By Michael Padilla
Kelli Humbird has always had a passion for animals. For as long as she can remember, she was obsessed with one animal after another, whether it was a cat or a whale. At age six, she became enamored with horses and since then has spent every free moment with them.
She started riding regularly at age eight and quickly decided she only wanted money for her birthdays and for Christmas to save to buy a horse. At age 16, she gathered all her cash and bought her first 1,200-pound pet named Jasper. During high school, she was very competitive at the state level, but stopped competition during her second year in college as studies ramped up.
It was during her time in college at Texas A&M that she knew she wanted to ensure that she could always afford to have a horse in her life. She got a double major in nuclear engineering and physics, and went on to receive a master’s and Ph.D. in nuclear engineering before beginning her career as a design physicist at the Lab.
Now, she spends much of her free time with her horse named Lucca near the outskirts of Livermore. She bought Lucca when she moved to Livermore in 2017, while completing her Ph.D. in the Livermore Graduate Scholars program. She continues to train her forever horse, and is able to share her love of Lucca with friends and colleagues.
Working with horses is a skill she has fine-tuned throughout the years and her affection for horses continues to grow. She has trained several ex-race horses, which she considers her specialty.
“Most race horses just sit in a stall waiting to go out and run during their race careers,” she said. “It’s a high-intensity, high-stress life. Once they end up in my hands, I teach them that nothing is a big deal, nothing is stressful, and nothing is a rush. I work to put their brains at ease and teach them just to be a horse.”
Humbird said working with horses teaches patience and she is able to transfer what she learns from dealing with horses to other aspects of her life.
“If you work in any field where you trying to communicate concepts that are new to people who are used to doing things in a certain way, you learn how to be patient and find that common ground,” she said. “Communicating with horses teaches you to be direct, but also creative when the message just isn’t getting through.”
Humbird explains that you can’t hide your feelings from horses because they can sense that you are hiding something. Using nonverbal communication skills is important while communicating with horses.
“The best advice I’ve received about horses is to ‘ride the horse that you are on,’” she said. “Every day, that horse might be different. You do not know what kind of day the horse is having. The wind can be blowing, it can be cold and they can just be wild, even if they were perfect the day before. So you just learn to accept things might not go as planned, but that doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy the ride. I think that applies to all of life.”
She is very grateful for the horse community throughout the Bay Area.
When Lucca was injured a few years ago, she was able to rely on the help of others to get Lucca proper care. “Three people were ready to help to drive to Davis,” she said. “No one hesitated to help get Lucca the treatment he needed and ease my burden during a distressing time. It’s a great community.”
Humbird said she plans to ride Lucca, hang out, and simply enjoy life with him.
“It is really therapeutic to go home at the end of the day and spend time with my horse,” she said.
