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 301: I Feel Much Better

Friday, 10/21/11

Before making my final-final decision on the saddle I had on trial, I took one more ride in it. Wizard’s demeanor has improved. He’s still a little grouchy about grooming, but not as sore as he was. Every night, he gets his Back on Track sheet on him, and I longed him before I rode to let him loosen up on his own before riding. I did not put side reins on, just let him carry himself how he wanted to carry himself. They had just dragged the arena and the footing was really nice. He went both right and left on the longe really nicely. When I got in the saddle, there was much less fuss and pinned ears than in the past few rides. I got a few cranky faces and swishy tails, but there was a marked improvement. He trotted left and right, and as we did more work, he got better instead of worse. I kept the ride short and sweet, and checked the sweat marks after our ride. The sweat was perfect down each side of his spine, with great spine clearance. Wither tops are not getting pressed by the saddle. The hair looks different behind the withers, but I’ve heard mixed things about that. I made up my mind to keep the saddle (and sell all of my other ones that don’t fit him). Fingers crossed for more improvement. I could really use some nice October rides!

Wizard Session 296; Rides 297, 298: Under a Cloud

Friday, 10/14/11

After work, I longed Wizard in the indoor arena. Before he worked, my friend did a little massage work on him. She said he’s VERY body sore- still. It’s not just on the topline or on the saddle area, but extends all the way down the rump. When he longed, he was really good. He has gotten SO much better about going to the right. He used to be mentally incapable of walking to the right (always broke into a nervous trot), but now he can do all three gaits quite willingly. I put him through his paces, and he did some work in side reins as well.

Saturday, 10/15/11

I got two saddles from the tack shop on consignment. One is a Hampson & Scott Jimmy Wofford model, and the other is a Smith-Worthington Danzig. On the tack shop bucks, the Hampson & Scott felt much better to me as a rider. The twist was a little wider, and it had that flat seat that I really love. The Smith-Worthington has a lot more puff to it- it’s like a puffy cloud :^)

I brought the saddles to the barn and tried them on Wizard. The Hampson & Scott looked like it did not have enough withers clearance, so I rode in the Smith-Worthington. It took some getting used to for me, because I have ridden in simple, flat Stubbens forever and ever. The saddle is comfortable enough, and Wizard seemed better in it than he was in the County and my current saddle, the Stubben. He began the ride with his recent habit of ear-pinning and tail swishing and kicking up at his belly. But as we rode more and more, he stopped tensing up and snarling so much. The ride was not very long, and we just did a little cantering, but the saddle seems like a winner.

After our ride, my equine massage friend was doing a little evaluation on Wizard, and while she had her hands on him, I heard the loudest C-R-U-N-C-H! I assumed it was one hoof stepping on the other, but my friend said it came from high up in his pelvis. It was SO loud. But Wizard barely batted an eye. I wonder if something was out of alignment?

Sunday, 10/16/11

I tried the Hampson & Scott saddle, just in case it suddenly fit Wizard better once it was on his back. Boy, oh boy, do I LOVE that saddle. SO, SO, SO comfortable. And Wizard rode pretty nicely in it. He snarled again, with kicking and pinned ears when we were walking, but then really stretched nicely at the trot. But when I checked the gullet, I could only get one finger in the front, and then it stopped where the top of the saddle was crushing his withers. The panels looked good, but without that clear channel down his spine, the saddle was not going to work. What a shame. Someone is going to get a really nice saddle.

I put the Smith-Worthington back on Wizard, and we rode for a while. It was not a ride with a plan, more of a test drive. He was pretty good, but got really wound up by the end of the ride. He threw a few kicks at the canter, and pinned his ears during a few trot exercises. The reason I kept riding was to check the sweat pattern on his back from the saddle. There was no bridging, which is wonderful- there were two perfect strips of sweat down the panels on the sides on his spine. There were dry spots on the sides of his withers, but I’ve read so many different opinions of that. I think the saddle fits better than any other saddle I can currently find, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to keep it. And once I’m comfortable with the saddle I have, I can go back to slowly bringing him back from whatever is causing this body soreness.

I have been putting his Back on Track sheet on him overnight for the past three days. Sunday was Day 6 of his magnesium. Sunday was Day 11 of his Omeprazole treatment. I wish I could have isolated each treatment to see which were working and which were not, but at this point, I really want SOMETHING to work.

Wizard Session 81; JR Sessions 36 and 37: Look what I can do!

Thursday, 5/28/09 and Saturday, 5/30/09

I’ll start backwards. Wizard got kicked by Indy in the paddock on Saturday. Indy is a cute and energetic grullo blanket Appaloosa.

The kick is on Wizard’s left front leg. There is just a tiny break in the skin and a little swelling on the side of the cannon below the knee. He walks comfortably on it. I cold hosed it and applied Nolvasan to it. The horses are turned out at night so I kept him outside so he could move around on it.

So that’s why I did not work Wizard on Saturday.

I rolled my left ankle when I was in Georgia. I took pretty good care of it, but I did not rest it enough. Less than a week later, I turned it again. And less than a week later (on Saturday), I rolled it again. So frustrating! Now I’m on more serious ‘stall rest’ and I am wrapping the ankle whenever there is a risk of turning it. I plan to treat it like a real sprained ankle this time. And I’ve been babying it with my Back on Track horse products :^) I need my A-game on Belmont Stakes Day.

Back on Track polo wraps

I longed Wizard on Thursday. His gaits are improving with each session. When his trot was consistent and limber, I put his side reins on. The side reins were very loose but Wizard still did a LOT of chomping at the contact. Chomp, chomp, chomp. I let him work it out and eventually, he relaxed into the contact and began to relax his topline. I wonder if this is the key to our work under saddle as well. Maybe he will settle once he gets over his initial tension. The worst part is the risk of him being in real pain or reacting really badly. I guess we’ve got time to think it over since I need to nurse a sprained ankle. We worked on slow and forward trots, as well as spirals. Wizard gets a little tense on the circles but then he relaxes and works nicely. His back is a little long so it’s more of a challenge for him to collect than his smaller short-backed friend, JR :^)

Wonderful things are happening with JR. His gaits are improving dramatically. His topline is getting stronger. He no longer trots in paisley-shaped circles. We did have a comical moment on the longe on Saturday when he heard a herd of deer crashing through the woods and did a full circle around the longe line bucking like a rodeo bronc. It reminded me of the Stuart sketches in the Mad TV episodes when he leaps around and says, “Look what I can do!”

JR is learning to accept contact on side reins. Response to voice cues is improving- I can smooch for him to liven up his trot and we can do “virtual half halts” with voice cues and a touch of the longe line. I’m seeing a lot less bracing of his neck when he does an upward or downward transition. Work with spirals has been the key to JR’s improvement. His short back and nicely-set neck will allow him to collect when his work becomes more advanced. When I longe him, I can ask him to trot in straight lines and trot in square shapes. In my imagination, he’s like a little, chunky, golden Lipizzaner ;^)