From the TDN Blog: Thewifedoesntknow Training Blog, Week 3

A new update for YouTube sensation “Ally-Gator”. She jumped her first little cross rail and took her first trail ride. Link here: http://thetdnblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/thewifedoesntknow-training-blog-week-3.html

From the TDN Blog: Thewifedoesntknow Training Blog, Week 1

Read all about the progress of this promising mare as she transitions from life at the track (and former YouTube sensation) to life as a show hunter: http://thetdnblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/thewifedoesntknow-training-blog-week-1.html

And here’s the introduction, in case you have not seen it yet… http://thetdnblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/life-after-youtube-next-chapter-for.html

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 256: Don’s Upset the Rhythm (Go Baby Go)

Thursday, 6/30/11

It was a beautiful day, and Mom came out to the barn with me. After I warmed Wizard up, Carole rode him for a little while. Carole worked mostly in a half seat, sitting lightly and encouraging Wizard to move freely. After some trot work, she got him into a really nice, huntery canter. It gave me hope to see how floaty he can be. Carole is the first person I’ve seen ride Wizard at a canter, and it was a pleasant surprise! Carole has a really nice feel with Thoroughbreds, and Wizard seemed to appreciate her. It was actually really good for me to see that Wizard was playing with the bit with her as well, so I’m not the cause of his busy mouth!

After Carole was done riding, I did a little over-fences work with Wizard. We started with an outside line of cross rails. We trotted in, and cantered to the second jump in five strides. As usual, the first two times were really good and then I began to over-think things and we rushed the third time. Then, I halted Wizard in the middle of the line the fourth time so he would listen instead of immediately focusing on the next jump. It helped me to sit up and focus as well.

He took the line nicely the final time, and we moved on to an outside line on the other side, also five strides after trotting in. We upped the jump to a little vertical. Wizard blew through the line the first time, flat and fast- photo here:

The next time, I worked on keeping the rhythm the same and it really helped. Just focus on the rhythm and the horse will do the rest. I can’t jump for him, but I can make his cantering approach easier for a successful jump.

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.

Wizard Ride 197: These Hands

Thursday, 11/18/10

Today, I had my first riding lesson with Carole. She is a local trainer/rider/instructor, and she has many years of experience. One of my favorite things about Carole is her skill with Thoroughbreds; as an owner of a beautiful, sensitive, chestnut Thoroughbred mare, Carole knows the breed well and can practically think like one.

Wizard began the lesson with uncharacteristic goofiness… prancing, fussing with the bit, and resisting my pleas to settle and focus. He was not bad per se, but was quite silly. He skittered around and tried to canter when we were trotting and bounced around, swapping leads every few strides at the canter. Part of the problem was all the time off he had, I think- he has only been ridden a few times this month due to my trip to Kentucky for the Breeders’ Cup.

Carole had a few suggestions about tack: 1) try a thicker bit to help with the fussiness 2) put the saddle a little more forward on Wizard’s back 3) shorten the stirrups by one hole

To put it kindly, my equitation is rusty. Carole (politely!) helped me with my leg, as well as issues with contact. To demonstrate contact points while in the saddle, she placed one riding glove under each calf. I rode at the trot and walk and the gloves fell embarassingly soon after we started the exercise.

We also did some work on our walk-to-trot transitions. I tend to rush him into his trot and he bounces into it. Carole asked me to really focus on a quiet, balanced, smooth transition. It took some concentration, but we eventually got it.

“Combing the reins” was introduced to help with my reluctance to make contact on the reins and also to help with Wizard’s nervous mouthiness on the bit. The reins were held first in my right hand, then my left, with one rein between thumb and index finger and the other rein between my ring finger and pinky. I let the reins slide through the first hand for a few inches and then reached forward with the other hand and took the reins in the same fashion, gently trading hands as I ran them down the reins. It was a wonderful exercise, because it helped me to take consistent contact and it encouraged Wizard to reach into the bit. The contact was neither active or passive, and it was excellent schooling for both of us.

A line of trot poles were set up with one group of three, followed by a second group of three (built up from one)- once we warmed up, we trotted the poles. Wizard bounded over them the first few times, cantering after the first set. Carole asked me to R-E-L-A-X my hands, my arms, and my face and not to rush (Wizard and I both tend to rush through life). She asked us to walk the second series of poles. Wizard was puzzled by this new exercise and it took us a few tries to get it right. We have both gotten pretty bad about hurrying around the arena and over obstacles and this exercise really showed our bad habit in broad daylight.

It was a real treat to work on two things that really improved us: combing the reins and doing trot poles in a downward transition. Wizard and I both got a lot of good from our first lesson.

Wizard Ride 194: Sprawl

Friday, 11/12/10

On Friday, I learned that one can indeed get away from the sprawl. My friend Erin drove up from Maryland with her Morgan mare Belle and picked up Wizard and me for a trail ride in Assunpink Wildlife Management Area. On our last trip to the park, Wizard was extremely reluctant to load into the trailer so I had some concerns about how he would handle himself this time. There were several differences, though, in the trailering situation, so in the back of my mind, I was secretly hoping he’d hop right on. Erin’s trailer was a large, tall, airy stock trailer with no divider- the trailer was a step-up and not a ramp. Belle was already on the trailer, happily munching hay. I walked Wizard up to the trailer and he took a look inside. I straightened him out, and BOINK! he stepped right inside!

YESSSSSS!

I grinned ear-to-ear after seeing him load so easily. He trusted us… it was just the trailer he did not trust last time out.

Erin is a top-notch trailer driver and Wizard arrived at the park happy and interested in our adventures. He unloaded as easily and stood quietly while he was saddled and when I got on. The first fifteen minutes of the ride were a little dicey for him, as he had not been ridden since I went to Kentucky and the weather was dry and cool. We tried a trot a few times and he just about jumped out of his skin, hopping around, and doing a few half-rears. I kept my cool and kept him moving forward and eventually he got the hang of things and settled.

Since Erin had never been to the park before, I was the guide. Before our ride in September, I had not ridden in the park in over a decade :^) We did a few trot and canter sets through the fields. The cantering seemed to settle him the most. He crossed the stream with a little trepidation, but more confidence than last time. The park was stocked with pheasants for the hunters and we flushed a few along the way, but both horses were quite good about it. We rode out past the sheep farm and toward a road. We took a little branch off the road and found a fantastic trail with logs on it, and took a few little jumps. Well, they were little jumps but Wizard took them like they were huge. We cantered down and back up a little valley, and Wizard was excitedly snorting when we stopped. He really enjoyed the jumps!

I was in search of Stone Tavern Lake, which we visited last time. We had some trouble locating it this time, so I asked some hunters. They seemed surprised that we were headed there, and said it was two miles down the road. Wizard and Belle are perfect trail buddies, since they have the fastest walks I’ve ever seen on three-gaited horses. We made short time of the trip to the lake and headed down a dirt road to the shore. The lake looked very different from last time, since we were on a different side. Belle, the seasoned trail mare that she is, stepped right in the lake and looked as if she might dive all the way in if Erin allowed her to do so. Wizard stepped right in the lake, but got a little nervous when the waves lapped at the shore. We took a quick picture of our friends in the lake and headed back on our way. The weather could not have been nicer, and Erin and Belle are wonderful company. I’ve known them both for several years and it’s always a treat to spend time with them.

So how do we get back? Hm. We let Belle have her head and hoped she’d wander back to the trailer. We had been out for a good long time and it was time for Wizard to get back since he is not used to long rides. Locating the trailer proved more difficult than we expected. Wizard is usually no help in these matters, since he’ll just ride along wherever I point him. He did drift a few times, but it seemed like it was the wrong way.

Belle took us to a few trails and a few uncut trails- she was working on a way back, but it seemed to bring us back in a circle. I called my friend and we got directions back. Even with the directions, it took a little while to get where we wanted to go.

By the time we got back to the trailer we had ridden for about FOUR HOURS. I slithered out of the saddle and untacked Wizard. I had no expectation of riding nearly that long! I put his cooler on and grazed him for a little while. He hopped back on the trailer like a pro and we drove back to the barn. I gave him a good rubdown at the barn. I hoped he would not be half as sore as I was!

And who said you can’t get lost in New Jersey??? We got far, far away from the suburban sprawl.