Wizard Ride 268: Mustang Sally

Tuesday, 8/23/11

While Tuesday will be remembered by most as the day of the Virginia Earthquake (mild swaying and shaking was felt here in Jersey), I’ll remember it as the day my friend Kris officially got her first horse, Sunny.

Sunny is an 11-year-old Mustang mare, and Kris adopted her from Helping Hearts Equine Rescue. I’m so happy for them both, and wish them many years of happiness and fabulous rides together.

In the morning, I rode Wizard before work. The weather was STUNNINGLY beautiful- crisp but still warm. We rode in the outdoor arena, which was damp but packed down enough that it was not boggy.

Before my ride, I turned him loose in the arena. The combination of a chiropractic adjustment, a set of new shoes, and a few days off turned him into a racehorse! It always makes my heart sing to watch him run for the fun of it. He ran several laps, punctuated by a few playful leaps.

Our ride was good. Wizard was a little wobbly and chompy, but he felt very powerful and was responsive. We worked almost exclusively at the trot after warming up, doing shallow serpentines, shoulder-in, and leg yield work. Toward the end of the ride, I trotted him over a few cross rails and let him canter out. If he anticipated, we went back to complicated arena work and then tried the cross rail again. We got a few good efforts, in which he focused and did not get too eager.

With Hurricane Irene on the horizon, I’m hoping to get a few more rides done outdoors before we are banished to the indoor arena.