How about Bob?

A horse is a horse, of course, of course. Unless his name is Bob.

The friendly gelding mustang is hardly the same as he was just more than two months ago. He has changed from tense, skittish and scared to calm and obedient (most of the time).

“Eight weeks ago, you couldn’t get near this horse, and he was allergic to people,” said trainer Judy Ballenger, of Sedalia. “Look at him now.”

Ballenger is near completing her mission to gentle and train the gelding wild mustang as part of the Extreme Mustang Makeover, sponsored by The Bureau of Land Management. 

Ballenger was among 200 trainers selected nationwide to compete in the makeover Sept. 19 and 20 in Fort Worth, Texas. The purpose of the competition is to show the versatility of mustangs and give them a better chance of adoption, since they are gentled.

Horses in the makeover are auctioned to the highest bidder after the competition. The mention of parting with Bob nearly brings Ballenger to tears. 

“This guy’s so special and talented,” an emotional Ballenger said.

She entered the competition upon a condition from her husband, Ron, that she wouldn’t keep the horse. 

“I want to bring him home; he’s one of the best horses I’ve ever ridden,” said Ballenger, a horse trainer since age 16.

Ballenger hopes somebody local will buy Bob, whose official name is “How do you like me now?” She thinks he will likely sell for $2,000 to $3,000, the average for previous years.

Ballenger met Bob on  June 13 and has worked with him almost every day since. She credits much of his progress to his favorite training aid, peppermint candies.

“We went through about a dozen a day,” she said. 

Bob is stabled at Chris Jamison’s place in La Monte, where Jamison has three mustangs of her own and raised seven second-generation mustangs. Jamison said Ballenger has “come a long way with him in a short period of time,” and the pair will likely do well in the competition. 

“I think she has a really decent chance of being in the top 10,” Jamison said. “She’s got good, solid training on him.”

After four weeks of riding, Ballenger and Bob take to the trail on weekends and appeared in the Missouri State Fair parade. Ballenger said Bob rides Western style well and she has started training him on English style. They were set to compete in a show at Fischer Stables on Saturday. 

Bob takes to new tasks with ease. 

“I can’t teach him enough,” Ballenger said. “I don’t know enough to keep this horse busy.”

It wasn’t easy getting to Bob’s softer side. 

Ballenger first rode Bob bareback July 4, and the two were led around a ring. She tried it two days later with a saddle, and it ended in disaster.

Ron had the lead rope as Ballenger and Bob went around the ring. Something spooked Bob and he took off, banging into the ring panels. Ballenger lost her balance, fell into the panels and Bob’s hoof hooked onto the inside of her knee.

“I don’t know what spooked him, but it was a bit of a rodeo,” she said.

Ballenger picked herself up and called to Bob.

“We just stood there, forehead to forehead,” she said. 

Next came “Judy Two.” Ballenger said she thought Bob may have been spooked by having someone above him. Judy Two, a dummy made of clothes stuffed with a pillow and pool noodles, was strapped into the saddle to condition Bob. She had used the technique previously when she worked with a horse that had a rearing problem.

Bob has become a little more independent as he has progressed. He loves a crowd, and will often need applause to exit his trailer. But the kisses and nuzzling he would give Ballenger have faded.

“It’s like sending him off to school; it’s awful,” she said.

Ballenger has documented her progress with Bob on her blog at www.ballengertraining.com.