After a lifetime of studying OPH -- Other People's Horses -- Michelle got her first horse in 1990. Austin the Wonder Horse -- an Arabian breeding farm reject -- launched her into the horse rescue field. Austin was followed by Sara, his sister, then Chief. Austin and Sara and a string of other "rejects" went on to new "forever homes" but Chief lived with Michelle and her husband, Michael, until his death in 2007, one month shy of his 34th birthday.

"Our horses are "pasture potatoes", producing manure for the neighborhood gardens, as well as our own," says Michelle with a smile.

They are also "horse behavior subjects", "guinea pigs" for training sessions, and carrot moochers.

Upon retiring in 1999, Michelle narrowed her field of rescue to Standardbreds (harness racing horses) and is still active in rescue through the development of a rescue website, http://staplhorse.tripod.com, which has been turned over to younger and enthusiastic rescuers, and a West Coast mail list.

To satisfy a love of learning and an interest in medicine, Michelle became an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) and a CPR instructor, as well as becoming involved in disaster preparedness in her community, completing half a dozen American Red Cross classes and approximately twenty five FEMA online classes in disaster management. This led to becoming a HAM Radio Operator, a CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) instructor, and to developing an Advanced CERT Workshop, a "pet" component for CERT, an Animal Disaster Plan for her county, and, of course, her"Teach it Yourself" classes : Horse Awareness and Safety, a horse basics class, Emergency Pet First Aid and Introduction to LAR for Horse Owners, that uses her book as a textbook.