Wizard Rides 522, 523, 524, & 525: Dark and Stormy

Wednesday, 8/14/13

On Tuesday, we had TORRENTIAL storms. Crazy amounts of rain. But the foliage on the trails soaked up the rain and the footing was pretty great. After work, I let Wizard romp in the arena for a few minutes and then we hit the trails for about 50 minutes. He was less snarky about grooming (could it be the Pentosan he got two days ago? Not sure), and felt a little better under saddle. The walk is still slow, but felt a little looser. He was a little “looky” on our ride, but didn’t spook or anything. And in his defense, there were about a zillion deer in the park, and it was pretty breezy and cool for August. Actually, the weather was a perfect “10”. I hope we get a few more days like this one. We cantered up the big hill, and did a little trot work on the smaller paths. We went up and down the hill on the other side of it, and then I took him to a side field to the east of where we usually ride. The Hunt Club had mowed some really nice paths around the perimeters of the fields. They looked GREAT for future trot and canter sets. It was getting dark, so we had to head home, but I hope to get back out to that area again soon.

When I curried Wizard after his ride, he was leaning into the grooming, and yawning, and doing a little mutual grooming. He was enjoying the massage of the grooming and didn’t complain.

The heat and flies caused him to lose a little weight (AGAIN), so I’ve been giving him a third meal at night when I ride him. I want him to be a little round when we head into winter.

Monday, 8/12/13

After work, I met up with Kris and we rode in the outdoor arena as it got dark. Wizard has been cribbing a LOT recently and was pretty squirrelly about grooming. Before our ride, I gave Wizard a shot of Pentosan. There was a shortage for a while, and he has not had a dose since June. My hope is that the Pentosan will loosen up any stiffness he has, and maybe it will help with the slow walk and the tightness I’m feeling in his neck and hips when I groom him. It was unfortunate that we had to stop the Pentosan for two months, but it does provide an interesting opportunity to see if it’s really the thing that’s helping him.

It took Wizard some time to warm up. He was resistant to my leg, pinning his ears and moving kind of slowly. He did improve significantly during the ride, though, so I’m not as worried as I sometimes get when he has a not-right ride that does not resolve well. Our canter work was pretty good, and better than pretty good compared to where we were with cantering just a few weeks ago. I think the trail riding at a canter is helping his ringwork. He did throw two good bucks when I gave him leg- one was my fault since I bopped him with my heel, but bucking is really not a solution that I prefer. We trotted some poles and I took him down a one-stride line from a cross rail to a vertical. He took it calmly and with a nice amount of spring in his step- it felt really good. So after starting out a little funky, we ended on a nice note.

Sunday, 8/11/13

Still on my cantering buzz, Kris and I took Sunny and Wizard out on a trail ride before I went to work. We cantered down the same cantering lane (yay!), but cut the ride a little short due to the bugs. They are so hit or miss this time of year. I felt Wizard stumble a few times, and he was pretty grumpy about grooming. I also noticed that his walk has been a little slow for a few of our recent rides- he usually has a fluid, elastic, swingy, speedy walk.

Saturday, 8/10/13

Every once in a while, a horse gives the rider the gift of a perfect ride. Wizard and I had a perfect ride on Saturday. I was at the barn hanging out with friends for a few hours, and when everyone left, Wizard and I went out on the trails for a little over an hour. We cantered down our favorite cantering lane, and trotted down the edge of the Horse Park cross country field. We crested the big hill just as an insanely pink sunset was beginning, and moseyed our way back to the barn as it got dark. Good horse.