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 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 281: The Bends

Wednesday, 9/14/11

The weather was hot and sunny, but it cooled down considerably by the time I rode Wizard. Kris and Sunny accompanied us in the big outdoor arena under the lights, on account of these short days! They really sneak up on me this time of year.

The footing was spectacular- just the right amount of moisture, and newly harrowed. Kris and I walked (and talked!) for a good long time before working our horses. I asked for some leg yields and halts before our trot work. At the trot, we did three 20-meter circles in each direction at three different spots in the arena, sort of like a snowman shape. Then, we worked on transitions, walking for a few steps, then trotting, then a slow trot, then a bigger trot, then a walk, etc.

I set up a little series of trot poles- two set up in a regular straight line, and four fanned out so that they were small steps on the left side and very large steps on the right side. When we approached them on a bend, we hit the center perfectly, but if Wizard bobbled, he hit them either long or short. He handled them really well. After a walking break while we watched Kris and Sunny doing their canter work (they’re doing great!), we did our own canter work. I asked for the canter from the walk on both leads. We got a decent one on the left lead and two wrong leads before the correct lead to the right. But Wizard’s canter was really nice. His tempo was fantastic, and he was not getting behind the bit- he was taking contact better. We did small circles in each corner in each direction.

We trotted the fanned trot poles one more time, and then approached a brand new obstacle for Wizard… hay bales! He jumped them beautifully.

Kris and I cooled the horses out, and put them to bed. We were in the saddle for almost an hour and a half, but a lot of it was walking. The breaks really seemed to keep Wizard calm. It was a really nice ride.