Wizard Ride 124: You May Be Right, I May Be Crazy

Saturday, 3/20/10

What do you do with a horse who has not been regularly ridden since November? If you said, “ride him on the trails by himself at dusk”, then you get a gold star.

Now that Wizard has his hind shoes, I’m giving him another crack at under-saddle work. The indoor and outdoor arenas were busy so I decided to try him on the trails. He’s a fairly sensible sort on the trails, so it was not a totally crazy idea. Only a little crazy.

I led him out for about a mile before I mounted up on a sandy bank and rode home. On the way out, we encountered a little creek of runoff water from the massive amounts of rain we’ve gotten. The water was about three feet wide. I stepped through it, sort of hopping. Wizard gathered himself like a cat and LEAPT over it. That boy can jump! Time to work on walking THROUGH things with him.

Our ride was pretty good- he was a little hot, but I sort of expected it. He was walking, but chewing nervously on the bit and swishing his tail. I sat quietly, talking to him and keeping my hands soft. We rode for about a mile, and I dismounted before we got back to the little creek. He LEAPT over it on the way back as well.

I was happy with our maiden voyage. My crazy plan worked.