The arena was freshly-watered and groomed, and the footing was really nice. My friend Kris rode and longed her mare Sunny while I longed Wizard. We followed our typical routine: walk with no side reins as a warmup, then trot with no side reins, then trot with side reins, then canter with no side reins. During our side rein work, I asked for a spiral in each direction. Wizard was perfect. In our last longeing session outdoors, he was cross-cantering, on the right lead in front and the left lead in the back. I see him do that at play sometimes, as well as in deeper footing. In the nice indoor footing, he picked up both leads perfectly.
Monday, 11/14/11
Another nighttime longeing session. I did a little pre-workout stretch work with him, including belly lifts (video here) and butt scrunches (video here). He longed really nicely again. He did a little cross-cantering again, but I was able to get him on the correct lead. It happens mostly on the right hand side.
I noted the sweat pattern on his saddle pad with the new saddle. It is straight down the panel on the right side, but a little patchy on the left. I think it is a combination of his crookedness and uneven muscling. He does seem less snarly about the saddle, so maybe he’s getting used to it and his back is loosening up. I asked for some more stretches after our longeing session, and he did them nicely.
When we were done longeing, Kris brought Sunny into the indoor arena to play with the big toy ball (pictured above). Sunny handled it well, despite her obvious lack of amusement at the large and strange toy. It reminded me of my wintertime soccer games with Alibar- video here: http://youtu.be/M6jV18C5OwU I need to find that clicker…
Ride? Did I say “ride”? Yes, I did!!! It’s been way too long- over a month, to be precise. I turned Wizard loose in the indoor arena to let him stretch his legs since he’s been stalled quite a bit due to rain recently. I then tacked him up and longed him indoors. He was a star. He WALKED and trotted like a pro in both directions. I noticed him stretching down into the bit more than he has in the last- it looks like he’s losing some of the tension about longeing to the right. Maybe his brain has successfully rewired itself again about longeing.
After he longed about 20 minutes at a walk and trot, I got on and cooled him out at a walk. He barely broke into a sweat, so it seems like he is getting fitter. It was SO NICE to be back in the saddle. I was dying to trot, but I knew I should take it easy. Dismounting was the toughest part. I did not want to jar my back by landing on my feet with a hop, so I slid down from the saddle as slowly as I could. My barn friend called it “the dangle”.
Wizard had just a little bit of nasal discharge, and I’m watching to see if he has a cold. His temperature is normal. Hopefully it’s nothing- his appetite is good and he is acting like his usual quirky self.
Another night of longeing, and Wizard is showing improvement. We worked again under the arena lights outdoors, still keeping the session short. Wizard trotted in both directions, but broke into a tense canter twice to the right. I worked him back down to a trot both times. He walked left, but could not walk to the right- that is our next challenge.
Our lessons from Saturday carried over to Monday. I hand grazed Wizard with his new friend Philadelphia and then turned him loose in the outdoor arena under the lights. He ran several laps around the arena without stopping, and it seemed like he appreciated burning off the energy. I tacked him up and we did a longeing session under the lights. He warmed up at a walk to the left, and then trotting without side reins to the left and… to the right! Yes, he has once again decided that trotting to the right is an okay thing to do.
Once he was warmed up, I fastened the side reins and asked for a few laps at the trot in each direction. To the right, he was responsive, but broke into a canter a few times. When we had an appropriate trot, I took off the saddle and cooled him out. It’s nice to know that Wizard is back to being able to trot clockwise and counter-clockwise!
After a fun day of working on photo projects, I worked with Wizard on the longe line. Since there was a competition in the indoor arena, we used the dressage court in the far arena by the woods. Wizard was FRESH from the time off and because I did not turn him loose in the arena before I worked him.
We started without side reins and I asked him to walk and trot tot he left. I could tell that he was really amped up, and I did not want him rushing to the right (his mentally sticky side) so I fastened the side reins. He trotted left quite nicely, with good rhythm and focus. I reversed him and got a big NOPE! from him. He stopped. He barged me. He spun. He did everything he could not to go to the right. The arena we were working in is definitely the most “exciting” since it has woods around it and no fencing so I tend to get the most animation and least focus in this arena.
Since we have some time to work exclusively on ground work while I get my back figured out, I took the opportunity to work on this refusal to go right and get to the core of this issue. Under saddle, Wizard rushes a little to the right but after a few months of riding, he was just as good to the left as to the right. He’s actually far worse on the longe to the right- I never have issues under saddle to the right anymore.
I asked for him to reverse the same way I always do, and it failed several times. He became more concerned, both crowding me by bumping me with his nose and by doing little “wheelies” with his front end. I would not quite call it rearing, but he was definitely not keeping all four feet on the ground. To protect his and my safety, we broke the behavior down even more. When he crowded me, I backed him up. I really hate using backing up as negative reinforcement, but the crowding is dangerous for both of us, and he is evading my cues. I placed myself on his right side with the longe line in my left hand and the whip in my right hand. I walked alongside him, asking him to go forward by touching his hind end with the whip. We did this several times, halting, walking, over and over. He “fishtailed” a few times, swinging his hindquarters away from me, and that meant I did not have control of both front and back ends. After a few more repetitions, he was no longer evading the forward cue and I was able to transition him into longeing on a small circle. Once he was confirmed to be listening, I made the circle after about two rotations. He then trotted PERFECTLY to the right, listening, stretching into the bit, with good tempo and no evasions.
I really hate to work through issues like these, and I always prefer to “finesse” a horse into doing something, but when Wizard is being unsafe and I cannot find a physical reason for his behavior, I occasionally have to reschool him. The whole longeing session lasted 25 minutes, including his cooldown, so it was not physically intense. He barely broke a sweat under his girth. But it was a lot of mental work for him. And me! The true test will be to see how he responds the next time I work with him.
It looks like I won’t be riding until I consult with a neurosurgeon about my back-so frustrating! Hopefully we will set up some physical therapy and then I’ll be back in the saddle. Until then, Wizard needs a job. We longed again tonight, this time in the outdoor arena where the footing is deeper. Rain is expected for the next few days, so I wanted to take advantage of the dry outdoor footing while I still could. Wizard pulled a few of the turn-around-and-face-me tricks when he was going to the right, but I pressed into his side with the butt end of the longe whip and that kept him out of my personal space and prevented him from crowding me. Wizard did not want to walk on the longe line, either, but after a few attempts, he remembered how to do it. My goodness, how quickly they forget how to do the things they don’t like doing!
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.
On account of the evening’s Keeneland April 2010 Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale, I had a free morning on a gorgeous spring day. Naturally, I went to the barn and rode. The birds were chirping, the sun was shining, and Alibar’s memorial pear tree was in bloom.
I free longed Wizard for about 5 minutes, a quick walk, trot, and canter in each direction. He looked good- his coat is glossy and he is becoming more muscular. We tacked up in the barn and I mounted up and rode in the large outdoor arena for about 20 minutes. The footing is deeper outdoors than it is indoors so I was mindful of not straining him and we mostly worked on straight lines and very large (20 meters+) circles.
Interestingly, Wizard did not pin his ears at all at the walk outdoors. The only time he pinned them was when he thought the ride was over and I asked for one more trot set. Again, I ignored it and it went away. We might be onto something here :^)
We did three trot sets, broken up by walking. I asked for two leg yields in each direction at the walk and he responded better than he did the day before. At the trot, he was energetic but very soft, stretching beautifully into the bit. He seems to enjoy carrying his head low so we play little contact exercise games at the trot, allowing him to stretch down, and push into the bit, and stretch down again.
The large arena was a nice change of scenery for us since we’ve been mostly indoors for our last few rides. The arena is about 100ft x 200ft so there is a LOT of space to ride and move out a little. I practiced getting into my jumping position a few times at the trot and allowed Wizard to move out a little.
After our arena ride, we hit the trails. There are ALREADY flies in the woods. Wow, they did not waste time, eh? In order to get to a newly-cut trailhead, Wizard had to walk over a few large hoses that were attached to a big pump. He balked at first, but I asked again and he complied. We rode out on the trail for about 40 minutes.
Two of my barn buddies recently moved to a new farm where they have immediate access to one of the nicest state parks in New Jersey. The other day, they both sent jubilant texts to me about their escapades on the trail. Inspired by their adventures, I asked Wizard for a trot on a straightaway on the trail. For the first few steps, he bounced anxiously, but then swung into a really enjoyable trail trot, full of pep and light on the bit. I have only ever walked Wizard on the trails so this was a BLAST for both of us. Wizard purred excitedly and maintained his pace better than I anticipated. We trotted through some muddy patches, over sticks, up and down little slopes.
We approached a sandy hill and I could feel Wizard rounding up into a canter. I channeled Sarah’s lessons from last spring and went with it and allowed the canter. If it feels good, do it. It was right so I went with it. For the first few strides, he was really springy and he felt unbalanced but then we got in stride with each other and he cantered for just a short stretch. Wow, it felt good to canter! Moving out on the trails took me back to all the fun times I had on hunter paces with Alibar. There is nothing like a fun trail ride.
When we got to a sandy clearing with a blind corner, we walked. I felt Wizard get verrry tall and tense. I spotted a flock of wild turkeys in the bushes. I could feel Wizard’s heart pounding through my legs. I explained to him that they were turkeys and that we were going to walk past them, not toward them. He gamely responded and we passed them without incident.
We trotted down a sandy road toward our nemesis, The Pigpen. Without another human or equine companion, I did not know how Wizard would react, but we were both so confident that I felt good trying it. He held his breath and I gently guided him past. He was tense, but did not place a foot wrong. Wow, we’re ready to take over the world!
Wizard and I crossed the street and rode through the back trails. We trotted for a long straightaway and again I felt a canter coming on so I went with it. It was delightful. Wizard’s canter is a little quick, but it is light- not at all lopey. I can feel a lot of power when he canters. During the ride, we cantered a total of three times. One stretch was for a pretty good length of trail. We powered back down to a trot through a hilly spot and when we got to the final leg of the trail, I asked for a walk. Wizard’s walk was the walk of a horse who felt really good. It reminded me of how Alibar used to feel after a jumper round, neck arched, spring in his step.
The two videos in this blog post (not the Sloan video, ha ha) are of our last leg home. We were enjoying the warm air and the gentle breeze. This trail ride was the best ride I’ve ever had with Wizard. After all this time, money, and effort, it really feels good to enjoy the results.
On the way to the barn, I walked Wizard on the road for a little while, listening to the clip-clop of his shod hooves on the blacktop. I can’t help but wonder just how much of this great riding streak is due to the shoes. I guess time will tell.
When we got home, I gave him a quick bath to get the sweat and mud off of him, and gave his legs a good rubdown. If he feels anything like me, he is tired and happy.
The days of unfrozen ground in New Jersey in January are few and far between. You have to take advantage of them when they happen. The outdoor arena where I ride Paris drains very well and is pretty good for riding, but part of it stays frozen unless we get a few mild days in a row. Fortunately, we had a streak of “nice” days when the temperatures floated above freezing and I was able to use the entire arena to ride Paris- hooray!
Paris was in high spirits and I was glad I longed her when I saw her land a few bucks that would make the immortal Midnight proud. After her merrymaking, she settled down to work and was great for the rest of the afternoon. Our ride was simple for Paris since I was working on my own position. This mare is so well-trained that my only concern is my riding getting in her way. Little Miss Perfect is the best horse for me right now because I can truly concentrate on my riding. The better I ride, the better she rides.
A respected friend saw some photos of me riding and she suggested that I work on allowing my upper arms to hang instead of flexing them. I needed to drop my arms and stop using my biceps to control the reins. If I was able to drop my upper arms and relax the muscles, I could use my entire arm more softly and effectively.
I am cursed with short arms so this work is more difficult for me than it is for my orangutan-armed colleagues. It’s a slow process, but I’m learning. Check out the difference between how I braced my arms with Alibar and how I’ve lifted and softened my hands with Paris. Baby steps!
I’ve got to rave about some of the tack I got over the holidays. The Nunn Finer Piaffe Dressage Girth is fantastic! I bought it at Horseman’s Outlet– Merry Christmas to me :^) It is well-made and the padding is generous. The angled straps and anatomic shape seem to be comfortable for Paris and the rings aid in a secure fit without pinching or girthiness. My parents bought me a Fleeceworks FXK dressage pad for Christmas and it is fantastic! It feels great to ride a mare with nice tack that fits her well.
Today’s ride was shorter than I wanted, but we did get to ride outside once again. I longed Paris for a few minutes and rode her at the walk and trot. The ground was frozen in about half the arena but we stayed in the unfrozen part and she felt fine. Her feet are adjusting nicely to being barefoot. Paris was responsive even with a lot of distractions around her. I can’t wait to ride again!
Rock and Racehorses: Sarah K. Andrew 