On Nov. 16 Robert M Miller, DVM, renowned large and exotic animal veterinarian and equine behaviorist, writer, speaker, founder of the award-winning Conejo Valley Veterinary Clinic, and beloved husband and father, died peacefully at his Thousand Oaks, California, Quarter Horse and mule ranch in the company of his family.

Miller is best-known for revolutionizing the concept of imprint training and early learning as it pertains to newborn foals and for being an early adopter of relationship-based horsemanship, a movement that involves handling, training, and riding equids using humane, scientifically proven, noncoercive methods. Miller was also a prolific veterinary and cowboy cartoonist and humorist who went by the moniker “RMM.”

Born on Staten Island, New York, on March 4, 1927, Miller’s earliest exposure to horses came as a teenager, during summers spent working on farms and dairies in the Northeast. Following two years of military service in post-occupation Germany, he relocated to Tucson, Arizona, where his family was residing, and used his GI Bill to attend the University of Arizona, where he earned a BS in animal husbandry.

Miller received his veterinary degree from Colorado State University (then Colorado A&M) in 1956, the same year he met his future wife, Debby, a fellow student and champion barrel racer for the university team. In 1957 the couple moved to Thousand Oaks and founded the Conejo Valley Veterinary Clinic, the region’s first animal hospital. The clinic received the American Veterinary Hospital Association’s Animal Hospital of the Year award in 1969, and Miller was also instrumental in helping advance the practice of veterinary medicine on all manner of domestic and exotic species; some of his notable clients included Circus Vargas, Jungleland, and Pacific Ocean Park.

By the 1980s Miller was avidly following in the footsteps of relationship-based horsemanship founders and mentors Bill and Tom Dorrance.

He received dozens of awards for his achievements, including the Bustad Companion Animal Veterinarian of the Year Award, an induction into the Western States Horse Expo’s Hall of Fame, and the Western Horseman Award. For the remainder of his life, Miller dedicated himself to making the world a better place for equids.

During his 50-year-plus career, Miller authored 23 books on equine health and behavior, a memoir, Most of My Patients are Animals (now retitled Yes, We Treat Aardvarks),and contributed to numerous veterinary and equine publications. He also served on the editorial staff of Veterinary Medicine and was the magazine’s long-running “Mind Over Miller” columnist. As a practitioner and clinician, Miller visited six continents conducting horsemanship clinics and teaching imprint training, which has been implemented in stables, breeding programs, zoos, wildlife sanctuaries, and game preserves worldwide. He continued to travel, write, and lecture into his mid-90s.

In his free time Miller was an avid skier, rider, reader, and outdoor recreationalist. A man of brilliant intellect, great compassion, wide-ranging interests, and insatiable curiosity, he loved and lived life to the fullest up until his passing; he died holding the reins from his favorite mule, Scooter. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Debby, son Mark, daughter Laurel, and dog Oliver.

Miller’s family has established two academic scholarships in his honor to ensure his legacy continues; in lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Dr. Robert M Miller, DVM Academic Memorial Scholarship for the Natural Horsemanship program at University of Montana Western, or make a gift in his memory for a veterinary student specializing in equine science at CSU. You can also mail the gift to CSU Foundation, PO Box 1870, Fort Collins, CO 80522. A formal scholarship at CSU will be established in 2025.