Wizard Ride 264: Shapes of Things

Friday, 8/5/11

I snuck a ride in before work, in the beautiful weather. Days like these don’t come often in August. We rode outside in the big arena. Wizard was energetic from the lack of consistent work, and did his Seattle Slew war dance for a while while we warmed up.

The arena was freshly groomed, and I took advantage of it by riding in perfect shapes. We did a deep figure 8, and diagonal lines in a diamond shape from gate to gate. It really settled him to vary the pattern. I also let him break into a canter a few times- I usually don’t let him break if we are trotting. But after riding the patterns and letting him find his own stride, he settled. After almost 45 minutes, we got a really nice canter, with excellent contact and balance. Until he found that balance, he was tight over the topline, and I am still pondering if there are any issues. Nothing is jumping out, but it’s on my mind.

I hosed him off after our ride, and cooled him in front of the big barn fans. He’s putting weight on, and he’s looking quite nice.