Wizard Session 435: The 1st Mistake I Made

Monday, 1/7/13

Before work, I headed to the barn to enjoy the streak of unseasonably mild weather we’re having here in New Jersey. Wizard and I hiked for about 30 minutes on the trails, without the excitement we had on Sunday when we encountered the hunt club.

When we got back to the barn, we did a 20-minute longeing session including warmup. I worked him woth two lines again. I might never longe with one line again. The training benefit is huge, and it’s not as hard as I expected. I did, however, goof up and accidentally hook one line to the outside bit ring and one line to the inside cavesson ring instead of one or the other. Oddly, interestingly, Wizard was amazing with this odd setup. He accepted the contact of the outside rein (hooked to the bit) and was able to bend with cues from the cavesson on the inside line. Maybe I’ve stumbled onto something interesting. Or maybe I just goofed and he was feeling really honest. Either way, he was balanced, responsive, and happy. And SOUND. Very sound. He was going so nicely that I asked for just a few circles of canter, and I was rewarded with a really lovely canter in both directions. Hmmm. Maybe I need to start riding with goofily-attached reins, too.