Wizard Ride 128: Oh Magoo, You’ve Done It Again

Sunday, 3/28/10

On Saturday, I started riding in a Fleeceworks FXK All-Purpose saddle pad and so far, I like the results. My saddle feels secure without being over-padded and Wizard’s back looks good. I compulsively monitor sweat marks to ensure proper saddle fit.

I rode at night after work. I brought him in the arena and free longed him for about 10 minutes. I tacked him up in the arena. He is so nice to work around- he stood quietly while being tacked up without a lead rope. I rode for about 25 minutes, warming up at a walk, then proceeding to trot work. At the beginning of the trot work, I encountered the same ear-pinning behavior I’ve noticed in the past. I made a concerted effort NOT to react when he pinned his ears. I know that I normally look down at him and soften up my seat because I’m concerned about him. I fear that I might be encouraging this behavior so I’m going to try to see if I can extinguish it. On Sunday night, it worked! A few minutes into our trot work, he was lowering his head and relaxing. Another bad habit I have is dropping the reins and allowing him to slow down if he stretches into the bit. I worked on correcting this bad habit by using my arms as rubber bands, rewarding his stretched neck by elongating my arms without feeding more rein to him. I kept my leg on before he could try to slow down. It seemed to work- now I need to make it a habit.

We practiced some circles and serpentines. I worked on keeping my inside seatbone soft through the turns. In order to keep my hip from collapsing through turns, I think about my hip posting toward the opposite ear (left hip posting toward the right ear and vice versa). The image is just enough to keep my seat soft and inviting so we don’t collapse and Wizard does not pop his shoulder.

When our ride was over, I brought him back to the barn and spent a little time grooming him. I worked on his mane, banged his tail, conditioned his hooves, and carefully curried his coat. When I was done, I reached into my tack trunk and pulled out the familiar Vetrolin coat conditioner bottle by the white nozzle and spritzed him two times on each side. I worked the product in with my dandy brush and then put him in his stall to eat his rice bran/Equipride mash.

I turned to my grooming supplies and gaped in horror… I had sprayed poor Wizard with No Chew instead of Vetrolin! I grabbed a towel, wet it down, and rubbed his coat vigorously to remove the product from his coat. As expected, Wizard is none worse for the wear, despite my fretting. It appears that I have two things in common with Mr Magoo: we are both Rutgers alumni and we both bumble our way through life.