Wizard Rides 288 & 289: A Head With Wings

Friday, 9/30/11

In the photo above, my friend’s dearly-departed Morgan, Mary, is modeling the Stubben Golden Wings bit. The bit does not fit my friend’s new mare, so Wizard gave it a try.

We began our ride outdoors. The air was cool but damp from all the recent rain and humidity. All my tack got moldy from not riding for almost a week :^P Wizard was energetic but not evasive. He happily purred while we rode. Something about the cool air, the bit, and the time off seemed to agree with him, and he was FABULOUS. He was taking contact, and I was able to keep my hands right there with him instead of feeding the reins through with my fingers or creeping the reins up when he stretched into the bit. I think the Stubben is SO mild that Wizard is comfortable sitting on it a little more than his usual bits. All of our bits are extremely mild, but this one seemed to sit in his mouth like butter.

We worked on some lateral exercises, and I worked diligently on using my calf instead of poking him with my heel (awful habit that I fall into sometimes). We did some lengthening of our gaits, and I got the most BRILLIANT trot out of him. It was pretty close to a real extended trot- the tempo did not increase, but his stride lengthened and he really pushed with the hind end.

Annnnd then it rained.

So we moved indoors. We continued our lateral adventures, and did some shoulder in work, mostly at the walk. I got so brave that we practiced a few steps of Walter Zettl’s Shoulder-In Entwickeln Exercise. It was pretty sloppy, but the basics were there. He was SUCH a good boy. It made me think again about doing dressage shows with him :^)

Sunday, 10/2/11

Sunday’s ride was short, much to Wizard’s delight. We rode in the indoor arena with Kris and Sunny. We had a long, lazy walking warmup, followed by some leg yields at the walk. Then, we went into the trot, practicing circles at the ends. We worked on the leg yield at the trot, and were doing some transitions before Kris needed some moral support during her ride with Sunny. Wizard was off the hook for the rest of the ride, and was even referred to as “the good horse”. My goodness, how far we’ve come…

Wizard Ride 282: Tame the Sun

Thursday, 9/15/11

The only way I seem to be able to ride in daylight is to ride before work or on my days off. I’m loving the change of seasons, but this fast sunset is messing up my game! Before doing my Camelot Auction photos, Mom and I went to the barn and I rode Wizard outdoors. The weather was variably warm/humid and windy/cool.

Wizard and I duplicated parts of Wednesday’s ride, warming up on a very loose rein at the trot. He stretched even more than he did the day before, and I can see those lovely complexus muscles in the photo above. Not bad for a cribber with a thick neck! The stretching works on his neck telescoping mechanism.

Since he was so loose and limber, I asked for a canter right away instead of doing a lot of trot work. It worked pretty well, and we did circles in each corner to keep him balanced and focused. He picked up each lead readily.

When he gets anxious or tries to rush or gets unbalanced, Wizard tucks his nose and goes behind the bit, like this:

I did some more work on loosening him, lifting my hands, and getting him above the bit. We trotted through the fanned trot poles, and then we took the hay bale jump a few times. First, we trotted in, and then cantered it a few times. When he was nice and balanced, I encouraged him to reach by giving a long crest release and lots of loose rein.

But when he rushed or got unbalanced, he got a short release with more contact:

We ended our session on a good note, trotting in over the jump, since he was beginning to anticipate it at the canter. He settled, and we called it a day.

Wizard Ride 276: These Arms of Mine

Tuesday, 9/6/11

Before work, I rode Wizard in the indoor arena. The horses have not spent a lot of time outside due to the rain, so Wizard was quite powerful. Our trot work was really nice, and he got himself onto the bit pretty nicely. Still lots of straightness issues, but we’re working through them. Our canter work, however, was tiring! My arms were aching by the time we were done. Wizard has a soft mouth, but he goes wayyy behind the bit when he gets revved up, so I was holding him when he tried to duck behind the bit, as well as check him when he tried to rush at the canter. The canter work is much more difficult indoors since the arena is a little smaller and the footing is harder than the outdoor ring. I don’t think Wizard was tired by the end of the ride, but I sure was!

Wizard Ride 273: …But Not Serious

Wednesday, 8/31/11

Riding lesson day!

After watching part of Kris and Sunny’s lesson, Wizard and I had a lesson with Carole. I had him warmed up before the lesson, so we got right to business. First order of business was my position and how it was affecting Wizard at the trot. The big things I had to remember for this lesson were: roll my left thigh out a bit, stop leading with my left shoulder, lift my hands and soften my elbows, and focus on the tempo of Wizard’s trot. Carole said that she asks her young riders to sing their A-B-Cs to regulate the speed of the trot, and I was worried that she was going to make me do it, ha ha! Thankfully, I just sang it in my head and it actually helped to keep Wizard at a regular pace.

I explained to Carole that Wizard and I had been struggling with canter transitions, so she really took some time to work on them. First, she asked for a walk-to-canter transition. What? But ours is terrible! Just do it, she asked. And so we did. And it was actually really good! I have not asked for one in forever because they used to be so awkward. With some careful timing and balanced riding, we got a decent one in each direction. We really worked on the leg aid being part of the walking motion, rather than an awkward tap on the side with my heel (bad me!).

At the trot, we also worked on canter departs. It turns out, I was over-thinking them and we did a lot better when I did not take half the arena waiting for the perfect trot. We did not rush, but we did not dawdle. After just one transition, Wizard began to anticipate, and after a few more, he was doing his war dance. Tempo, count the steps, ask for my trot, and influence him with my posting.

Once we were cantering, we worked on getting me to soften my hands and ask Wizard to stretch his nose out instead of curling it to his chest. Every other stride, I gave with my hands without throwing the reins away.

The plan was to do some jumping, but with all the intense flatwork that we did, we decided to jump next time. It was a very productive lesson. I always get my money’s worth with Carole! We discussed my “homework” for future rides, and I asked how I should approach jumping. Carole agreed that doing small jumps and sets of trot poles during flatwork was a good idea. Do a figure 8, trot a cross rail. Ask for a canter, hop a little jump, and keep riding. Don’t get too serious about the jumps. Let him settle and learn that they are not the most exciting things in the world.

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 265: Figure 8

Monday, 8/8/11

Another perfectly-groomed arena, another day of riding shapes outside in the ring. This time, I set up single poles at the center of each loop of a 5-loop serpentine. Wizard was great through the warmup and all the trot work. We incorporated some lengthening exercises, as well as a little lateral work. At the trot, he went over the poles softly and in a relaxed manner- at the canter, he rushed. I also rode down the center line at each gait, working on straightness, a bugaboo for us both. At the canter, he was tight through his back again, less than he was last time, but still not right. When I groomed him, I noticed that he was a little tight over his right hip. I’m going to have my friend do a massage on him next week to see if she finds any other sore points, and then decide if he need the chiropractor, the saddle fitter, or the vet.

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.

Wizard Ride 260: Hot Freaks

Thursday, 7/7/11

It was a HOT July day. Wizard and I took it easy and did not do any jumping and instead continued tuning up our flatwork.

We warmed up at the walk and trot. Wizard was distracted by the flies, and was not listening to every half halt. I understand that the flies are a bother, but he was tuning out my leg and seat and I did not want him barging through the aids. We trotted and walked every twenty steps. I half halted before the walk, and if he did not respond to it, I held the bit firmly in my hands so he “ran into” it. This took only a few tries before he was once again tuned in to my riding. It really is a joy riding him, most of the time, because he is so responsive. When he gets too wound up, he goes behind the bit, like he did in the photo above, but a little leg and softer hands gets him back into his forward mode.

We then worked on canter transitions. I found that giving him a half halt and then stepping the trot down a notch right before the canter really improved his trot to canter transition. It also helped him to avoid running into it. I worked hard on my leg timing and we only missed the correct lead twice. We did a few walk-trot-canter transitions in each direction.

At the canter, I asked for a hand gallop each way. The second he feels me let him out a notch, the Thoroughbred in him takes over. I love how his tail is out in this photo, and he’s straining against the bit- “Let me go! Faster!”

I cooled him out in the shade of the indoor arena, and hosed him off and parked him in front of a fan until he was totally cool.

Looking back on old photos, I see some good things about my riding. The shorter stirrups have really helped my leg. I’m sitting more securely and Wizard is rounder. Hooray!

October 2010

July 2011

Wizard Ride 259: Transitions

Tuesday, 7/5/11

I warmed Wizard up in the indoor arena in the evening after work. We worked mostly on a large circle, working on engaging his hind end by practicing walk-trot transitions. Once he was on the bit and listening to my leg, we ventured outside and continued our transitions at the canter. Wizard is improving, slowly. After I looked back at the blog, I realized that I’ve been taking it a little easy the canter departs for the past, ah, year or so. Time to move forward.

Wizard Ride 246: A Change is Gonna Come

“Talent without discipline is like an octopus on roller skates. There’s plenty of movement, but you never know if it’s going to be forward, backward, or sideways.” H. Jackson Brown

Wednesday, 6/15/11

GORGEOUS weather for a morning ride. Wizard enjoyed a flake of alfalfa hay while I tacked him up, and then we went into the indoor arena for our ride. I warmed him up at the walk, first on a loose rein, then with contact. Wizard has a habit of getting “selective hearing” in the beginning of a ride with leg aids. Usually, I ride without a crop, and simply get him on my leg with lots of transitions, but today I carried a crop for the first few minutes of trot work. Wizard needed the tiniest tap just once to remember what my legs are for, and was light and responsive to leg for the rest of the ride.

At the trot, we worked on circles and along the rail, getting contact and establishing feel. Our circles turned to serpentines, as we practiced degrees of bending. Then, we got to the meat and potatoes of the ride: cantering figure 8s with simple changes at the trot.

Odd duck that he is, Wizard finds simple changes more challenging than flying lead changes. The trot-to-canter transition is still rushy and awkward for him unless we are both totally “in the zone”. I backed off on the transitions for a while and worked on improving his trot and doing lots of transitions to increase balance and power in the hind end. This seemed to help, since our attempts were a little less awkward than previous canter transition sessions. It was still less than graceful. Wizard has more difficulty picking up the left lead than the right lead most of the time, and when he gets tense, the trot in the center is not straight and is not relaxed. We got through a few figure 8s that I deemed acceptable and I ended the ride with a walk around the property to cool him out.

It is tough to decide when to push and when to step back. I always tend to step back as my first instinct, but usually Wizard does well with a gentle push.