When authorities found the malnourished horse, he had so little body fat that his hip bone poked through his skin, which made it painful to lie on his side.
A year later, the rescued Andalusian horse dubbed Maverick has fully recovered from his poor diet and neglect to take on a new life as a member of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Mounted Enforcement Detail, whose deputies on horseback search for missing people and patrol shopping centers, riverbeds and mountainous areas.
But recovery for the 9-year-old horse was a long, difficult road.
Maverick was one of several dozen animals rescued from a private property in the 5000 block of Esperanza Road in Cabazon on Aug. 14, 2024. He was emaciated, his ribs piercing, nearing death. He was among five horses, four dogs, six puppies, 45 hens and roosters that were adopted by either Riverside County rescue partners or private adopters, according Sgt. Sean Fazio from Riverside County Animal Services.
“I believe all the horses that we took went to adopters, so they’re living on and they have a purpose,” Fazio said. “Maverick probably has the best purpose of all of them.”
Months of back-and-forth led to the rescue operation, Fazio said. In 2023, authorities received multiple animal welfare complaints about the Cabazon property owned by 59-year-old Rafael Leal, according to a Riverside County news release.
Fazio first visited the property on July 23, 2024.
“Myself, my lieutenant and one of our animal control officers had gone out. We were allowed on the property at first, and we kind of saw the condition of the animals,” he said. “We quickly realized how poor the conditions were. They were not treated well, they were not fed adequately, they didn’t have clean water.”
Fazio said Leal kicked them out after they were discovered on his property. Leal was issued a notice of violation, “basically saying that he needed to take better care of his animals,” Fazio said.
Leal allegedly told officers that he was “going through tough times and was trying to feed the horses,” according to county officials.
Officers returned to the property a few days later, offering to help Leal find a rescue organization to assist him in caring for the animals. But, according to county officials, Leal failed to comply with the notice, and did not provide the horses with sufficient water, despite the 100-degree temperatures that summer.
“The owner was offered assistance to rehome the emaciated horses. He declined,” the county said in a news release.
Fazio said animal services officers obtained a search warrant and raided the property on Aug. 14. Leal was arrested on suspicion of animal cruelty. About 20 animal service officers, 15 Riverside deputies and several code enforcement staff took part in the operation at the Leal property, Fazio said.
“Our first goal was to get the animals off the property and into our care,” Faszio said. “We definitely needed our veterinary team to take a look at everything. We were confident that we were going to get everyone placed in a better home.”
After spending a month in medical treatment, Maverick fell into the care of Deputy Bryan Hubbard — a Riverside deputy assigned to the sheriff’s Mounted Enforcement Detail. “He was like a puppy,” Hubbard said. “He didn’t try to kill me. He didn’t kick or bite me.”
Hubbard and Maverick became teammates due to fortunate timing.
Hubbard, a rancher and 15-year volunteer with the Norco Mounted Posse in Corona, applied to join the mounted enforcement detail in 2021 after Riverside Chief Deputy Chad Blanco put out a memo seeking applicants for the specialized unit.
He became one of six deputies — out of the 15 people who signed up — assigned to the unit full time after undergoing a year of rigorous training.
“We provide the same service that you would get out of a black-and-white car, but on horseback,” Hubbard said. “We do a lot of outreach in the riverbeds, mountains, next to the freeway or near a mall. The second thing we do is search-and-rescue.”
Hubbard said he was looking for a new horse when Maverick came along in September 2024. Hondo, his 21-year-old American Quarter Horse named after Samuel L. Jackson’s character in the 2003 film “S.W.A.T.,” could no longer keep up with the job, he said.
“Hondo and I, we have a really good relationship that’s been almost five years now,” he said. “But he’s been getting a little bit old, so Maverick came at the right time.”
Hubbard was in close contact with officers who handled the Cabazon rescue mission, and told them “if you ever come across any horses, let me know.” He was offered to take in one of the rescued horses but was warned about its poor condition.
“I drove with one of my partners, Deputy Conde, the Horse Whisperer, over there. I showed him all the horses and I said, ‘What do you think of this particular horse?’ ” he said, pointing at Maverick. “I didn’t think he was physically right because I’ve never seen a horse missing all their fat and their muscles. It looked like his neck was down from his body.”
To recover from severe malnourishment, Maverick was put on a strict diet and kept away from regular horse grass “because then it’ll end up collicky, where the muscles in their stomach tighten enough to where they can’t pass their food and end up dying,” Hubbard said.
But Hubbard said he felt Maverick’s eagerness to live. Once he decided to adopt the horse, he received instructions on how to feed Maverick along with a monthly allowance to care and feed the horse.
“It was a little bit of a bigger project than I expected because his bones were sticking out his hip,” Hubbard said. “Every time he laid down it would irritate the skin and cause it to bleed. I was putting duct tape to fix it.”
The wounds became infected, requiring a three-week treatment under veterinarian supervision. Hubbard got Maverick to a healthy weight, with a diet of lighter protein grass, and began to train him for the Mounted Enforcement Detail qualification test — an hourlong exam.
The test required the deputy to pull off several tasks while remaining on horseback.
“Basically, we have to open and close the gate without taking our hand off and losing our balance; we go through a horse corral. Then, we walk through a little container that has water in it, all four legs need to go in the container,” he said. “The horse needs to be able to be ponied by another partner — where I’m riding the horse and I’m holding the rope of another horse in case the rider goes down.”
Maverick passed his exam and was made an official part of the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in June.
“Deputy Hubbard saw something special in one of the horses,” Sheriff’s Lt. Deirdre Vickers said in a written statement. “He believed that with hard work and lots of love, he could rehabilitate this horse.”
Maverick, who was named after Tom Cruise’s character in the 1986 film “Top Gun,” now enjoys eating more than just protein grass.
“If I’m eating French fries, he’ll have a piece of the fry. If I’m having a pizza, I’ll tear him off the crust and he’ll have the crust,” Hubbard said. “He’ll eat pretty much anything that I give him.”
For Hubbard, Maverick is family.
“It’s all about building a relationship with the horse,” he said. “And I feel like I have the best job at the Sheriff’s Department. We’re constantly making people happy and providing that extra service.”
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