught me how to rope, ride, brand, fix fences, and I loved being a part-time cowboy for a few years.

GM: A good start, I would say – a horseman’s dream to enjoy time on a working ranch. It must have been difficult returning to New York. How did you merge your love for horses with city life?

TH: I was living in New York, and they opened up a new equestrian center. I got a job teaching people how to ride Western. Most of the people in New York were riding in English, and I started learning something about natural horsemanship, which is the way that people now refer to what they used to call horse whispering, and basically natural horsemanship is based on what's natural for horses. Not what’s natural for humans. What's natural for humans is we think we have to be the boss of the horse and to get them to do what we want, we have to force them and we have to intimidate him. You’re taught why your horse will move forward. You're supposed to kick him and if he doesn't go, then kick harder. Well, that works, but it doesn't do much for the relationship with how the horse feels about you.

What natural horsemanship does is it teaches you how to communicate with a horse in his language, which is body language. Communicate with your horse and then it makes for a much better relationship, far superior horse training, and it's more fun. It's safer for both. I began teaching, then became fascinated by the relationship between humans and horses, leading me to Equine Therapy. That's what we talked about ten years ago.

GM: Yes, I remember. Your first book helped me with my own horses. Even seasoned riders can glean something valuable from your books, especially the power to heal. Have you seen people heal firsthand?

TH: We were fascinated with the fact that horses were really being able to be like adjunct therapists to people with all kinds of wounds; people with PTSD, children with autism, alcoholics, drug addicts, and people in divorce situations.  The difference between horses and humans, and why they're so good at relationships is because of the difference of our species. Horses are what we call the ultimate prey animal. They don't eat meat, they don't kill things. If they feel like they're in danger, they run away. Humans are the ultimate predators. We kill to eat food and have survived by killing our enemies. We kill people who threaten us and we even kill people who disagree with us. Horses have been on the planet for over 50 million years. They have survived by running away from their enemies and getting along with other horses in order to live in the safety of herds.

Humans have only been on the planet for a little more than 300,000 years. We have survived by killing our enemies most of which have been other humans. So I thought maybe horses could teach humans something about relationships.

GM: It’s a fascinating study. Of course, nurturing relationships with every living being is important to our success. Could you explain what you learned, and how you gathered ideas to develop the premise for your new book?

TH: I learned about the way horses have relationship with other horses. Once they're out of danger, they have to stay with other horses to be safe. If you're a horse by yourself and a predator comes along, you got one chance to stay alive because it's you and the predator. But if you're with another horse, you have a 50/50 chance. You have a better chance of staying alive because the predator might eat the other horse. And if you're in a herd of twenty horses, you have a much better chance because there are nineteen other prey animals that could get eaten before you. But in order to be in these groups with other horses, they have to get along. They can't argue and fight and get kicked out of their herd because then they'll be very vulnerable. So they developed and always treat each other with what I call black belt social skills. They led me to redefine the concept of love. Love is not what I thought it was, which was romance, sex, and having a personal love. Love are all the qualities horses embody to get along with each other and feel safe - like tolerance, acceptance, patience, understanding, kindness, honesty, trust, respect, forgiveness and compassion. These are the qualities that make love really what it is, and now it's become how I see myself in my relationships. If I want to think I'm loving, am I inviting any of those equine qualities? Because that, I believe, is how we express love.

GM: How has this impacted your own relationships?

TH: I started questioning my own relationships and I came up a little short with how I thought I was being so loving, and that I could really improve from what I've learned about horses. But the biggest moment came when someone said, “Do you love yourself?” And I thought, “Well, what do you mean? Do I love myself?” I thought it sounded kind of conceited. Well, the fact is, is that I didn't really love myself because there were times when I didn't think I was feeling adequate or I was enough. You know, you have that feeling that some people have, like they don't feel like they're enough or they're inadequate. So, I asked myself some questions - Where did I learn how to love myself? Did I learn it in college? Did I learn in books? The answer to that turned out from my mother and father. But if they didn't know how to love themselves, how could they teach me that I should? It is something that's been lacking in our human species for many, many years. More and more people have this lack of self-love, and that in order to have a loving relationship with a partner or husband or wife or a parent or a child, you have to love yourself first. Horses don't wake up and think, I wonder if I'm a good enough. Horses are already content with themselves so they can have good relationships with other horses.

GM: I guess I’ve never thought about it from that perspective, but it makes sense. Besides this profound concept, what would you like readers to take away from your book?

TH: So the big take away - I think what it boils down to in this new book is I want people to take another look at themselves and their relationships with humans and question what they think love is. Have a deeper look, if they can see ways to love themselves, and if not, got some help. Because unless people learn to love themselves and teach their children how to love themselves, we're going to continue with humans always feeling different. Like when a black horse sees another horse, he immediately feels safer. It doesn’t matter if it's a white horse, brown horse, dapple horse, or paint horse. But when a human sees another human, you don't necessarily feel safe. If the person is a different color, a different religion, a different ethnic group, a different socio-economical group they might not feel safe at all – and that's crazy because we're all the same. The way I found that out was by talking to people. When people open up and share what their thinking and feeling on their insides and not with comparing themselves with the superficial differences of the other people's outsides...they find out that, just like horses, we’re all the same. If we can get along with each other, maybe we can help humanity.

GM: We’re more emotionally tethered to our own beliefs, I guess. But what you want people to learn from your book is to learn how to love themselves so we can be part of a herd that bonds for safety and community.

TH: Exactly. And I'll go one further, I want people to realize that, like horses, we're not different. We're all the same species. We're the human species, as opposed to the equine species. We're just two different animals. We speak in English, horses speak in body language, but we're both species. We're predators. Horses are prey. And if people continue to see themselves with the superficial differences of race, religion, money, nationality, you know, if a person from China thinks they're different from a person from Ohio, they're not. That's what I hope people will take away from the book.

GM: Yes, it’s practical guidance for everyone, including dynamic insights as to why we need to accept our differences, even though we are the same. Are you still involved with horses now? I remember you had a favorite horse, Austin.

TH: My wife, Stephanie, who I’ve been married to for 13 years, is a horse woman. She specializes in something called Working Equitation. I don't know if they have it in Ohio yet, but it's a very popular new discipline which combines dressage with working cattle. It's fascinating. It's a lot of fun. She's got about ten horses. The horse I started out with and had his whole life was Austin. I wrote a chapter about Austin in my first book Riding Home. He lived to 32 years and that was three years ago. He finally passed away from old age. I didn't really have the motivation to start riding again, I didn't really feel like it. So, now I pretty much take it easy since I don't have the same strength and energy as I used to have. I'm around horses, but don't ride anymore. I support my wife and her endeavors. I never thought I'd hear dressage and cowboys in the same sentence.

GM: Intriguing and something to watch! It’s always fun to watch a new discipline evolve. What are your thoughts on the current BLM situation?

TH: I'm a huge fan of the BLM, what they've done to save the wild horses. As a matter of fact, ten years ago I spent a week in a big prison with something called the Wild Horse Inmates of Prison Program, where they have inmates who work with horses. That's a terrific program. When the inmates domesticate the horses, the horses can put up for adoption. They save the horses from slaughter. There’s always been controversy out West with the wild horses – they overstep their boundaries, onto ranches and cattle feed and all that. But I am a huge believer in saving all the horses. Anything that the BLM can do to preserve horses, I'm a big fan of that. I know it's very controversial.

GM: Can you provide guidance for beginner riders on how they can apply your perspectives on horsemanship?

TH: It starts with a horse - not on their back, but on the ground. The horse sees us as a predator. Horses know if we've had McDonald's for lunch, they can smell that we eat meat. So they're not too excited to be close to us. But the more the horse looks at us, he sees that we're not threatening him. A horse can tell everything you're thinking and feeling from your body language. Even if it's very subtle in our eyes, they can see what's going on inside. You can't lie to a horse. If you want to pretend that you're confident, the horse won't believe it unless you are confident. The horse will pick that up in a minute. So what happens is, the next thing a horse wants to do is to be with another horse because they'll feel safer. But it can also be with a person. Call it a herd of two, a herd of a human with a horse. And when that happens, the horses becomes very accepting and the person can feel that. They can feel that acceptance and it feels incredible. For some people it can be the first time they feel like they're being seen for who they really are because they are being who they really are. And it feels really good. So I think the thing that I've seen the most in all my workings with people and horses is that horses help people to feel good about themselves.

GM: Do you believe there is a horse breed that is more intuitive with humans?

TH: I have to say that being a cowboy and starting on a Quarter Horse and having one for more than 20 years, I love Quarter Horses. I love their intelligence. I love their gentleness, I love their athleticism. So I have to say if I had to pick a breed it would be the Quarter Horse. Austin was the horse who demonstrated horse human relationships. He was the love of my life.

GM: That's a good memory with Austin and it's special. I wish everyone could experience having a lifetime horse.

TH: If anybody wants to know more about me or see pictures of Austin or see some videos of me working with him, it's all on my website, with all of my books which is www.hayesisforhorses.com

Connect with Tim...

www.hayesisforhorses.com

Books by Tim Hayes

Riding Home: The Power of Horses to Heal, Introduction by Robert Redford (2016)

Horses,Humans, and Love: Powerful Lessons from the Herd―Compassion, Self-Worth, True Partnering, Heartfelt Parenting