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.