Wizard Session 129: It Was a Dark and Stormy Night…

Monday, 3/29/10

Rain, rain, rain in New Jersey. Again.

Since Wizard spent the afternoon indoors, I decided to do a “fun” session with him and we did a little free jumping. First, I set up the chute with no poles on the ground and Wizard warmed up at a walk and trot (after a luxurious roll, of course). Then, I added two trot poles and he trotted through a few times in both directions. I left one pole and raised the jump to a crossrail. He trotted, then cantered through. Then I raised the jump to a small vertical and he took it nicely. I increased the height and put a second rail on a slant under the top rail to make the jump more inviting. The jump (pictured) was around 2’6″ or 2’9″, I’d guess. The first time through, he hesitated, came to a stop, and then pounced over it. I liked his determination- he hesitated, but tried vailiantly. The next time over, he was much more confident. Since I’m working on his fitness, we only did a few jumps. After the session, he was a little sweaty- I find it interesting how I ride him for much longer periods of time but he does not break a sweat. Different types of work seem to require different types of effort.

I cooled him off and gave him his nighttime snack and put him to bed.