Man, horse are dancing partners

  • Published
  • By Holly Logan
  • Warner Robins Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  Sixties television star Mr. Ed may have had all the right words, but Regalo has all the right moves.

Regalo, a half Spanish-Andalusian, half American quarter horse, can spin, shake hands and count by stomping his left front hoof. He can say hello by raising his front right hoof, throw kisses and even answer simple "yes or no" questions with a nod or shake of the head.

The bond between Regalo and his owner, Louie Barrientes, started in 2001 when Barrientes got the 12-year-old horse he fondly calls his "soul mate."

Barrientes, who is a support equipment and vehicle management directorate equipment specialist here, heard through a friend that the horse’s original owner wanted to get rid of him.

"He had developed a bad habit of bucking, and she couldn't break him,” Barrientes said. "She didn't want to sell him. She just wanted to find someone who could work with him and give him a good home.

"When I first got in the corral with him, he came at me and made me jump the corral fence," he said. "He was just so mischievous. (The owner) said if I could get on him and stay on, I could have him for free."

When Barrientes entered the corral a second time, the two clicked.

"I wasn't giving up on him," he said. "I got back in the corral and started talking to him in a soothing voice and played with him a bit until I calmed him down. I mounted him right away.

"I knew if he were going to do something, he'd do it out in the open. I held on, waiting for him to explode, but he never tried to buck me," Barrientes said.

With tears in her eyes, the owner saw the connection Barrientes and Regalo had. She seemed to have second thoughts about releasing the horse.

"When I saw her crying, I told her she could keep him if she wanted to, but she insisted that I have him," he said.

After nearly a year of working with Regalo daily, Barrientes, 51, taught the not-so-old horse some new tricks -- and earned the trust of a hoofed friend. Although he and Regalo had a rocky beginning, given time, they became as close as brothers.

"He was a little hard-headed at first, but once I showed him what I wanted him to do by using different signals, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do for me," Barrientes said.

Jose Diaz, Barrientes' long-time friend from Jalisco, Mexico, became his mentor and taught him the ropes of horse training. Using a technique known as "negative reinforcement," Barrientes gently poked Regalo in various places, such as his neck, leg and chest to generate desired responses such as nodding and shaking his head and leg raising.

After using the painless training technique for a while, Regalo learned to perform his talents on cue. Each time Regalo successfully performs, Barrientes rewards him with a carrot -- one of the four-footed performer's favorite treats.

A native of San Antonio, Barrientes discovered his passion when he was a young teenager, and it led him to train more than 30 horses in his lifetime.

"It's something I've always wanted to do," he said. "My parents used to take us to the drive-in theater, and we'd see all these old Mexican cowboy movies in the golden era of Mexico. I loved the outfits, the silver, saddles and how they'd train the horses."

While horses have been a part of Barrientes' life for many years, none have captured his heart the way Regalo has.

"He loves me unconditionally," Barrientes said. "I spend about an hour with him every day.”

Regalo is stalled at Robins' Pine Oaks Riding Stables here.

"Every morning when I come in to feed him his breakfast, he'll stick his head out of the stall and start whinnying,” Barrientes said. “He's my soul mate. I couldn't imagine life without him." (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)