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.
Rock and Racehorses: Sarah K. Andrew 