Wizard Rides 484 & 485: Miles Away

Saturday, 5/18/13

I discovered runmap.me and I’m hopelessly hooked- I can map my trail rides and measure how far we rode. I’m sure I could do the same thing with a smartphone, but that would require me to get a smartphone (I’m stubbornly avoiding it).

On Saturday, Wizard and I rode for 4.68 miles. We rode past the log cabin, out the side field, and trotted up the “bowling pin” hill. Wizard was so fresh and happy to be out that he was purring/”truffling” LOUDLY- he was so snorty it made me laugh. He sounded like the racehorses when they step out on the track for a morning jog. We rode across the fields in a serpentine pattern as a schooling exercise. When I crossed my own path, I could feel Wizard nudging me to head back to the barn. He listened, though, when I told him to go on. He was very good when we rode through the Horse Park, and spooked once for good reason when some clumsy creature crashed through the treeline. Wizard was able to hold his trot on a variety of terrains without breaking to a canter. He stumbled a few times in the beginning of the ride, but as he warmed up, he felt more surefooted. When we returned to the barn, he was sweaty under the saddle, but cool otherwise. I cleaned my tack while he enjoyed some fresh spring grass. His weight looks just about perfect now- the grass really filled him out nicely.

Sunday, 5/19/13

Kris and I took a walk in the Assunpink for about 1.8 miles, followed by a short ride in the outdoor arena. I only had about 12 minutes to ride in the arena, so we did some trot, walk, canter transitions. After a few attempts, we actually got something pretty nice at the canter. I brought him right back down to a trot, and we took a tiny cross rail a few times at a walk and trot, followed by a leg yield to the rail. When he tried to rush it at the trot, we walked to it. For a quickie ride, we got some nice work accomplished.

Wizard Rides 394, 395, & 396: Staring At The Wall

Saturday, 8/11/12

Kris and I took a ride in the Assunpink, starting out in the field behind the barn and then crossing the street to the Hunt Club side. We did just a little trotting down the long lanes, and rode straight out past the lake to some wooded trails. Due to the recent rain, the footing was a little sticky. Sunny and Wizard both handled the logs and inclines very well. Wizard was a little bottled up because Sunny walks at a more leisurely pace than he does, but he behaved himself. I was able to ride him behind her for parts of the ride, which shows great improvement over the old Wizard, who always wanted to be the leader. We rode for about an hour and fifteen minutes.

Wizard’s weight is holding steady at 966 lbs (weight taped), so we increased his grain. He’s getting a little over 8 lbs per day now, plus 24/7 pasture and hay. Even though he’s relaxed in his pasture, he is still a very active horse, and I think he just burns more calories in this lifestyle. Thankfully, the barn owner is very willing to work with us until he gets back to his ideal weight.

Sunday, 8/12/12

Kris and I went out on the trails again, this time heading through the little creek (pictured above) and out to the old sheep farm. We rode through the soybean field and out to the road where there is a little cross rail (thank goodness for landmarks!) and then we turned back home. We headed back through the Bowling Pin field. We were out for about an hour and a half, walking for most of the ride with a little trotting in the beginning.

Monday, 8/13/12

For the first time in months, I rode Wizard in the outdoor arena. I did not feel any hint of unsoundness (HOORAY!!!!). With all the hours we’ve logged on the trail lately, I learned a few things when we returned to the arena:

– Wizard is fitter than he looks. Even though we mostly walk on the trails, it has put him in very nice condition, and he did not break a sweat in the arena.
– The trail work developed Wizard’s confidence. He did less of his nervous chewing on the bit than he usually does.
– At the moment, I am fairly fit as a rider, but RUSTY. I need to practice my equitation on the trails more.
– I sure do enjoy the scenery on trails- I’m becoming less of an arena-lover now that we’re at the new barn.

In order to avoid him hitting himself, I booted Wizard in his front and hind EquiFit T-Boots. So far, I’m really happy with them. We just did a little walk-trot-canter work since the sun was setting. By 8:30, it was pretty much too dark to keep riding. I gave him a senior feed snack after our ride, and put him to bed in his pasture.

From the TDN Blog: Photos and Results of the Garden State Horse Show’s $4,000 Thoroughbred Jumnper Classic

On May 5, Kentucky Derby Day, I attended the Garden State Horse Show and photographed the $4,000 Thoroughbred Jumper Classic. You can click here for my photos and writeup of this fantastic class and all the classy competitors.

Wizard Rides 343, 344, & 345: A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You

Wednesday, 3/13/12

After work, I rode Wizard in the indoor arena. I set up a “course” of trot poles: line, diagonal, line, diagonal. We worked in bending, with shallow serpentines, and incorporated the trot poles into the ride. He was responsive and less swishy with his tail. He only pinned his ears once during the ride. It seems like the Springtime Wizard is back.

Saturday, 3/17/12

Wizard and I took a quick trail ride with Sunny and Lily. We took the short loop around, and then returned to the indoor arena for ring work. Wizard did not pin his ears at all when I got into the saddle, which was a first in months. Hooray! His hind foot slipped once while we were working on transitions from our little trot to our big trot. I also think he felt a tiny bit uneven. My friend could see it when he went around corners, too. Hmmm.

Curiosity got the best of me, and we tried a little canter work at the end of the ride. Zero improvement. Swishing tail, pulling on the bit, uneven in the hind end. Oh well.

We took the short loop again at the end of the ride, and then I sponged him off. The weather is incredibly warm, and Wizard is basically living outdoors these days, which seems to be very good for him.

Sunday, 3/18/12

My local tack shop was having a 20% off sale, so I finally picked up the Tory Leather Jumping Hackamore that I’ve always wanted to try. It is basically a piece of rolled leather with rings for the bridle and the reins. There is no criss-cross, and there are no shanks. It’s really basic.

I rode Wizard in the indoor arena, and he rode pretty well in it. He was very relaxed, but we did lose a lot of our refinement/bending/etc without a bit. I couldn’t really create any impulsion, so he was sort of dinking around the ring without using himself. Brakes and steering were fine. I did a lot of work on serpentines to keep him listening to me and to work on getting him bending around my leg. We were able to do transitions within the trot. The hackamore was a great tool for my equitation, too. It enabled me to keep a steadier contact with the reins, because Wizard was not fiddling with the bit. I was able to get him to stretch down, too. Wizard just likes the fact that he can eat bigger carrots with his hackamore than he can with his bit :^)

Like Saturday, I felt a little unevenness in his gait- it was super subtle, but I felt something. And we have about 2 weeks left of Lyme Disease treatment- woo-hoo! Then, I’ll have the vet come back out and evaluate him and decide our next step.

Wizard Ride 317: Cowgirl in the Sand

Saturday, 11/26/11

A trailer full of cattle were hauled to my barn for a team sorting event, so I walked Wizard to the trailer with Zeke and Lily to show the cows to the horses. The slats were so high up that the horses could not see them but could hear them. The bumping around caught the horses’ attention, but they seemed just fine with the cows. Maybe some day I’ll actually ride Wizard with cows, but for today, we’re happy to just visit them.

We took the horses on a trail ride and rode the full loop at a walk. The horses were a little snorty and reactive, even though the air was warm and we rode earlier than we did on Friday. We heard a loud gunshot, but the horses were actually fine for that. By the very end of the ride, Wizard settled, and we did a short spin in the outdoor arena when we returned to the farm. Wizard was once again reaching nicely into the bit, and did not do any ear pinning in the arena. He did a little at the very beginning of the trail ride, but this was the least he has done in many, many rides.

This brings me to the photo above… A local embroidery shop removed Drosselmeyer’s name from the saddle pad and added Wizard. It is total horse racing nerd humor and I love it. Plus, it’s a cute saddle pad.

Thank you so much to everyone who shared their condolences and support for the passing of my wonderful father. He is greatly missed.

Wizard Ride 314: Tonight, Tonight, Tonight

Sunday, 11/20/11

Sometimes, I really love riding at night.

After work, I headed to the barn. Before our ride, I turned Wizard loose in the outdoor arena and snapped a few photos while he pranced and played. The footing was too sticky for a ride, so we rode indoors. Wizard was less fussy about being saddled, and stood really quietly when I got into the saddle (I was less than graceful the day before and he was very forgiving).

The beginning of the ride was once again the onset of his ear pinning and tail swishing, but it extinguished itself for the most part. We rode in the arena with Pilgrim, another Thoroughbred, and his owner. We walked and warmed up with some simple trot work. After a few laps, he began to settle onto the bit. He was actually LEANING on the bit for a little while- it was such a different sensation for him, since he tends to duck behind the bit. We did circles in each corner in each direction, with a leg yield on the long sides. We worked on walk to trot transitions, and then he got tense and did the ear pinning thing a few times. After a walk break, we worked on a little shoulder in, followed by “stretchy circles”. The stretchy circles were a total mess- he was speeding up and not stretching onto the bit at all. Once I got a decent stretch in each direction, I called it a day. Wizard did much better than he did in the past, and I’m curious to see if the ear pinning extinguishes itself entirely like it did in the past.

The saddle seems to be working well for him. I did, though, have a little freakout when I was grooming him. I noticed two parallel lines of white hairs on the right side of his withers. The first thing I thought was that the saddle was causing pressure/trauma and it caused the white hairs. I frantically looked over the saddle for any parts that might be digging into him. I could not find a match, but then a light bulb went off in my head. I’ve been putting his Back on Track mesh sheet on him at night, so I pulled the sheet out and placed it on his back. Yup… the nylon strap that goes around his belly is digging into his withers when he lies down at night, and he usually rests on his right side. Grrrr. I guess he can’t wear it overnight anymore. It was digging into his poor withers.

The night air was a little damp- three days of rain are predicted. I hope Wizard doesn’t mind a few more nights indoors.

Wizard Ride 271: On Fire

Monday, 8/29/11

The arena was damp from all the weekend’s rain, but the farm drains really well, so we were able to ride outdoors. I walked Wizard around the property, and then started our trot work in the arena. He felt a little funny, sort of an odd bounce in his step. I wasn’t sure if he was hitchy or just feeling silly. My hunch was the latter, so I hopped off, stripped his tack, and turned him loose. He ran around the arena like his tail was on fire. I guess being cooped up in a tropical storm will do that to you.

After he got his ya-yas out, I re-tacked him and rode. By that time, Kris was in the arena with Sunny the Mustang mare. We both worked on some bending exercises and transitions, doing circles in each corner of the arena, and working at both the walk and trot. Wizard felt GREAT. He was softer on the bit than usual, and perfectly happy to take a little contact. We worked on circles around the jumps, and practiced change of bend and direction. Our ride was so nice that I booked a lesson for this week :^)

Wizard Ride 268: Mustang Sally

Tuesday, 8/23/11

While Tuesday will be remembered by most as the day of the Virginia Earthquake (mild swaying and shaking was felt here in Jersey), I’ll remember it as the day my friend Kris officially got her first horse, Sunny.

Sunny is an 11-year-old Mustang mare, and Kris adopted her from Helping Hearts Equine Rescue. I’m so happy for them both, and wish them many years of happiness and fabulous rides together.

In the morning, I rode Wizard before work. The weather was STUNNINGLY beautiful- crisp but still warm. We rode in the outdoor arena, which was damp but packed down enough that it was not boggy.

Before my ride, I turned him loose in the arena. The combination of a chiropractic adjustment, a set of new shoes, and a few days off turned him into a racehorse! It always makes my heart sing to watch him run for the fun of it. He ran several laps, punctuated by a few playful leaps.

Our ride was good. Wizard was a little wobbly and chompy, but he felt very powerful and was responsive. We worked almost exclusively at the trot after warming up, doing shallow serpentines, shoulder-in, and leg yield work. Toward the end of the ride, I trotted him over a few cross rails and let him canter out. If he anticipated, we went back to complicated arena work and then tried the cross rail again. We got a few good efforts, in which he focused and did not get too eager.

With Hurricane Irene on the horizon, I’m hoping to get a few more rides done outdoors before we are banished to the indoor arena.

Wizard Ride 263: Break My Stride

Saturday, 7/30/11

Remembering how energetic Wizard was on our last ride, I turned him out in the big arena before our ride on Saturday. Although he gets lots of turnout every day, he seems to thoroughly enjoy really stretching his legs from time to time. More than any horse I know, he runs for the joy of running, ears up, in big loops.

After his playtime, I tacked him up and we rode in the indoor arena. The sun was strong and I like to rotate arenas when possible. I decided to keep a little more contact than usual. When he’s really relaxed, he can ride on the buckle, but the contact on the bit helps our communication and gets him balanced. It seemed like it was a really good idea- Wizard was much more responsive and balanced than he was in our last ride.

We began with a walking warmup, followed by trotting first on the long sides and then working into shapes- shallow serpentines, figure 8s, circles. We worked into some shoulder-in and leg yield in both directions. I incorporated a little turn on the forehand and we are beginning the first few steps of turn on the haunches.

Once our trot work was limber and forward, we got to the canter work. Wizard was still hot, but not even half as hot as he was in our last ride. I went right back to our exercise assignment: simple changes. I asked him to walk in the center of each change in order to really get him thinking and slowing down instead of rushing into the next canter (me too!). He very easily breaks his stride in both upward and downward transitions if my timing is poor or if I rush him. There was some resistance, but also some significant improvement. My timing is getting better and his transitions are getting stronger.

Wizard Ride 262: Teenage Kicks

Tuesday, 7/26/11

17 days without riding really had Wizard feeling like a teenager. He was F-R-E-S-H! Nothing I could not control and it was actually fun, but my goodness! He even threw what I could call his first official buck under saddle. The neurotic rider in me immediately diagnosed him as having ulcers, a badly-fitting saddle, and SI joint issues, but it’s more likely that he was amped up from the time off and good food. I’ll reserve judgment until we have a few more rides under our belt.

We rode in the outdoor arena under the lights, and the bugs were not bad once the sun set. Riding patterns and asking for different exercises really helped, but the thing that helped the most was letting him canter, canter, canter. Once we cantered a while, he was able to trot. I’ve always that it’s a “Thoroughbred thing”, and it certainly worked for this Thoroughbred.

Riding Wizard was a bit like riding a wet noodle, though, and I knew we were not going to get a lot done, so we drilled our simple changes for a little bit. He’s FINALLY improving. Part of it is me finally getting around to putting in the effort and part of it is him getting fitter and more balanced. We were able to do a few simple changes with him picking up both correct leads. I never had issues with Alibar and leads, but if I don’t cue at just the right moment, Wizard falls apart.

I was really impressed with our final result, though we were both a sweaty mess by the end of the ride. I cooled him off and put him to bed with a pile of nice hay.