Wizard Session 315; Ride 316: Doctor’s Secret

Monday, 11/21/11

After work, I lightly longed Wizard, working in side reins for about 10 minutes of a 25-minute session. He was fantastic at all three gaits. After longeing, we played a little with the clicker. He targeted the ball and worked on a few of his “tricks”.

On Wednesday, my beloved father passed away after a courageous battle with cancer. It has been a very difficult time for the family, and it was a devastating loss. I have 34 years of memories of my dad, and I hope to share some of them on this blog. My mother shared 42 wonderful years of marriage with Dad, and we are both learning how to use all the good memories we have of him to gain strength to cope with this loss.

Just as he did three years ago when I lost Alibar, Wizard has once again taken up the role as therapist. His racing name is Doctor’s Secret. Perhaps the doctor’s secret is the equine therapist. Mom and I stopped by the barn on Thursday, and Wizard got to play in the indoor arena, and was quite affectionate with me. Perhaps he could feel the sadness on some level.

Friday, 11/25/11

On Friday, I spent an afternoon at the barn. It was so nice to breathe in the fresh air and spend time with the horses. There is something so comforting about the barn.

Our first activity was trailer schooling. My friend’s dad bought a nice three-horse trailer, and we decided to work on loading the horses so that we were not in for any surprises next time we haul the horses somewhere for a trail ride. Wizard planted his feet the first few times we walked up to the trailer, but then walked on when I twirled the lead rope at his hind end. As soon as he was standing in the trailer stall, we fed him a few handfuls of sweet feed. When he stood quietly for a few seconds, I walked him forward and we exited the trailer down the side ramp. I like the side ramp, because it keeps the horse going forward instead of having to back off the trailer. I loaded and unloaded Wizard several times, and he was great. He got a little excited when we walked down the ramp, but was under control and obedient. SCORE!

I put him on the longe line for just 5 minutes or so, because I wanted to let him loosen up and I wanted to see how fresh he was. He jogged like a western pleasure horse. When I tacked up and got in the saddle, he jumped forward a little bit, forgetting all his manners and schooling. I dismounted and got in the saddle again. This time, he stood quietly. We went on a very short trail ride with Sunny, Zeke, and Lily. We heard some gunshots in the woods so we did not want to get in the way of any hunters. Wizard was pretty frisky for the first leg of the ride, snorting and prancing and being a little “looky” when some deer bounded through the woods. He did the ear-pinning behavior and some kicking in the beginning of the ride, but was done by the time we got halfway through the ride.

When we returned to the barn, I rode Wizard in the indoor arena for about 30 minutes, steadily trotting. We did some circles at the end of the ride, but mostly rode a simple ride. He pinned his ears whenever Lily rode past him, but did not do much of it when we were doing our ride. He felt good, and I was mindful of my contact. I tried not to “drop” the bit, and held contact more firmly than I usually do, and he responded well. It was a satisfying ride, and I was grateful for the doctor’s secret.

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 Rides 286 & 287: Is It Magic That Makes You Appear?

Wednesday, 9/21/11 For the first time in a few weeks (months?), I longed Wizard. I did not have a lot of time at the barn, but wanted him to get out and exercise a little. He was a really, really good at all three gaits in both directions.

Thursday, 9/22/11

Thursday’s ride was a little Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. Thankfully, it ended really well! In the beginning of the ride, Wizard was a little resistant to the aids, hollow through his back, and a little quick at the trot. But as we warmed up, the Awesome Wizard showed up. At the trot, I asked a few more times for him to reach forward instead of his little “typewriter trot”, and he lengthened. I popped him over a few cross rails, and he began to use himself more. By the end of the ride, he was using himself, and was very balanced and relaxed, happily purring as we trotted and cantered around the arena. Did the jumps improve his mood? Whatever switch flipped was a great one. We did a slow, meandering course of cross rails, with the final jump being the hay bales, turned on the taller side (see photo). I got a little ahead of him, but he looks so game! He’s such a fun horse.

Before our ride, I also led him over a little black pipe jump- it’s probably about 2 feet tall. He hesitated a few times, and then hopped over. Perhaps we’ll jump it soon :^)

Saturday, 9/24/11

Kris and I took a relaxing trail ride, walking the whole way. We rode the short loop behind the barn, and when it was too short, we took the trail across the street as well. Both Wizard and Sunny were their usual wonderful selves.

Wizard Ride 253: Rider

Saturday, 6/25/11

My friend Erin came from Maryland with her lovely Morgan mares Belle and Esme and picked up Wizard for our trail ride in Assunpink Wildlife Management Area.

Esme, photo taken this spring…

Wizard loaded onto the trailer like a CHAMP (woo-hoo!) and was quite happy with his equine companions. We tacked up and met up with Christie and her filly, Brigid, who was started under saddle this spring. Esme is also pretty green, so Wizard was the second-most seasoned trail horse on the ride! Belle is the trail princess, and she has been everywhere. The flies were not too bad, and Wizard was equipped with his Nose Net and a fly bonnet. The weather was wonderful- after a week of sporadic rain, some of the trails were wet but totally rideable.

For the beginning of the ride, Wizard was a little balled up with energy. I expected this, and did my best to settle him into a good walking rhythm. On narrower trails, he was fine, but in the huge open fields, he would get a little prancy. He also likes to prance up hills, but my biggest pet peeve ever is letting horses blast off at a faster gait than you want. So we WALKED the hills, not the most relaxed walk ever, but better than a jig.

About a mile into the ride, Wizard settled into the walk I was looking for; he has a delightfully swingy and ground-covering walk when he is relaxed. The larger group of horses meant that sometimes they were riding alongside him, which was fine unless one of them trotted ahead of him. Then, he would get antsy and dancy and fussy and not really pay attention to me. In the words of Dr. Deb, Wizard’s “birdie” leaves the building.

At one point, one horse trotted past him up a hill and he went into a leaping, cantering, pulling, sideways, clumsy tantrum. He does not rear or buck, so it’s fairly simple to sit, but it definitely feels a little like riding an octopus wearing roller skates. He threw the tantrum once again when we reached The Horse Park of New Jersey, where we strolled through the cross country course. Someone trotted ahead of him, and there I was again, cantering, sort of, on a horse who felt like he had no head because it was tucked so low.

I’m not really sure how to work on the issue. It never usually happens, since the trails at my barn are narrow and nobody usually trots past me when I’m walking. I would like to work on it, though, since I’d love to do some hunter paces with him. I guess one answer is to always be the leader and never allow anyone to pass us when we’re walking, but that’s so controlling and limiting. I’ll need to think on it.

So for about 20% of the ride, Wizard was wound up or fussing, but for the rest of the ride, he was delightful. He was fine on the lead or in the back of the pack, but he definitely prefers the lead. The only time he spooked was when one of the horses we were riding with separated and walked around a group of trees. We met face-to-face and BOTH horses jumped! It was hilarious.

When we reached Stone Tavern Lake, Wizard was interested in wading in the water, but the ripples seemed to freak him out a little. All the mares got into the water and were even playing and pawing. Wizard stood at the verrrrry edge. I could feel that he wanted to try it, so I tried a few different angles and walked toward it a few different ways. I did not force the issue, and eventually, he got the hang of it and walked in like a pro. Maybe next time, he’ll wade a little more.

At the Horse Park, we explored the hills and paths that make up the Jersey Fresh cross country course. It was really cool to walk in the footsteps of the eventing greats- of course, they galloped those steps, ha ha!

We returned to the trailer and let the horses graze for a little while before they loaded up and went home. I gave Wizard a much-needed hosedown and put him back outside with his paddock buddies. Hopefully, we’ll have a few more off-the-farm adventures this summer.

And I blazed
in the last orange hours of the day,
until the dust hazed and hid us away.

Wizard Ride 231: Contact

Monday, 5/9/11

Before work, I snuck over to the barn to enjoy the AMAZING weather. I took a quick trail ride with my friend Kris and her mare Philly- we covered about 3 miles or so. Wizard was ready to rumble when I first got in the saddle, but he was settled and was perfectly warmed up by the time we got back to the barn.

After the trail ride, I did a little arena work with Wizard. We worked at the trot, and I worked on my hands, specifically maintaining contact. I tend to fall into the awful habit of fiddling with my hands, feeding the reins through my fingers, and throwing away the contact. I made a concerted effort to keep contact, and Wizard liked it! He stayed on the bit through serpentines, and his transitions were nice. Now all I need to do it remember this :^P

Camelot Auction Graduates- Before/After Photos

One of my favorite things about working with equine rescues and auction horses is seeing the transformation that takes place once the horses are in their new homes and are blossoming with good care. It takes a little imagination for your mind’s eye to envision a slick summer coat under a fuzzy winter coat, and to add 100 pounds to an underweight horse, but these photos can help to crystalize the potential that these horses have:

Gatsby was already sold by the time I arrived at Camelot Auction on a Thursday afternoon in October 2010, but he was so handsome and proud that I photographed him anyway.

“#111 aprx 16 hds Gray Gelding rode thru calm very thin $325.00”

Gatsby at auction ©Ida Howell/Helping Hearts Equine Rescue

Little did I know that he was sold to someone who was going to keep him at the same barn where Wizard lives! I’ve had the pleasure of watching Gatsby turn into a well-loved jumper. He still has that same noble appearance, but now his coat gleams with good care and he is being prepared for the 2011 show season.

Gatsby in March 2011:

Gatsby at a schooling show in November 2010:

Gatsby at Christmastime…

Mimi is another stablemate of Wizard, and she has also become a barn favorite and a lovely riding horse. Here she is at Camelot…

“#66 Sorrel Mare 14.3 4 yrs rode thru calm- one blue eye the one she kept closing- when I blocked the light she opened it, she is very sweet and thin. $260.00”

Mimi at auction ©Ida Howell/Helping Hearts Equine Rescue

Her runny and sensitive eye cleared up in a matter of days and now her vision is perfect. Mimi in March 2011:

Mimi and her Santa outfit:

I met Ursula at Camelot in December. She was probably my favorite horse of the day; while all the other horses munched on hay and rested, she romped around her pen, leaping and playing. She has a sparkle that immediately caught my eye.

Ursula at auction.

“#746 Bay filly. 12H and yearling. Standardbred. Scared and very thin. Needs tlc big time. Led through quiet. $50”

(middle)

And here she is in March at a local barn in New Jersey:

With horse show season just around the corner, please contact me if you know of any Camelot Auction graduates who are competing. I would love to cheer them on and take some pictures.

Wizard Rides 213, 214, 215, & 216: Life Begins at the Hop

Thursday, 2/17/11

Fizzy. Wizard was fizzy indeed. We rode outside. He reminded me of his great-grandsire Seattle Slew when he did his famous “War Dance” in the paddock before races (click for video). I felt in control during the ride, but it felt like he had about five shots of expresso before the ride. We did a really easy ride, and I basically stayed out of his way and asked for a few transitions.

Friday, 2/18/11

Wizard is beginning to de-fizz. I rode him outside under the lights, and he settled twice as quickly as the day before. Again, our ride was very basic since we’re both getting back into shape. Walk, trot, canter, circles.

Saturday, 2/19/11

WINDY! I rode outside again, but the wind was wild so it cut our ride pretty short. We rode outside with a barn buddy and Wizard was even better than he was the day before.

Wednesday, 2/23/11

It was a COLD night, but the ground was unfrozen so we braved the elements and rode under the lights outside. Before I rode, I turned Wizard loose to limber up by himself. Our ride was short but really nice. He picked up each lead the first time and was softer on the bit at the walk and trot. Wizard has a really nice mind- he rode outside in the dark under lights alone and never turned a hair.

My plan is the put together a few exercises to add some structure back to our rides in the upcoming weeks.

Wizard Rides 208, 209, 210: One More Time

Thursday, 12/2/10

Had a great lesson with Carole. I got Wizard warmed up and we worked on a line of gymnastics for the majority of the lesson. We worked on keeping Wizard settled and confident while he learned how to negotiate the poles and jumps. Carole kept the jumps small and worked on keeping us soft and focused. She’s a master with the gymnastics grid, and she was adding and taking away poles with each pass in response to each jumping effort. Here are some short video clips to show where we are right now. My position needs TONS of work, even over tiny fences like these!

Saturday, 12/4/10

Took Wizard on a quick trail ride with my friend and her mare Lily. It was getting dark, so I tacked Wizard up really fast and hopped on in my jeans instead of riding clothes. We rode for about half an hour, taking the short loop and walking the entire ride. Looks like I have another trail buddy when we can make our schedules work!

Tuesday, 12/7/10

Rode Wizard indoors at night after work. We did some suppling exercises in response to some of the work we did in Thursday’s lesson. I wanted to work on bending and asking him to relax onto the bit. We did some spiral work and transitions within gaits. The canter work was a little tense, but he settled nicely.

So Wizard has Wednesday off, and I turned him loose in the indoor arena on Thursday morning (12/9). He ran around and played for a few minutes. Then I tacked him up and got on. He was unsound on his left front leg. He did not work out of it. It was not obvious at the walk, but it was very obvious at the trot. I hopped off after the few minutes. For the past week, I’ve been at the barn each night to give Wizard his hay cube mash, and he is still not sound on the leg. I can’t feel any heat or swelling. I was sort of hoping it was an abscess or a sprain, but it’s not getting better (or worse). I think it’s time to call the vet soon >:^(

Wizard Rides 204, 205, 206: Because of the Wonderful Things He Does

FIRST-EVER (intentional) FLYING LEAD CHANGE!!!!!!

Friday, 11/26/10

That’s right, we did our first-ever flying lead change! Recently, I had the chance to talk about riding with Alex Brown, equine advocate and exercise rider. I asked him about how exercise riders train racehorses to do flying changes. Feel, he said, is most important.

We had an incidental lead change back in July, but this one was on purpose. Any self-respecting non-horse person might not care one bit about this piece of news, but for me, this was HUGE! I rode Wizard in the indoor arena at night. We warmed up doing lateral work and a little trotting over poles. Once we got into our canter, Wizard had a nice groove going- he was balanced, relaxed, but still round and on the bit. We were cantering to the right and I did a figure 8 with him. At X, I changed the bend, channeled my inner Walter Zettl, George Morris, and Alex Brown all at once, and asked for the change. Wizard complied perfectly, changing in time with the stride with a clean and responsive flying lead change. It was THE BEST!!!!! Wizard is wonderful indeed.

Saturday, 11/27/10

This was the first time I longed Wizard in a long, long while. I was done shooting the Cigar Mile at Aqueduct and stopped by the barn on my way home. I was not dressed to ride but I wanted Wizard to get a little exercise and feed him his “protein shake” (aka his hay cubes and other assorted supplements). He has not forgotten a thing and he was actually better on the line than he used to be. My guess is that it was out of the ordinary and he’s more balanced so longeing was not so difficult for him. We kept it simple, mostly walking and trotting and just asking for a bit of canter in each direction.

Monday, 11/29/10

Brrrrrrrrrrrrr- rode outside under the lights after work. I was bundled up in multiple layers, but my face felt like it was going to fall off my head! The ride was short and sweet. I just did a light hack, barely asking for any contact on the bit and letting Wizard stretch and move out. As a result, our canter transitions were awful since he chased into them instead of smoothly transitioning from trot to canter. In order to have a reality check, I asked again for a flying lead change, same lead (right to left, which is a million times easier for me for some reason). It was not as stellar as Friday’s change, but he complied! Wonderful, wonderful Wizard.

We’re off to see the Wizard, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.
You’ll find he is a whiz of a Wiz! If ever a Wiz there was.
If ever oh ever a Wiz there was The Wizard of Oz is one because,
Because, because, because, because, because.
Because of the wonderful things he does.
We’re off to see the Wizard. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Wizard Ride 200: Horse Show 1

Sunday, 11/21/10

The day has come… our first horse show! The show was at my barn, so there was no shipping. The show was the most casual I’ve ever done- it was a fun, relaxed schooling show. In my youth, my trainers always made me wear the show coat even at the most informal shows (and on the hottest days!) but now that I’m doing my own thing, I dressed casually with breeches and a vest :^)

Warmup was great- I knew our classes would take a lot of mental and physical effort for Wizard so we kept it short and sweet. I did a lot of walking, getting him used to the weaving and circling of all the horses. We then trotted, working on stretching and making contact with the bit. I only did one spin at the canter in each direction and he (gasp!) picked up the correct lead each time.

I had a very nice support group at the show, including my mom (also photographer and groom), my friend Christie, and my dad later in the day.

So here’s a rundown of our classes and how we did…

Adult Rider- 18yrs or older. English or Western.
W/T Eq Placed 6th. Wizard bounced around quite a bit during his walk-to-trot transitions, but was great with the horse traffic.
W/T/C Eq Placed 6th. They asked for a canter from a walk (oh, hm, we’ve never done that before!). No time like the present, and Wizard bounced into a canter from the walk. Not the prettiest transition, but he had a fair amount of impulsion from the show energy and it was pretty decent.
W/T/C Pleasure Our best class (according to the judge). Placed 4th.

Beginner Horse – Open to horses and ponies in their first or second year of showing.
W/T Placed 5th. I was much more relaxed and Wizard mirrored me.
W/T/C (canter individually) Did not place. Wizard picked up the wrong lead and leapt around a little in the first few strides of the canter. But once he settled, his canter was nice. Problem was, the judge was only watching horses in one spot on the rail and we tended to be pretty awkward in that spot. Wizard was getting a little grouchy around the other horses. I think he was hitting his threshold for attention span. If the last class was not over fences, I would have called it a day. I was proud of his performance in the class but the class was large and in the grand scheme of things, it was probably not that pretty.
W/T Hack with two cross rails Placed 5th. Our best performance (according to me). The judge made a comment about a rider who cantered the cross rails so I made sure to really bring Wizard down to a serious trot between the fences. Wizard was thrilled to jump and I was thrilled with his performance.

In all, it was a wonderful first show. I did not fall off or get otherwise disqualified, and Wizard performed admirably. I’m quite proud of him- it was fun to show off the results of all our hard work.