My decision to become a horse owner was made quite impulsively, following a series of coincidences, centering on my playing the role, in a TV commercial, of a character who bore some resemblance to one of my boyhood heroes, The Lone Ranger.   It was filmed at the Bell Movie Ranch in North Hollywood in a shooting that lasted for two days, most of which had me on horseback.

     From the time I was old enough to ride a bicycle, I rode horses that belonged to a family friend at virtually every opportunity, on weekends and after school on weekdays.  This continued until I entered college, in pursuit of a career in television news.

     My choice of career was a compromise between what I REALLY wanted to do (acting and horses) and what my parents thought would be a more realistic and less risky career (Business Administration, since I absolutely refused to consider becoming a doctor or lawyer).

    So, here I was in San Francisco, an apparently successful local TV news reporter and part time anchorperson, who had been chosen to broadcast nightly news features as Channel-Seven's ombudsman (defender of individual rights and helper of the little guy who's been wronged by big business or the government bureacracy), on a broadcast called "Action-Seven".  And, this being California (which all the nuts and bolts supposedly rolled into when God tilted the earth, even before things in that state got really bad), the decision was made to cast me in the roles of Lone Ranger and Superman "helper of the little guy" types.

    Although, at this time, I hadn't been on a horse in over ten years, I still rememberd the experience of getting so sore in the legs after a long horseback ride, when I hadn't worked up to it.  So, to prepare for the filming, I went out to Golden Gate Park and rode on rental horses, to the point where I was comfortable riding for six or seven hours a day (renting two or three different horses and riding with six or seven different trail groups each riding day).

     The commercial filming was lots of fun, but very tiresome, with each day's shooting running over twelve hours.  And, when I woke up the day after my return flight to San Francisco, I didn't have any plans for the rest of the day.  So, I decided to go riding in the park.  And after a couple of subsequent days of still riding six or seven hours a day, I concluded that the riding "bug" had "bitten" me again.  And, I thought it certainly would be cheaper to have my own horse, than continue to pay for hour after hour of horse rental charges.  And, there you have the sum of my qualifications to take responsibility for the health and well being of an animal, that continues to defy complete understanding, even for people who have devoted their entire life to its study, in regard to certain aspects of its health, intelligence and behavior.

     Following a number of related coincidences, I wound up talking with some Arabian horse breeders, who were neighbors of a film editor I sometimes worked with at Channel-7.  And, I knew absolutely nothing about Arabians or any other breed of horses, except for what I had read as a kid in Marguerite Henry's book, Album of Horses.  (It's STILL a number one read for kids, I think.)

     As you may suspect, I was totally impressed and overwhelmed by everything I saw and heard, during my visit to the Arabian horse ranch.  Having never in my life lived or worked on a farm or a ranch, and after living for the previous ten or so years in one and two bedroom apartments, I was completely taken in by the spacious scenery and, to me, apparently wonderful living conditions for the horses.  In rental stables I had been to, I was used to seeing them tied in very narrow, so called standing stalls (or slot stalls).  Here, each horse had his or her own outdoor run and/or box stall.

    The breeders explained to me that the comparatively high prices for the purchase of Arabians, compared with many other breeds, really should not be that much of a consideration, because the main financial concern in owning a horse is the continuing cost, during the animal's entire life,for expenditures such as feed, veterinary horse shoeing and boarding charges, to name just a few.

    Feeling really confident  that I was hearing all I really needed to know from people who were exceptionally well informed and being absolutely forthright, I promptly purchased my first horse, Natam Two.   Additionally, I entered into an arrangement with them, that Natam could be boarded at their facility, not even having to move from his horse "apartment" at the time, which consisted both of an outdoor horse "run" (the term "pen" would be more accurate) and a box stall in the adjoining barn.

    Natam, who was just nearing his first birthday, was to spend approximately the next five years in this "apartment".  And, throughout that time, I continued to think his living environment was absolutely the best kind of arrangement that was possible for a horse, even during the annual rainy season, when Natam had nothing to do, when I was not visiting, except eat a few quick meals, drink some water, and stand around in the mud slop.  In the years that have passed, I have come to take quite a different view of this situation, now believing that people in the business of breeding horses should feel OBLIGATED to set a much higher standard for their horses, by keeping them in a much more natural environment.

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