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Kayla Odell, a 19-year old Somers resident who trains horses at 157 Tomahawk Farm in Yorktown Heights, is training Honey Bee, a 4-year old wild mustang from Oregon. Odell is hoping to adopt Honey Bee and is hosting a fundraiser Saturday at 1 p.m. at Tomahawk Farm to cover the costs.
Odell has been training Honey Bee, the first time she has trained a wild horse, for almost 100 days, as part of Extreme Mustang Makeover. Odell will be showcasing her training skills at a competition on August 2 in New Jersey and is the youngest person in the Extreme Mustang Makeover Competition.
Odell is looking to raise $5,000 for adoption. She has been training horses since she was 12, having first ridden a horse at age four.
“It’s all about establishing trust,” Odell said. “You have to know horses before you do something like this. Honey Bee had to understand I wasn’t going to hurt her.”
Odell said a horse feels most vulnerable when someone is on its back, and it was a big first step for Honey Bee to allow Odell to ride her. Odell has been teaching Honey Bee on her ground manner and how to get on and off a trail.
“They soon learn that you’re not threatening and you’ll be nice to them,” Odell said. “They begin to recognize your face and establish a friendship.”
While Honey Bee is Mustang’s first wild horse, she has had challenging cases before. She has trained horses that were abused or unwanted and are prone to misbehaving since they have not been properly trained.
“It’s not their fault,” Odell said. “It’s the people that train them. These horses have so many bad experiences going in. They don’t trust people and they have a reason not to trust people. A wild horse is kind of a clean slate.”
With Honey Bee, it was important to keep her in close contact with people and provide her with good experiences. Odell became interested in training wild horses after watching the documentary “Wild Horse Wild Ride”. She wanted to get involved and discovered the competition in New Jersey. Most competitions are held in the South or in the West.
“Training Honey Bee has been really cool,” Odell said. “She definitely has her moments. There are silly little things she does that a normal horse wouldn’t think twice. But she’s been really good, she’s very quiet and relaxed. She occasionally is spunky, she has a lot of attitude. But she trusts me.”
The fundraiser, which costs $15 for adults and $5 for children, will have hot dogs, hamburgers, pony rides, a petting zoo and Odell will show how she trained Honey Bee. Odell is also selling Honey Bee t-shirts for $20.
Odell, who has already raised $3,500, said any surplus costs will go toward adopting another wild horse.
At the competition in New Jersey, Odell will participate in a handling and condition class, will ride the course and will do an obstacle course with Honey Bee, including a trot pattern.
“Horse training is a very rewarding job,” Odell said. “You can really turn a horse’s life around. I usually don’t get to keep the horses I train. That’s the hardest part.”
Odell, who gives riding lessons and has her own summer camp, said horses are not aggressive but will be if they are afraid.
“I don’t want horses to be afraid and be abused,” Odell said. “They shouldn’t have to worry about being in unsafe situations.”
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