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Animal Attractions : Piru Man Trains Horses, Goats and Pigs for Movies, TV

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

The chestnut horse reared up and down, making the arena’s red dustswirl as trainer Phil Smith barked orders.

“Back up! Slowly,” Smith bellowed as he swung a slim leather whip across the horse’s body. “There we go. Good.”

For Smith, ordering animals around is a way of life.

The Piru resident is one of dozens of trainers across California who turn animals into actors for the film and television industry.

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Smith’s animals have landed roles in such movies as “Back to the Future Part III,” “Beverly Hills Cop II,” “Mobsters” and “The Golden Child.” And they have been on television shows such as “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” “Guns of Paradise” and “Fine Things.”

“It’s a hard job, but I love it,” said Smith, who currently commutes from Piru to the Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills to provide animals for the TV show “Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman.”

Smith, a Colorado native, owns Phil’s Livestock & Equipment Ranch in Piru. On his 38-acre ranch on Center Street, Smith trains about 60 horses and dozens of goats, pigs, sheep and chickens to perform for the big and small screens.

With the help of a few assistants, Smith teaches pigs to waddle down stairs, goats to trot and horses to neigh at his command.

“The key to the job is not only training the animals, but being sensitive to their needs,” Smith said, adding that he often surprises film directors by removing a horse or goat from a scene. “People sometimes have a hard time understanding that the animals also experience mental strain and, like people, there is just so much they can do in one day.”

To avoid delays in filming, Smith often recommends that customers rent two horses instead of one, so the animals can take breaks during long filming days.

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Although Smith can make as much as $1,000 a day, the money mostly goes back into the ranch, he said.

“Nobody ever got rich on this business,” said Smith, who has been in the film-animal industry for 20 years. “Most people go broke. I feel I’ve been lucky.”

And Smith provides more than animals.

A cavernous two-story shed at his ranch is filled with animal equipment, including 60 carriages and wagons in styles ranging from a traditional 18th-Century French carriage to a $60,000 stagecoach.

“Being able to provide the right carriage can play an important role in whether I get a contract for a film,” said Smith, who often goes to antique shows around California to buy the wagons. “They can be just as important as the animals.”

Occasionally, scripts call for burning carriages that he spent days looking for.

“The good part is that I’m paid for it,” he said. “But sometimes it’s hard to watch a nice piece of machinery burn.”

Another room in his ranch is filled with saddles of all colors and shapes.

As taciturn and plain-spoken as a movie cowboy, Smith said he moved to Piru from Sunland five years ago because of Piru’s small size and tranquillity.

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“I don’t worry about security as much as I would worry if I were in a place like the Valley,” Smith said. “And I love the quietness around here.”

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