Selena Ride 30; Wizard Ride 101: Let my Cameron goooooooooo…

Flash forward to January:

Me: U riding?

U: No, it’s 40 below and there are two feet of snow in the indoor.

Me: Wish I’d ridden more when it was nice out.

– Text message received by Sarah K. Andrew on Thursday, September 24, 2009

He’ll keep calling me, he’ll keep calling me until I come over… OK, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go, I’ll go.
– Cameron Frye in Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

“Even with the greatest of care and the most serious diligence, no one should dream that it would be possible to reach the goal smoothly and without obstacles. With every horse you take in training, if it appears to be the most evidently suitable riding horse, be prepared for disappointments, embarrassments, and fights; then you might possibly not lose your good humor; and that is really the most important in all of your work.”
– Gustav Steinbrecht (Das Gymnasium des Pferdes, 1935)

Thursday, 9/24/09

Allergies? Swine flu? Whatever I have, I’m under the weather. I know I’m really not feeling well is because I thought about skipping the barn. But a few motivational text messages and a few flashbacks to Cameron Frye of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off when he wanted to stay in bed got me out of the house.

Rode Wizard on the trails with Mary the Morgan for a little more than two miles. Wizard was very slow at the beginning of the ride and picked up his pace as the walk went on. We crossed the street twice and he was great. We had a little drama when we arrived at the farm where the pigs live. There are only four pigs but both Wizard and Mary crinkled their noses and got tense before we got to the farm. We approached the farm from the opposite direction than our usual route, and Wizard balked and spun a bit and refused to go forward. Mary followed suit when she saw how strongly big, strapping Wizard felt about the pigs. I can’t blame her :^)

We were too close to the road and too far from the barn for me to do anything that would not have a surefire result so I dismounted and led Wizard past the pigs. I kept the reins short in my hands and worked on responsiveness to my vocal cues. I clucked my tongue and at the same time, tapped his left hip with the riding crop with my left hand (he was on my right). I repeated the exercise over and over. He balked twice at the pigs and then responded and passed them. I continued the exercise several more times until he was stepping smartly forward with every cluck.

A little way down the trail, we reached a mossy bank where I remounted- a first for me and Wizard on the trail! He stood really nicely and the rest of the ride was good. He was strong but totally responsive. The bugs/humidity were distracting him and he leapt through part of a puddle but I felt secure. It was a good, productive ride. I hate getting into disagreements with horses, but this one worked out well.

Selena is still stiff from her fall vaccinations so I walked her under tack for about 20 minutes. There were several horses in the indoor arena and she was happy as a clam walking along while the rest trotted, cantered, and jumped.