Wizard Rides 604-640: Coming Home

March 11- April 24

Our bitter, wet, volatile winter is over, whew!

Wizard got his second set of rocker shoes on March 27, and he feels great. We got in several great rides indoors while we were staying at the clinic, including a lesson. We worked on exercises to loosen up Wizard’s topline and get him comfortable on his “new feet.”

On March 31, Wizard came home from the clinic. Although he received first-class treatment at the clinic, he was THRILLED to return to his friends and to outdoor living. I thought he’d take a week or so to settle in, but he was back to his routine in a matter of half an hour or so. And his turnout buddies were DELIGHTED to have him back. I can’t imagine what horses think when their friends vanish and reappear like that.

I’d like to think that the shoeing change is a contributing factor to Wizard’s under-saddle behavior. He’s currently riding the BEST he’s ever ridden! He feels balanced, confident, and relaxed. The massage therapist worked on him on the 3rd of April and the chiropractor saw him on the 8th, and both were very pleased with his muscling and demeanor. He was out in a lower cervical vertebra, his withers, a little tight on the right side of his back, and some minor pelvic asymmetry. His adjustment went well, and the chiropractor said that he looked and felt the best that she has ever seen in the five-plus years that she has been working on him.

I started Wizard back on the Pennfield Energized Senior on January 31, and he’s still eating it very well. He seems to prefer it to the Triple Crown Senior or the Purina Ultium. He’s shiny and his weight looks good, so we’ll stick to what is working.

Once we returned from the clinic to our farm, I did my best to get him out every day that I could make time for him. We’ve been hitting the trails in earnest, especially since there are very few bugs out right now (only gnats). The peepers started around Saint Patrick’s Day, and I’m assuming that the flies will be back soon.

On the trails, sometimes we ride solo and sometimes we ride with barn buddies. I’m stepping up our canter work, and Wizard is rising to the challenge. His trot feels better, too, with more freedom in the shoulder. I also popped him over a few little jumps, and he’s willing, balanced, and scopey. I think we might be ready to take the next step with our training. My fingers are crossed for a great year with him.

Wizard’s hoof progress: radiographs

Wizard’s radiographs from Feb 5 and March 27.

Left front, Feb 5

Left front, March 27

Right front, Feb 5

Right front, March 27

Left hind, Feb 5

Left hind, March 27

Right hind, Feb 5

Right hind, March 27

Wizard’s hoof progress photos: April 1, 2014

These photos were taken on January 8, February 1, February 9, and April 1.
Left Front…

Right Front

Left Hind

Right Hind

Wizard Ride 33: It Gets Ugly Before It Gets Pretty

Sunday, 1/4/09

After work, I headed to the barn. I watched my friend Christie work with Mary the Morgan. They have made SO MUCH progress and it’s such a thrill to see them learn about each other.

After their ride, I tacked Wizard up and hand walked him for about 10 minutes as a warmup. I try my best to change the routine to keep things fresh. I keep some parts the same to teach consistency but I change some so that Wizard does not think that he MUST longe before riding or that he is entitled to a clicker session after a ride.

Then my friend Sarah got to the barn and she rode Wizard for about 15 minutes. Sarah is an accomplished hunter/jumper rider. I’ve known her since she was a little girl and she has become an admirable horsewoman. She has worked with some of the top trainers in my part of New Jersey and she has ridden all kinds of horses, from imported warmbloods to the most modest backyard grade horses.

Sarah has a lot of experience with Thoroughbreds- she also has one of her own. As soon as she started walking, she was already riding with a beautifully loose rein and Wizard appreciated it. She sat quietly, working with him as he got himself comfortable. When he bounced into a jog, she settled him back to walk and gave a pat and a big release with the reins. Release is so key with green horses, especially Thoroughbreds. Within one or two circles, he was walking calmly with a low, relaxed frame. Sarah took up contact for a few steps, then released, over and over.

Than she asked for a trot. It was a really excellent learning experience for me because I got to see all of Wizard’s quirks from the ground instead of from in the saddle. I saw how he chomps when he’s nervous, I saw how short his neck gets when he evades the bit and gets behind it. I saw how much of a range there is from his fast trot to his slow trot. And I also got to see how to ride through it. Sarah’s reins were VERY light on his mouth and she did everything she could to encourage him to stretch down and carry himself. It gets awfully heavy carrying a horse’s head in your hands ;^) Wizard needs to learn to relax and carry himself before he can accept contact.

I also learned that a lot of the fussing he’s doing with his neck and head is just him trying to get comfortable. He is not trying to run away or misbehave, he is just trying to figure out what to do. I know that he’s a good horse, but there is a tiny shred of self-preservation in me that wonders if he’ll take off bucking if I give him so much rein.

Wizard was far more balanced to the left than to the right. Alibar was a little sided, but not nearly as sided as a lot of horses. The good news is that I’m a lefty and I actually ride better to the right. So maybe Wizard and I will even each other out.

To the right, Wizard did rush a little bit. But he never broke into a canter, he just sped up his trot. Sarah simply rebalanced and he rebalanced. She also asked for a walk before he’d get too confused.

By the end of her little ride, she had him trotting on a loose rein, stretching downward in both directions. Hooray!

Then I hopped on and walked him out for about 10 minutes. He was back to his wonderful Wizard walk, the one I worked on so diligently for all these rides. Sarah told me that each new training experience will probably be awkward like this in the beginning. It will be ugly before it gets pretty, especially when we are first teaching him to balance himself.

Wizard Ride #19: On to Bigger and Better

12/8/08: I feel more comfortable and Wizard feels more comfortable. We’ve finally climbed past that pesky plateau and we’re ready for bigger and better! How do I know? Wizard told me so.

We started with in-hand ground work. I led him from the left and right sides to continue our efforts to acclimate Wizard to handling on the right side. We did a little clicker training and I asked for his “head down” behavior and we did a little targeting. “Head down” is becoming a solid behavior after three good sessions. We are increasing the length of time that he lowers his head and Wizard is very relaxed and willing- I think it helps that he naturally is fairly low-headed. We also walked over ground poles in order to work on Wizard’s coordination and begin the long process of strengthening his back.

As you can see in the photo, Wizard’s back is long:

We need to keep it flexible and strong.

We were in the arena with Cathy and Miss Tuesday, another green but sweet Thoroughbred. Both horses seemed pleased to have the company.

After about 15 minutes of ground work, I mounted up and we began our short but highly successful ride. I rode for about 10 or 15 minutes, all at a walk. We started with big circles at the end of the arena near the gate. Then I increased the size of the circle and asked Wizard to step over a few ground poles. He walked over them like a champ. We changed direction and I continued to work on keeping my posture relaxed and moving with Wizard’s back. Wizard appreciated it, and did not bunch up, break into a jog, or get tense a single time for the entire ride. This was a first for us and I’m SO proud. I could feel that he was walking the same way that he walks in hand: a nice, big, relaxed walk.

At the end of the ride, I walked Wizard to the far end of the arena, facing away from the gate. We stood for a good minute and I dismounted and praised him profusely.

Then I did a quick check of his longeing abilities. I try to change my routine whenever possible to keep things fresh. Sometimes we don’t longe at all, sometimes we longe first, sometimes last. Since our revelation about twirling the whip to keep him going (see Session #18), Wizard is FAR better on the longe. I’ve begun working on voice commands for walk, trot, and halt.

After about 5-10 minutes on the longe at a trot, I untacked Wizard and turned him loose in the arena to try a few minutes of free longeing. I expected him to a) gravitate toward the gate or b) fly around like a ninny. He did neither. When I asked him to go forward, he longed two rotations around me in a perfect circle as if he was still attached to the longe line! I asked him to change directions and to use the entire arena and I got to see a really fluid, happy, big trot. I also saw his canter, which is not the prettiest thing I’ve ever seen. As he becomes more balanced, his canter will improve. His trot looks pretty since he has a nice hind end and his joints seem quite flexible. He has a bit too much hock action in my opinion and I’ll be interested to see if his “chicken hocks” go away as he learns how to balance himself.

When we were done, I asked him to halt and he responded immediately- he was so good! I brought him back into the barn, gave him a quick grooming and a little back massage, filled his bucket with warm water, put ThrushBuster on his feet, and put him to bed.

I left the barn with a really good feeling. Wizard confirmed that he is happy and comfortable with everything I ask him to do. I do my best to listen to anything that might be bothering him, but on Monday night, nothing bothered him at all. He is starting to come out of his shell and I’m beginning to see more of his personality. Now it’s time to create a few new plans under saddle and on the ground. Lately, I spend more time daydreaming about riding than I do in the saddle!

Wizard Session 16: It’s Go Go, not Cry Cry

12/1/2008: Something good is happening! Wizard and I had a great session today. Like my favorite quote from Grindhouse, Wizard was all go-go and no cry-cry. And no kick-kick, either.

We started with a clicker training lesson. Wizard only learned the basics from me a month or so ago and he was a little rusty. I re-familiarized him with the process (target, click, treat) and he came back to the process fairly quickly. I also introduced a new behavior, “head down”. He caught on to it like a bright little student. Perhaps Wizard will live up to his name, after all.

After we finished with the clicker, I tacked him up and brought him back out to the arena for longeing. Wizard longed very nicely, trotting in each direction without stopping a single time! More progress!

After he longed (about 5 minutes), we did some more in-hand work. We walked over poles, walked and trotted patterns, and did several walk/trot transitions. Wizard seems to be building strength since he can follow me with ease. During the first few sessions, he was not as good with his feet or his balance. Now, he is learning to follow me and seems a tiny bit better with his balance. We ended the session with carrot stretches.

When we walked back to the barn, I noticed that he was a little short-strided in his front end. I’m hoping that this is simply tender soles and as his hoof gets rebalanced, he will be more comfortable. He also does a fair amount of “clicking” in his legs, back, and neck as he works- it sounds like he has gotten arthritic over the years and I hope that this light work will help him manage it.

Something felt really good during the training session today. I felt very confident with Wizard, and we were both very comfortable with each other. Since I lost Alibar, I have not felt as confident around horses, even though I’ve ridden since I was a little girl. Today, I felt some of that old spark. My Equine Therapist is doing a great job.