Höglund, Don 1952-

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Höglund, Don 1952-

PERSONAL:

Born 1952. Education: Colorado State University, D.V.M., M.S.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Willow Spring, NC; and NM. E-mail—drdonhoglund@nobodyshorses.com.

CAREER:

Department of the Interior's Wild Horse Prison Inmate Training Program, filled seven contracts gentling horses with the assistance of prisoners, 1986-92; owner and president of International Veterinary Consultants and Prion Technologies. Has served as a consultant, breeder, and trainer of horses for various entertainment venues, including Disneyland Paris, the Excalibur Hotel, Las Vegas, NV, and for various film projects.

WRITINGS:

Nobody's Horses: The Dramatic Rescue of the Wild Herd of White Sands, Free Press (New York, NY), 2006.

SIDELIGHTS:

Don Höglund is a doctor of veterinary medicine who specializes in companion animal medicine, surgery, dentistry, nutrition, oncology, pharmacology, and equine sports medicine. Höglund is also the founder of two companies: International Veterinary Consultants, which provides advice on animal heath and welfare for a number of organizations, and Prion Technologies, which consults on a number of animal-borne illnesses, such as Mad Cow Disease; Höglund invented a decontamination process to help prevent such illnesses. He works primarily with horses, developing and training them for personal, productive, and performance uses. He has worked with various film companies, Disneyland Paris, and individuals such as former Walt Disney Company chief executive officer Michael Eisner and actors Don Johnson and Melanie Griffith. In addition, he has assisted the Department of the Interior's Wild Horse Prison Inmate Training Program, which teaches prisoners to work with wild mustangs as a way of encouraging nonviolence.

Nobody's Horses: The Dramatic Rescue of the Wild Herd of White Sands, Höglund's first book, tells the story of how, during a serious drought in New Mexico in 1995, more than two thousand wild horses were rounded up off the White Sands Missile Range. There they had roamed free, but were dying due to lack of food and water. Höglund not only orchestrated the rescue, but also provided space for the horses to live until permanent homes were found for them. Terri Schlichenmeyer, in a review for the Palo Alto Daily News, observed: "While Höglund is a veterinarian by trade, he's also a darn good writer. His recollections of the herding and capture of these last [vestiges] of the Old West are sad and resigned, exciting and exhilarating." Library Journal critic Deborah Emerson called the book "a tale of high adventure, complete with stampedes, escaping horses, injuries, [and] helicopter chases."