Hubble's Debut as a Demo Horse

Today I gave a trail clinic to students. It was from 8:00 a.m.- 1:30p.m. That is probably the longest Hubble has had to work yet- with the exception of Horsexpo which was just standing in his stall. It was an interesting day with Hubble. He did really real. I had him side passing and pivoting and giving to pressure, going over and through obstacles... but he did have a few issues. Remember when Hubble came to me that he was covered in bite and kick mark scars? (read earlier posts and see photos)That was every indication to me that he was probably low man on the totem pole. Hubble has displayed in the past that he has issues with horses coming up from behind on him. He displays fearful behavior and tries to run away. Rememeber when I took him to Ranchotel and he spooked at the horse in the warmup arena cantering around? Well, today he did more than spook, he was a run away- a controled run away but in my book when a horse ignores you that is a run away. I was able to turn him and to control him but it was a run away situation. Not a big deal- just something we have to work on. But in thinking about why this occurred I realized it occurred while I was taking my students for a trail ride after a morning of arena work. He had displayed a little bit of concern in the arena so I wasn't really surprised at his behavior. I tell my students all the time, "Know what your horse is going to do before he does it." But I'm finding out that Mustangs (or at least my mustang) is a different species. He's all horse but there is that extra "wild" that may always be a part of him. His keen instinct. When something tells him he is going to die he doesn't take time to think it over. Out on the trail ride he found the other horses intimidating and just couldn't handle them coming up on his back side or getting too close on his sides for that matter. Equine behavior is what it is in that being low man on the totem pole he knows his position is to move out of the way or to get away or get kicked or bit. He was certain this was going to happen to him and he was outa there. He didn't buck and once he hit the bit he came back to me... eventaually. He hasn't displayed this behavior under saddle, yet I haven't riden him with so many other horses around him before. Just one previously. In thinking about this and why he acts so fearfully (and violently exagerated) I can't help but wonder about when the BLM "Gathered" Hubble,(that's what they call a roundup for those who don't know BLM lingo... for heaven sakes just call it what it is- leave the politically correct mumbo jumbo back at the barn), if it was like most gatherings he was rounded up by a helicopter, run towards a "catch", a "Judas" horse usually comes along at some point of confusion and leads the herd into their captivity which is a shrinking pathway that ends in a stock trailer. As the horses run through the "cowboys" close partitions off behind them shrinking their space more and more. Sometimes there may be as many as 15 horses being run into a trailer. Sometimes they aren't all friendly either and definetly are panicked. They have to ride in this trailer crammed all together and quite possibly not all getting along... Think of your own domesticated horses. Some just don't travel well together. Getting a bit banged up is the norm for these mustangs. Once at the BLM holding pens it is my understanding they are separated by gender. Stallions get tossed together. Now I ask you... Do stallions normally get along well together? And how about when there are mares around? Hm... Spells trouble to me. Until they are gelded there they are... all together. And which one of us is so naive to think that immediately following being gelded that once-stallion is going to change his evil ways. He is still going to fight for his position. I have never been to a BLM Holding Pen area but my hunch is that the gelding pens are "active" at first. So logic tells me maybe Hubble fought for his life in one of these holding pens? And he is easily intimidated because of that? Makes you wonder... Also, by nature Hubble is not a Challenging-Personality horse. He is a Social-Aloof-Personality horse. I have made equine behavior one of my areas of study. I have identified five core personalities. Hubble's problem with being afraid of other horses may be something tied to his personality type and herd position together. It helps to understand the "Why" behind something. It helps me anticipate behavior for one thing and tells me how I should approach training as well. Once personalities are identified training can become very spedcific geared for how that personality type generally responds to things. It makes training progress much more quickly and acurately/precisely. Understanding what his herd dynamics could have been gives me things to keep in check. I expect Hubble to be able to learn to control his emotions. But I have never trained a pure mustang before. Only mustang crosses and while they can be a bit unnique compared to a Thoroughbred or a quarter horse, I have never experienced something like Hubble. And mind you I have riden and trained hundreds of horses.
I thought I would write about this so that you can maybe learn some insights from it. Join me next time as I write about how I am overcoming this behavior with Hubble. By the way... what did you think of the water crossing?! Pretty impressive huh? Can your horse do that? Without balking? I'm so proud of Hubble... Oh, one last thing about today that was especially cute. At one point I tied Hubble up so I could teach Spook in Place to the group. When I teach Spooking in Place I need to be "horse free" because I do things like ride a bike, jump at the horses with a tarp, open an umbrella at them, bounce a ball, etc.. The exercise is designed to teach the horses to control their emotions and to listen to the rider. At one point I was jumping around making a "Yeeow!" sound to try to intimidate the horses. Hubble was about 300 feet away and couldn't see me. When he heard my voice that sounded a bit distressed he immediately called out to me and raised his head alertedly thinking I must have been in distress. He was worried about me. Aw... My Hubble takes care of me! He loves me... and I love him too. :-)

How was Hubble this week?

Hubble is progressing in his training. We've riden in the round pen, we've riden in the 150 x 200 arena, we've riden outside of the arena and have even gone on a mini trail ride. He is a meanderer. He has two speeds... S-l-o-w and v-e-r-y s-l-o-w.
Hubble has always stood still while I mount up. On our first few rides he seemed confused as to what I was asking for. I simply wanted him to go forward. He would take a step and stop. I used the Bridle Technique I teach in my clinics and lessons to get him to follow his nose and to take steps. We zig zagged around the first few rides. Finally I decided to give im the answer and had my M.O.M. (Marketing and Operations Manager) mother, Rhonda, come in and lead him around a few times while I gave him cues from his back. With every step there was a release of pressure on the lead line. With every step there was a release from my tapping his sides with my leg. With every step my kiss would cease. After a few times around the round pen M.O.M. left us to do it on our own and Hubble did. Very s-l-o-w-l-y. His speed has improved and we will continue to work on that. Presently I am using the Serpentine Technique to teach him to give to pressure, follow his nose and to be light on the bit. I mix it up for him by asking him to step over things while performing the technique I am asking for. He has to think about where his feet are, where his head is set and me. I have to say I am very pleased at how easy he seems to be thus far. We haven't had a disagreement yet. Well actually there was one- At first Hubble didn't want to go back to his paddock after our work time together. He is a very affectionate and interactive horse who loves attention. He would stop in the shade of some oaks I have leading to his paddock and wouldn't budge. So now we pause there. He drinks in the shade and then we move on... Its his reward for a job well done. He'll move through if I ask him to- I don't want him to develop bad habits but he is kind of funny- there are certain things he likes and standing in the shade with me petting him is one of those things. Its allowed. It's good for me because I have a string of horses to get through in a day and he makes me pause in my busy schedule to just chill for a minute or two. Its a good way to end our work time! I take care of Hubble and Hubble takes care of me...

We're back! Horsexpo was an amazing time this year.

It was good to visit with old Horsexpo friends from across the country.

So many people stopped by to say hello and to all of you who did and are reading this- I love you all- it was so good to see you all! I can't put into words adequately the thanks I feel towards Phil and Adrienne Eichenberger, Christine Harlan, Steve and Dan Buckner and Angela Adams for their help in setting up my compulsory course for me. It was a complicated course and they did it all in a minute! Good job! Thanks to Sally, Phil and Adrienne and Shannon for helping out at the booth and at Hubble's stall.

The crew at the Grace Foundation were amazing! I felt like a queen! Anything I needed or wanted... they were there with a smile and were jumping at the opportunity to be of help. Dave was an amazing machine... what an absolute sweetheart of a man! And Lisa too- just an absolute doll... Margie was such a support and Sheree too. And Linda - you rock! You did it! Dr. Mike took care of watching over Hubble's health... Horsexpo was exhausting enough but if I would have had to have cleaned Hubble's stall I think it would have been the icing on the cake... Thank you to the girls who dutifully cleaned it for me!!! The judges gave of themselves and their time... The food was muchly appreciated as it kept my energy level where it needed to be. Thank you, thank you, thank you all!

I was grateful to The Grace Foundation of Northern California and Beth for having the vision to attempt this event and for the opportunity their HELP Rescue Me Trainer's Showcase afforded me. We benefited mutually and the best part is that Hubble benefited. I adopted him! He's my guy...

The other trainers that I got to meet and spend a little bit of time with were wonderful and supportive of each other. Thank you to you guys! Stacey and Mary Beth, I enjoyed our little routine at the Thursday night program. You guys rock!

If Hubble could read or understand I would say a special thank you to him too... He really tried his heart out for me. He was such a trooper at Horsexpo with all the new sights and sounds. I actually think he liked the attention and he genuinely seemed interested at times in what it was all about. I even saw a playful side to him I have not seen to date. We're growing together...

Finally a special thanks top my M.O.M. = Marketing & Operations Manager, my mother Rhonda! Without her help my task would be all the more difficult. Her loving support has meant the world to me!

We didn't win the Trainer's Showcase Competition but I couldn't have asked for a more perfect compulsory routine. Hubble performed in 40 mile per hour wind gusts without a care. He was his usual quiet, calm self. For those of you who didn't catch it- it was amazing! He began with wearing a saddle and bridle, I threw a yellow rain slicker over his saddle (which blew off and wrapped around his legs just before beginning our routine- he didn't really care). We began by carrying the American flag over over cavaletti and across a "bridge". I handed the flag off to my M.O.M., removed his slicker, had him walk over it as it tried to blow away, got on a bicycle and led him with a loose lead line while I rode it over to a blue barrel where I laid down the bicycle and picked up an umbrella. I opened the umbrella and proceeded over to some poles laid out in a zig-zag fashion. We walked in between the poles and then backed out quietly with head down and straight; Hubble neatly picked up his feet as he backed- not dragging them. Then I had him step his front feet into the pole pathway and proceeded to side pass him down the zig-zag pattern without touching a pole. We entered the pole pathway and stepped over some tall logs I had laid out across it to a mounting block. At the mounting block I took a pool noodle and moved it between his front and hind legs, over his hip and head and then threw it under his belly. I then picked up some fly spray and sprayed him all over- I kind of came up on his face fast because the announcer interrupted my concentration with a 30 second announcement but he didn't move his feet- just his head away. I then picked up a pellet gun and fired it from my hip. He didn't even flinch. Good boy! I mounted the mounting block and had him bring his hip to me by pointing my finger at it, I leaned over the saddle and flapped the stirrups. Then I got off and ground tied him and walked around and picked up all four feet. I then had Hubble bring his head to the ground while I knelt and made it appear I was praying. I finished up by cradling his head in my arms against my chest. As I walked away I applauded him- the crowd cheered and clapped along. All the while he was ho-hum about it all. This horse has an amazing mind! God blessed us with a perfect routine! The other judge's routine he had to perform the day before was flawless as well. He never spooked or objected to anything I asked of him nor took a misstep. This all from a horse I did not know would be ready to go to Horsexpo the week before.

Hubble has been showing me he was ready to ride. I would have started him last week but we were at Expo. So first thing this morning I rode Hubble!!! He didn't even care. He just kinda looked at me like "it's about time". He was his typical laid back, ho hum, self. He really enjoys being out and being worked. Plans are to continue to work Hubble over the next 50 days to see where we would have ended up had we gotten the full 70 days to work together. If you recall I only got 20 days on him due to health issues caused by his desperate condition when he was rescued from Three Strikes ranch. It is impossible to know for certain any rescue horse's condition internally. It was no fault of the Grace Foundation that Hubble was having issues. They did their part well. Hubble needed a lot of help, obviously, and it was fortuitous that he picked me because rehabilitation happens to be one of my fortays.
I invite you to follow along as I document Hubble's progress. At the end of the 50 days, I plan to celebrate by holding an open barn/demonstration clinic where Hubble will perform! ... All will be invited- stay tuned for further information.

What can I say? Hubble is amazing! And we've had a miracle! I've trained hundreds of horses and NEVER have I had one who picks things up so easily and with such a calm demeanor! Sunday we drove out to Pena Adobe Park again. It was a busy Sunday, peole crawling all over that place. Hubble dealt with it all like it was old hat to him. Next we went right over to Ranchotel for the schooling show over there. That was an intimidating place for a "wild" horse who had only been off the ranch twice- this being his second time. His emotions were a little raised but nothing he didn't control. The only thing he seemed to really react to and was worried about was the horses in the warm up arena cantering up behind him. Low man on the totem pole that is I think he thought he needed to move- normal herd behavior. Evidense that instinctual behavior is still there. He jumped to the side and hit the end of the line and came right to me. Mind you he has never been in an arena with riders and has never heard clapping and a loud speaker and bleachers... and those barrels- they couldn't get more into that warm up arena- there wouldnt've been room for more- there had to have been about 8! He didn't seem to care about any of it. He sure was looking around though. Curious looking though. Not nervous looking for a place to escape to. It was a miraculous day! Today we will work on the ball. He doesn't like it and snorted at it when I introduced it. We'll fix that! My client Phil is coming to ride around while I work Hubble so he can get used to horses coming up on him. We'll practice our routine too today. Busy day... and I'"m cleaning tack and packing for Horsexpo. Horsexpo...here we come!

Today we are exactly a week away from Horsexpo! This has been an amazing experience! Where is Hubble in his training? For two weeks now I have been working with training him. If you recall for the first 60 days he was too ill to train. He was weak. For example,when I tried to lunge him, after only a minute, he had broken into a sweat and his respiratory was fast and wouldn't come down for 15 minutes. I don't know about you but to me that is a good indicator this boy had something seriously wrong going on. We worked on it slowly, taking everything at a walk to begin with. With his ground manners coming along really, really well we progrssed to bridle work. Once his physical condition improved we were able to progress to round penning. Then on to sacking out. Which was absolutely no big deal. That is how it should be. By the time you get to that point the trust should be established and it was. And one day I put a saddle on him and the rest is history... Well, almost- I still haven't mounted him- but he wears a saddle now! Anything I want- he does it. Such a smart boy! This week alone I taught him to clip- he could have cared less- boring, he walks over bridges, through gates, over poles and big logs, over tarps, you name it he does it. I even had a 3 foot high stack of rubber mats and I thought "Hmmm. I wonder..." Sure enough, he climbed that little "mat mountain" for me and stood there like he was king of the hill! I'll have to get a picture of him on top. My goal is to expose him to as many things as I can. Today I took him around the ranch, we zigged and zagged up a hill and then walked alongside a couple of my students as they rode along. We went by some excavation equipment- big earth movers and such and he just plodded along. He visited a boat that I have parked on the property that has a tarp on it that flaps in the wind and some tractor equipment... not a big deal. Later we loaded up in the trailer and drove 15 miles down the road to Pena Adobe Park. There I worked him among the bicyclists, joggers, dog people, geese, lake, wierd playground equipment. All with the noise of highway 80 closeby. He has never been off my ranch mind you. Once he realized this was a safe place,he actually seemed to enjoy himself! I took him over to a building with a trash can in front of it- so what. I took him over to the playground- the slide was wierd and someone sliding down it was even more wierd but then he got bored with it. There were aluminum tables closeby and I had my mom getting up and down and stomping around- they sound like bleachers- at first he jumped when she jumped off but when he realized everything was fine after repetition he didn't care anymore. I took him around and through things and by intimidating wierd power boxes that hummed- he got right up next to one and just stood there- and he had to step up on the concrete about 8 inches. I desensitized him to a flag. If someone ever wanted to ride with a flag I think he proved to me he could handle it today. There was a good wind and that flag was flapping all over the place- he could have cared less. Hubble has a wonderful mind and is such a gentle horse. He is such a delight to work with... and as his reward... he gets cookies and carrots which he loves! I think he's pretty happy- and isn't that the goal? We're working on our routine and learning some special techniques that are a little more advanced. Hubble will be what he is come Horsexpo and after horsexpo we will continue to work and I will continue to train him into the amazing horse that he has the potential and that I see in him to be. It is so nice to be able to take my time with him and to not feel pressure to get him to any particular point. Each day as he can take it... Tomorrow plans are to go visit another ranch and then Sunday we are actually going to be in a schooling show at Ranchotel! Check back for the results and photos!

I recieved a phone call today from Grace Foundation's vet about Punkin, the little mustang mare I had for a little while. I returned her to the Grace Foundation because she was having health issues. I heard today that Punkin passed away from a stone impaction. She had a stone in her gut that was causing her pain. Poor Punkin. When she was starving in the feed lot she must have eaten a lot of sand. She had the stone long before I got her.
I cried when I heard. Punkin had health issues the first day I brought her home. I was not able to help her anymore and took her back. Grace Foundation did everything they could for her. Between the grace Foundation and I, Punkin had a time in her life without suffering. She wasn't starving or being miss-treated, she was loved and safe ... and for a short period of time, she knew what it was to be someone's horse. Punkin and I had a bond... she was a sweetheart. I have decided to do a tribute to her at Expo. Stop by to see it. Hubble is carrying the flag of hope now for these poor mistreated mustangs.
Poor Punkin, if someone would have cared, she wouldn't have suffered starvation, losing a foal at a feed lot, and the other horrors she must have experienced. The Grace Foundation cared and rescued her. I cared and took her to train her for the Trainers Showcase at Expo to try and get her adopted. She showed me that if someone would have cared for her before she would have been an incredible little horse. She showed me her potential, such a waste and so sad.
Punkin is my motivation to join the effort to make a difference in these horse's lives... may her story touch your heart as it has mine.

We are 20 days from the HELP Rescue Me Trainer's Showcase at Horsexpo 2010. Do I feel Hubble is ready to step into the competition and win it? Nope. Nope. and Nope. Am I optimistic? Yes I am. Anything can happen. Break-throughs happen all the time in this business. Sometimes the light bulb just goes on. The thing that I am reminded of though is that this horse is a wild mustang. He is a wild animal. Can he adapt to domestication? Yes he can and he has already. But these horses require a special approach to training. One that takes time- at their time. A horse can only learn as fast as THEY can learn- not as fast as we decide they should learn. It is a "take each day as it comes" experience with Hubble. I have my goals for him but there are so many things that can interfere with those goals and confound them.

Hubble's health is a constant concern. I am very pleased to say he seems to be doing really, really well. The only thing I can visibly see that is problematic for him is his coat is itchy... he is constantly rubbing. I don't see any evidense on his skin that he should have any reason for this behavior. It could very well be he just enjoys rubbing- where in the herd situation he maybe would have enjoyed social grooming he now doesn't get that except from me when I come in to groom him.

I recently did a class on vices and included a segment on behavior of wild verses domesticated horses. We should remember we have to provide for their natural species specific behavior... so my grooming is replacement of social grooming in a herd for example. Providing ample, open feed rich pasture replaces wide open, fence free spaces wild horses enjoy. As we saw in Punkin if you don't provide for these natural species behaviors as closely as you can you will see behavior crop up as an indicator something is missing. With Hubble it very well could be he misses the social grooming of the herd environment.

How is Hubble's training progressing? Slowly. As mentioned there are always things that interfere with our plans... As a trainer I have to be able to remain flexible and spontaneous. The other day I wish I could have been Gumby- a horse in training pulled back and took my shoulder with him. Now my right arm is out of commission. I am having to adjust my training to using only one arm. And I have to be careful to protect that one arm and not over do it. This causes me to invest in "thought time"... I have to literally "take a break" and go and come up with a lesson plan that accomodates my disability. I've had to do this before- it is the nature of being a trainer. Accidents are just that- accidents. You can be as careful as can be- there is always the chance of an accident. Just like driving a car- you can be the best driver and then wham! out of nowhere comes another car that collides with you. I don't have the luxary of taking off time to heal- I have to heal on the job. It serves as a challenge to overcome- I do well with challenges.

Hubble has learned to give to pressure, among other things. He is a thinker and I have experienced that I have to give him time to consider things. The trick is to not give him too much time though. I'm thinking Hubble has some draft horse in him because he has feathering on all four legs like that of a draft horse. His bone structure reminds me of a draft horse as well. AND his brain is like the many draft horses I have worked with- S-S-L-L-L-O-W-W. I have found that Hubble can be shown things and left to consider them- when I come back he has worked it all out in his mind and does what I want. It is amazing how it works with him. Like teaching him to go into the stall. I spent quite a bit of time just getting him up to the doorway and to stick his head in there... that was the lesson. I had planned on getting him in it the next day. When I came the next morning there was no Hubble in sight. My heart kind of skipped a beat- his gate was locked... I didn't see any horse out walking around... Where was he? Then I saw him walk out of his stall covered in wood shavings. He obviously thought about it, invetigated and found it a good place to hang out. Now he is a stall rat. He loves his shavings and stall. This example serves as proof if you give a horse enough time to consider things- to think about something and keep the experiences positive- they may end up giving you what you are looking for.

Now that my arm is goofed up I am going to have to forgo some of the training for a time. We'll go to the round pen and move on to some other exercises in that environment that will contribute to that foundational training I am trying to put on him.

Last Sunday we did a photo shoot of Hubble. We walked all over the property- a totally unknown and new environment for him. He was calm, quiet and actually seemed pretty bored with it all. I was pleased.
View the photos below.

I want to give those of you a heads up that have been following the progress of these mustangs that I will be available to meet and speak with you at Horsexpo at the HELP Rescue Me Trainer's Challenge. I will also be assesible at Hubble's stall. Just look for the Christa Petrillo Total Horsemanship Stalls by the HELP Rescue Me Trainer's Showcase area in the Dog Pavillion building.