Wizard Session 123: Slow as Molasses in January

Tuesday, 1/12/10

I did a session of ground schooling with Wizard today, starting with long line work and followed by longeing. I tacked him up in a surcingle and his regular riding bridle (Happy Mouth mullen D bit). I warmed him up on the long lines, practicing with me walking a little further away than in previous sessions. Wizard is pretty easy to long line when I’m on his left side but he’s rather squirrelly when I walk on his right side, just like when I longe him to the right. We walked to the left first in order to get him moving forward. Then, I halted him and asked him to yield to rein pressure and turn his head, first on the right, then the left. Then, I switched sides to his right. He began to spin his hind end away from me, but I gently asked him to bend his neck again to each side. I think it worked to keep him centered and relaxed. We then walked to the left (counter-clockwise) but with me on his right (I was walking along the wall). I usually long line him to the right with me on his right.

There were a few traffic cones in the arena so we practiced keeping him from crowding me by walking with the cone between me and him. He knocked one over but was able to navigate the rest of them. We also walked over a few ground poles. Forward and straight, forward and straight.

I fastened side reins on the loosest hole possible in order to mimic light rein contact. When his head was relaxed, there was no pressure on his mouth at all. I put the side reins on to work on relaxation rather than for any gymnastic purposes. To the left, he longed beautifully, stretching down and relaxing his topline. To the right, he was rushy and tense, breaking into a fast canter several times and propping/spinning. Gently, persistently, I got him to move out at a trot after a few tries. He trotted about 10 times in each direction- I was not longeing for physical exercise but for mental exercise. By the time we were done, he was a little sweaty, which is interesting because he can play/run at liberty without breaking a sweat. The long lining and longeing was clearly more stressful and challenging than when he free longes, even though he canters and gallops at liberty and only walked and trotted for in-hand work.

I have a bucket of Equi-Pride and I’m trying to get Wizard to eat it without thinking it is poison. The first time, I added about an ounce to his rice bran mash and he refused to eat it. Now I’m being sneakier, adding a good serving of molasses and only putting a spoonful or two of Equi-Pride into the rice bran. I’ve learned that picky eaters like Wizard (Alibar was the same) can learn to eat new things but the new things must be introduced gradually. He used to hate rice bran and now he nickers for it. He hears the jar lid on the molasses and I can feel his stare as I prepare his treat.

Speaking of molasses, you know that saying about being “as slow as molasses in January”? Spend a little time in a barn with a jar of molasses and you’ll understand why people say it.

Selena Session 43; Wizard Session 113: Kill Your Television

Sunday, 10/25/09

Seems like everybody I know was watching TV tonight: football, baseball, Sunday night programs. After I left work, my first thought was the barn :^)

Wizard got a bucket of Alfa Supreme and a rice bran mash. He is loving the rice bran!

I tacked Selena up in a surcingle and a bridle and did a longeing session with her. She was obedient but I don’t think she got a lot of training on the longe in her past. One of the reasons she did not get longed much is because she is so good under saddle :^)

After warming up at the walk, I asked for a trot in both directions. She broke into a canter several times and I gently corrected her and asked her to trot. We probably longed for about 15 minutes, including warmup and cooldown. Even though it is rarely needed for a horse like her, it is a good thing for horses to know how to go on a longe line, for training, rider fitness, and for veterinary evaluation.

Wizard looked like an old pro after working with Selena. I longed him very lightly (I’m trying hard not to stress his stifle) at the walk and trot. Then, we went back to our long-lining exercises. He already was more forward and bold to the left since our last session one day ago. To the right, he stopped once and pinned his ears- interesting! I coaxed him forward and we walked toward the gate to get a little forwardness and straightness. We halted twice and I heaped on the praise. He continues to be a quick and sensitive pupil.

Wizard Session 112: From the Ground Up

Saturday, 10/24/09

A good day for ground work. I tacked Wizard up in his bridle and a surcingle and we did some ground work in the indoor arena. I started with a very light longeing session, walking for a few minutes, followed by about 7 times around at the trot in each direction. Then I fastened two long lines to his bit and introduced long lining to him.

I started by standing on his “good side” (his left) by his shoulder. The lines were held in my hands like reins. I asked him to walk on, just like we do on the longe line. His walk was a little wobbly because he was uncertain, but he seemed to catch on quickly. I asked for one turn and one halt, and praised profusely. Then, I tried the “bad” side (his right), which is the side on which he stops and spins on the longe line. He was very hesitant and reluctant to go forward but responded when I clucked him into a walk with my voice. I walked him along the wall so I could keep him straight. It will take a lot longer to work on the right, but it is an interesting glimpse into his personality to see that he is just as funny about his right on the longe line as he is in hand.

Here’s a photo of me long-lining JR this spring. Wizard will take a few more sessions before he can be this far away from me.

JR Session 19; Wizard Ride 63: Get On Your Boots

Monday, 3/23/09

Back to chilly weather here in New Jersey. Temperatures hit the upper 20s at night and the wind was gusty. The air is dry and there’s local concern of forest fires with the dry air and cold winds. Horses love cool climates, but the dry air seems to irritate them while they are being handled. I hand grazed Wizard for a few minutes as the sun set. When we walked back in the barn, his tail looked like a cat’s bottle brush tail after seeing something scary! I put a little conditioner on both horses to combat the static and dryness.

JR worked indoors on long lining, followed by a longeing session. Monday was his third time long lining and he’s beginning to get the hang of it. The first night, we only walked a few steps but now we can do some circles and change direction. Of course, he breaks into a trot and sometimes gets distracted, but he’s a good study and I expect him to keep improving.

On the longe, JR was frisky. He trotted and walked quite nicely but once we ventured to the far end of the arena and he felt that magnetic pull to the gate, he broke into a playful canter and hauled against the longe line, playfully bucking. I joked to my friend that it felt a little like fishing for marlin- not that I’ve ever fished for marlin, but a leaping palomino on the longe line must feel something like hauling a huge fish onto a boat. JR is getting fitter- he just started blowing and broke just a hint of a sweat by the time we were done. I cooled him out, groomed him, and put him to bed.

Wizard was again very sensitive to grooming on the crossties. He did not do anything threatening, but was clearly displeased by the brushing routine. Was it the static? Or was it the fact that I rode him three days in a row? Or was it the fact that this was the second session without Ulcergard? I’m still not sure.

On the longe and under saddle, I saw no problems in his behavior. He was a little stiff but he worked out of it. I also noticed the slightest bit of filling in his left hind fetlock, but it looked defined by the time I was done riding him. I longed him for about 10 minutes, then rode for about 20. We worked on about half the arena and I asked for circles in different parts of the ring. My goal was to keep him soft and introduce a little more leg whenever he felt like he was losing his rhythm. It worked well and he was comfortable with riding in different shapes. He relaxed quite a bit to the left but never completely relaxed to the right. He was obedient but not quite the superstar he was for the past two rides. When I was happy with the work he did, we cooled out and I brought him back into the barn. He was better about grooming after the ride.

I noticed that Wizard interferes (makes contact by touching one leg against the other) a bit on the longe and under saddle. I hear the click somewhere between 0 and 4 times during each session. I’m considering putting brushing boots or polo wraps on him to protect his legs. I tried a pair of Nunn Finer open front boots on his front legs. The sheepskin liner and leather shell are lovely but they slid down an inch or so while Wizard longed. I assume that the sheepskin needs to mold to his leg and wear down a bit before the boots fit him perfectly. Get on your boots, Wizard!

And for those who are keeping score at home, here are some progress photos of Wizard…

December 2008:

March 2009:

December 2008:

March 2009:

JR Session 16; Wizard Ride 60: Hello, Abs!

“We have to show the horse what we would like to do, but we have to allow him to do it.” – Walter Zettl

Thursday, 3/19/2009

The other day, I got the wheels turning in Sarah’s head when I told her how well Wizard trotted the ground pole in our last ride. Tonight during my warmup for my lesson, I heard the wonderful and familiar sound of jump poles being rearranged. Once we worked on getting a good rhythm for our trot and asking for a little bend, Sarah told us to trot the a pole. I stayed straight, concentrated on the rhythm of the trot, curled a pinky finger in his mane, kept my eyes ahead, and Wizard took care of the rest. Good boy! We trotted the pole in both directions. She added another pole and we trotted a “line”.

Then Sarah got creative.

She set up a little bitty hunter course of poles. Line, diagonal, line, diagonal. If I felt Wizard rushing or getting tense, I asked for a walk for three steps and went back up to the trot. Wizard was fabulous! He trots the poles really nicely. I remember doing a lot of work like this with Alibar and he always wanted to canter after the pole, but Wizard is happy to trot, and he really picks his feet up nicely. Work over ground poles and cavaletti will help his topline as well as his balance.

Sarah got really creative.

She made little itty bitty teeny tiny crossrails that were about the height of the poles themselves. She even made what we jokingly called a vertical and a spread fence, of poles on the lowest jump cup, about 6 inches apart. Wizard did the little course like a champ! It was so much fun (after the initial shock! I had assumed we were working on more trot work and bending and was totally not expecting this kind of lesson).

The change in routine was great for me. I could feel myself riding better and Wizard was very interested in his job. It was a big challenge to keep all of our flatwork in mind and focus on the course of poles.

Here’s our little outside line…

And then we popped over this one… Just kidding.

The entire ride lasted about 45 minutes. Wizard is getting fitter- he just had sweat under the saddle. As Walter Zettl also says, “We have to go to the limit, but never over”.

I was recently going through Ingrid and Reiner Klimke’s The New Basic Training of the Young Horse and was delighted to see that Wizard is following the basic schedule that they use for young horses (minus the hacking, but I’m hoping to do a little trail riding soon). Of course, we’re going twice as slowly as the book’s plan *g* Here’s the third month’s training plan:

Main aim: Developing looseness under the rider; developing pushing power and contact on the lunge.

Quiet work in rising trot on both reins, both on the circle and going large around the school, trot-walk transitions, stretching and chewing the reins out of the rider’s hand. When possible following a lead horse in walk and trot over cavaletti and single poles. Hacking out in walk behind a lead horse- enjoying the countryside.

Introducing the driving aids of the voice and the whip on the lunge. Short spells of canter on the lunge. Increasing tempo in trot to develop pushing power and the contact with the bit, making sure that the horse does not come behind the vertical. The side reins must not be too short. Cavaletti work on the lunge is a good gymnastic exercise and strengthens the back muscles. Free-jumping; free-schooling in the indoor school- with correct equipment.

After Wizard was cooled out and put to bed, I took JR out for a groundwork session. My goal was to start him with the process of long-lining with clicker training. I tacked him up with a surcingle and a longeing cavesson and attached my long lines to the rings on the cavesson and through the surcingle rings. I stood to his side, asked for a walk, and when he did… click and treat. Good boy!

We repeated the cues a few times in each direction. He broke into a trot a few times but as long as he was forward and straight, I let him trot. I prefer forward at this point.

I longed him a few rotations at the walk and trot, then turned him loose to stretch his legs.

He is moving out freely and I think that he’s feeling pretty good after his chiropractic adjustment. Hooray! He has an amazing amount of suspension for an Appendix Quarter Horse- I can totally see him in the dressage ring some day :^)

As I walked out of the barn, I felt a familiar muscle burn- abs! Hello abs, nice to have you back. It’s been a while, eh? I think the work over poles with Wizard helped me use my core muscles more properly today. I’ve long believed that the motivation of jumping always makes me a better rider- I always pinned better in over fences classes than I did in flat classes. It feels really good to get my riding muscles back. A year ago, Alibar injured his hock and I did not ride very much for several months. When the hock healed was when he was diagnosed with lymphosarcoma. And in the beginning of my sessions with Wizard, I really sat pretty quietly and stayed out of his way. Now that we are ramping up the work in our lessons, I’m beginning to feel like a rider again and it feels good.