Wizard Ride 138: Our Lips are Sealed

Saturday, 4/17/10

Saturday was my last barn trip before leaving for Kentucky for two weeks. I was unsure of my plans so I played it by ear. I arrived at the barn and it was very quiet. The horses were getting their bedtime hay and nobody was riding. I brought Wizard into the indoor arena and let him trot around. The night air was cool and Wizard was enjoying himself. He rolled and rolled in the arena, and playfully leapt around the arena.

I brought him back into the barn and decided to ride. I tacked him up and hopped on. I was wearing jeans instead of breeches, but it was fine for our ride. Wizard was willing and responsive. During our walk warmup, he put his ears back about three times, but listened to my leg and hand. He put his ears back at the trot a few times as well, but the behavior subsided as the ride progressed. I tried really hard not to change my riding when he put his ears back.

Our ride was a sort of test of all we’ve been working on this month. In the arena, there were traffic cones set up on the quarter line, about six or eight in a row. I used them to work on increasing and decreasing the circumference of my circles at the trot, passing through a different pair of cones with each circle. At the walk, I used them as guides for skinny serpentines, walking all the way to the wall with each pass. Our leg yields at the walk have improved greatly. I did two in each direction at the walk.

I also worked on my hands and how they impact contact with Wizard. He tends to chew on the bit when he anticipates something, so I practiced stretching my arms as lonnnng as I could when he stretched into the bit, never feeding rein through my fingers, but instead keeping my hands elastic and soft. I was able to do several passes around the arena without Wizard doing any chomping at all. His mouth was quiet and his lips were sealed. He even took contact with the bit and held it without champing. He’s an interesting guy, because he is very sensitive, but if he’s comfortable, he becomes a little less sensitive.

It was a really nice ride. After about 30 minutes, I dismounted and remounted again at the mounting block, again to break up any patterns. Then I re-dismounted, walked him back to the barn, gave him a good grooming, and a goodbye rice bran mash. Wizard is officially on vacation for two weeks and he earned it.