Frank’s new book “The Horses That Touched My Heart” is now available!

This book is a compilation of heart-warming stories Frank has written through the years about the exceptional horses he has encountered and the circumstances that surrounded their lives and recovery. GET IT HERE!

Excerpt from the book
Moonstruck: Who is Teaching Whom?

It is interesting to look back upon one’s life and realize that some of life’s greatest, most powerful lessons − the kind that can instantaneously transform us, or the kind that can even end up remarkably vaulting us down previously unplanned life paths − can often happen in just the blink of an eye. Or even…in the quick, resounding crunch of a bone.

It was the late 1980s and I was on the back of a horse who was about to teach me the most important lesson of my horse career; unbeknownst to me at the time, it was a lesson that would go on to benefit riders and trainers and instructors throughout the world for years to come. I was on my second two-year-old Argentine filly of the day and neither horse previously had been ridden. The first, a sweet chestnut, had been a breeze, and we seemed to fit each other like old friends. But the second filly was quite another story; clearly she was having a bad day, but it was a bad day that would transform my life forever.

It hadn’t started out that bad. I saddled up the second, more spirited filly, and had done my groundwork, then climbed right on confidently. With my earlier success of the day working the easier filly, I was feeling downright just a little cocky. You see, this was only the second unbroken horse I ever had been on, and I had absolutely no idea then how quickly and violently it can turn.

Her name was Moonstruck, so-dubbed for the obvious bright white moon on her almost-black forehead. She was of the finest South American breeding, very high strung, which isn’t necessarily an undesirable trait for a horse headed into the fast-paced, very demanding world of polo. Little did I know that day, but Moonstruck would later go on to become one of the fastest horses in the game of polo, and would carry one of the most infamous polo players of all time: the future King of England, Prince Charles. But today Moonstruck was still green. She had her young mind on other things, namely, sheer terror and the absolute determination to unload her rider.

Read the full story - Moonstruck: Who is Teaching Whom? (PDF)

Excerpt from the book
Ambella Reincarnated

I was driving back to Colorado through Wyoming and feeling the need to connect with some creatures. My eyes were scanning the landscape for horses when entering the Popoagie reservation near Riverton, Wyoming. As I came over a rise after along uphill haul my eye caught a herd of horses running through the sagebrush in the waning sun. The dust was thick in the late dry fall as he horses circled and then settled at the bottom of the draw next to a very small creek. As I neared they drifted singly and in pairs into the water for a good drink then ambled back into the sage and began to graze, spreading out in search of the scant fall grasses. I parked about a hundred yards away and got out slowly. Just as I closed the door and was slipping on a coat, a beautiful buckskin emerged from the water. Our eyes met as water dribbled from her mouth. She was magnificent and almost statuesque as the sun gleamed off her deep tan coat, black mane and lower legs and the very pronounced black stripe that ran down the middle of her back.

My heart pounded as I walked toward her as she did the same. I felt an immediate connection as I was reminded of a horse named Ambella that had taken a piece of my heart with her early in my equine journey. She passed the other horses, several of them looking up as she walked by with purpose and direction. I hunkered down and worked my way through the barbed wire fence getting my coat caught en route. As I awkwardly tried to free myself from the barb, the buckskin approached. "Hey Baby," I purred. "What a pretty girl you are". She kept coming, but I still wasn't through the fence. In front of humans it's called embarrassment. In front of a horse it's about keeping cool. Again my attention was totally on my predicament. By now she was right there saying "You humans are something else." I finally backed off easing toward the road and the barb released itself. I slowly took my coat off and hung it off the fence post. She came right over and gave it a good sniffing as I worked my way through the fence and slowly approached my new friend.

Read the full story - Ambella Reincarnated (PDF)