Wizard Ride 182: Follow Me

Saturday, 9/25/10

Our barn is surrounded by a great network of trails. There has been a recent influx of boarders and students and a few of them expressed an interest in learning about the trails. Being a trail riding fanatic, I’m always happy to take people out and show them around. On Saturday morning, Wizard and I took three people and their horses out for a 45-minute ride. It was a great success, both for the other riders and for me and Wizard. Wizard was the perfect trail guide, but he also fell into line when I urged the other riders to try riding on the lead. I’m a big fan of the “carousel horse” concept on the trails… each horse and rider should lead from time to time to avoid ugly habits on the trail. Alibar, for example, used to jig and fuss when he was not on the lead- he could have benefited from some follower/leader rotation.

When we returned to the barn, I took Wizard in the indoor arena for a short spin, working on loosening him up and doing some long-and-low stretching work. He complied with alacrity- our ride was perfect from start to finish :^)