Wizard Ride 299, Session 300: Nice Day For a Sulk
Monday, 10/17/11
My friend stopped by the barn and watched Wizard ride. Before our ride, I longed him with the SW saddle on. It looked like it slipped forward a little bit on the longe line, so I fixed it before riding. Like a switch, Wizard swished his tail, pinned his ears, and kicked up with his hind leg whenever I put him on contact or gave him leg, and was fine when we walked on a loose rein. I walked and trotted, and he was just as unhappy as he has been for the last few rides. We began a dose of Robaxin, which is a muscle relaxer.
On Tuesday, I turned him loose in the outdoor arena and let him trot and canter at liberty. He had a great time stretching his legs, but was still backsore when I groomed him.
Wednesday, 10/19/11
I longed Wizard in the indoor arena on a mucky, rainy day. He was happy to work, and went great in both directions. He’s still goosey with grooming, but maybe not quite as much.
On Thursday, I turned him loose in the indoor arena to play.
Friday, Oct 21 is Day 11 of magnesium, and Day 16 of omeprazole. Day 7 of the nightly Back on Track blanket. So far, I see no difference with either supplement, or the blanket.
Still trying to figure this out.
Wizard Session 296; Rides 297, 298: Under a Cloud
Friday, 10/14/11
After work, I longed Wizard in the indoor arena. Before he worked, my friend did a little massage work on him. She said he’s VERY body sore- still. It’s not just on the topline or on the saddle area, but extends all the way down the rump. When he longed, he was really good. He has gotten SO much better about going to the right. He used to be mentally incapable of walking to the right (always broke into a nervous trot), but now he can do all three gaits quite willingly. I put him through his paces, and he did some work in side reins as well.
Saturday, 10/15/11
I got two saddles from the tack shop on consignment. One is a Hampson & Scott Jimmy Wofford model, and the other is a Smith-Worthington Danzig. On the tack shop bucks, the Hampson & Scott felt much better to me as a rider. The twist was a little wider, and it had that flat seat that I really love. The Smith-Worthington has a lot more puff to it- it’s like a puffy cloud :^)
I brought the saddles to the barn and tried them on Wizard. The Hampson & Scott looked like it did not have enough withers clearance, so I rode in the Smith-Worthington. It took some getting used to for me, because I have ridden in simple, flat Stubbens forever and ever. The saddle is comfortable enough, and Wizard seemed better in it than he was in the County and my current saddle, the Stubben. He began the ride with his recent habit of ear-pinning and tail swishing and kicking up at his belly. But as we rode more and more, he stopped tensing up and snarling so much. The ride was not very long, and we just did a little cantering, but the saddle seems like a winner.
After our ride, my equine massage friend was doing a little evaluation on Wizard, and while she had her hands on him, I heard the loudest C-R-U-N-C-H! I assumed it was one hoof stepping on the other, but my friend said it came from high up in his pelvis. It was SO loud. But Wizard barely batted an eye. I wonder if something was out of alignment?
Sunday, 10/16/11
I tried the Hampson & Scott saddle, just in case it suddenly fit Wizard better once it was on his back. Boy, oh boy, do I LOVE that saddle. SO, SO, SO comfortable. And Wizard rode pretty nicely in it. He snarled again, with kicking and pinned ears when we were walking, but then really stretched nicely at the trot. But when I checked the gullet, I could only get one finger in the front, and then it stopped where the top of the saddle was crushing his withers. The panels looked good, but without that clear channel down his spine, the saddle was not going to work. What a shame. Someone is going to get a really nice saddle.
I put the Smith-Worthington back on Wizard, and we rode for a while. It was not a ride with a plan, more of a test drive. He was pretty good, but got really wound up by the end of the ride. He threw a few kicks at the canter, and pinned his ears during a few trot exercises. The reason I kept riding was to check the sweat pattern on his back from the saddle. There was no bridging, which is wonderful- there were two perfect strips of sweat down the panels on the sides on his spine. There were dry spots on the sides of his withers, but I’ve read so many different opinions of that. I think the saddle fits better than any other saddle I can currently find, and I’m pretty sure we’re going to keep it. And once I’m comfortable with the saddle I have, I can go back to slowly bringing him back from whatever is causing this body soreness.
I have been putting his Back on Track sheet on him overnight for the past three days. Sunday was Day 6 of his magnesium. Sunday was Day 11 of his Omeprazole treatment. I wish I could have isolated each treatment to see which were working and which were not, but at this point, I really want SOMETHING to work.
Wizard Ride 292, 293, 295, Session 294: Low
Thursday, 10/6/11
Wizard was goosey again while I groomed him, and was very tense under saddle. We did a long walking warmup, followed by some trot work, but he just could not get comfortable. He was pinning his ears and kicked up toward his belly a few times when I put leg pressure on him. I know when to call it a day, and I did. I’m pretty sure the saddle officially does not fit him. It is not giving him enough wither clearance.
Saturday, 10/8/11
I tried a Crosby Lexington on Wizard. The panels sit pretty well on him, but the sides of the withers cutback were jabbing his withers. ARGH. We just did some walk and trot work and caled it a night.
Tuesday, 10/11/11
I put Wizard’s surcingle on him and he had a nice little longeing session. I think it was about 25 minutes with warmup and cooldown. He was a little tense when he was warming up, but worked out of it. He got wound up again at the canter, but then relaxed. I started him on Mag-Restore, a magnesium supplement. I also tried a bunch of other saddles on him, including western saddles, and all of them sat LOW on his withers.
Wednesday, 10/12/11
I tried a County Eventer saddle on Wizard. The fit was not perfect, but it was better than any other saddle I’ve tried. He was totally miserable when I rode him, flattening his ears, and kicking up toward his belly with any leg pressure at all. We did not even trot, just walked. My friend was at the barn with me, and she did some massage work. She said he was VERY tight across his back and down his hind end. So while the saddle is an issue, it sounds like he is working on some other sort of issue. He has been on the omeprazole for a week, and I don’t see any difference yet. Keep experimenting, watching, and waiting.
Wizard Ride 291: Blue
Wednesday, 10/5/11
I left work pretty late, and met up with Kris at the barn. She longed Sunny while I rode Wizard in the outdoor arena. While we were grooming, Wizard was very grouchy about currying- this is the second or third time I’ve noticed him recently being so unhappy with grooming. It’s a good thing I ordered the magic “blue Pop Rocks”, aka Omeprazole granules. I’ve long suspected ulcers in Wizard, and did some treatment with Ulcergard until I ran out of funds.
Through the wonders of the Chronicle of the Horse forums, I’ve discovered a MUCH cheaper Omeprazole treatment, with the enteric coating that is designed to handle stomach acid. Wizard got his first three sachets tonight, mixed with molasses and a little grain as a treat. He did not have any problem with the taste. Hooray!
Wizard was also goosey under saddle- he flattened his ears a few times when I put leg on him. It will be very interesting to see if the Omeprazole helps.
The arena was holding some moisture, but there was only one really wet section. Wizard did not handle it quite as nicely as he handles drier footing, and I never really got that schwung that he sometimes gives in better footing. We walked and then did a few halts, followed by the trot. I let him trot loosely for a few laps, then asked for a little stretching, and then asked for transitions from walk to trot to walk to engage the hind end. As we continued with the transitions, he started to use himself a little better and maintain more contact. The contact was not as good as it was a few days ago, though. We trotted a few times over teeny, tiny cross rails and verticals, which woke him up and got him moving better. He cantered out a few times, and I let him. Once we had done a few of the little jumps, Wizard was able to open his stride a little and give me a nicer trot. When we were done, we cooled out at a walk, and I put him to bed with some hay. Let the blue Pop Rocks begin their magic…
Wizard Ride 290: Refusing to Stretch
Monday, 10/3/11
After work, I rode Wizard in the indoor arena with Kris and Sunny. Before the ride, I turned him loose in the arena to let him play a little. He did not go bananas, but did seem to enjoy moving out. During the ride, I paid attention to the breaking point when Wizard loses his suppleness and gets tense. It was after our warmup and when we started doing lateral work. He got tense again when I asked for the canter. His transitions were actually pretty good, and he picked up both correct leads the first time, but was not loose or stretching into the bit. The footing in the indoor arena is also much firmer than it is in the outdoor ring, and he travels differently in each ring.
For the rest of the ride, he was stretching nicely onto the bit. We worked on serpentines, trotted trot poles, and did some shoulder-in work at the walk and trot. We also did a little leg yield at the canter, which he executed nicely.
He got lots of breaks during the ride, and was about as fresh at the end as he was in the beginning :^)
Wizard Rides 288 & 289: A Head With Wings
Friday, 9/30/11
In the photo above, my friend’s dearly-departed Morgan, Mary, is modeling the Stubben Golden Wings bit. The bit does not fit my friend’s new mare, so Wizard gave it a try.
We began our ride outdoors. The air was cool but damp from all the recent rain and humidity. All my tack got moldy from not riding for almost a week :^P Wizard was energetic but not evasive. He happily purred while we rode. Something about the cool air, the bit, and the time off seemed to agree with him, and he was FABULOUS. He was taking contact, and I was able to keep my hands right there with him instead of feeding the reins through with my fingers or creeping the reins up when he stretched into the bit. I think the Stubben is SO mild that Wizard is comfortable sitting on it a little more than his usual bits. All of our bits are extremely mild, but this one seemed to sit in his mouth like butter.
We worked on some lateral exercises, and I worked diligently on using my calf instead of poking him with my heel (awful habit that I fall into sometimes). We did some lengthening of our gaits, and I got the most BRILLIANT trot out of him. It was pretty close to a real extended trot- the tempo did not increase, but his stride lengthened and he really pushed with the hind end.
Annnnd then it rained.
So we moved indoors. We continued our lateral adventures, and did some shoulder in work, mostly at the walk. I got so brave that we practiced a few steps of Walter Zettl’s Shoulder-In Entwickeln Exercise. It was pretty sloppy, but the basics were there. He was SUCH a good boy. It made me think again about doing dressage shows with him :^)
Sunday, 10/2/11
Sunday’s ride was short, much to Wizard’s delight. We rode in the indoor arena with Kris and Sunny. We had a long, lazy walking warmup, followed by some leg yields at the walk. Then, we went into the trot, practicing circles at the ends. We worked on the leg yield at the trot, and were doing some transitions before Kris needed some moral support during her ride with Sunny. Wizard was off the hook for the rest of the ride, and was even referred to as “the good horse”. My goodness, how far we’ve come…
Wizard Rides 286 & 287: Is It Magic That Makes You Appear?
Wednesday, 9/21/11 For the first time in a few weeks (months?), I longed Wizard. I did not have a lot of time at the barn, but wanted him to get out and exercise a little. He was a really, really good at all three gaits in both directions.
Thursday, 9/22/11
Thursday’s ride was a little Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. Thankfully, it ended really well! In the beginning of the ride, Wizard was a little resistant to the aids, hollow through his back, and a little quick at the trot. But as we warmed up, the Awesome Wizard showed up. At the trot, I asked a few more times for him to reach forward instead of his little “typewriter trot”, and he lengthened. I popped him over a few cross rails, and he began to use himself more. By the end of the ride, he was using himself, and was very balanced and relaxed, happily purring as we trotted and cantered around the arena. Did the jumps improve his mood? Whatever switch flipped was a great one. We did a slow, meandering course of cross rails, with the final jump being the hay bales, turned on the taller side (see photo). I got a little ahead of him, but he looks so game! He’s such a fun horse.
Before our ride, I also led him over a little black pipe jump- it’s probably about 2 feet tall. He hesitated a few times, and then hopped over. Perhaps we’ll jump it soon :^)
Saturday, 9/24/11
Kris and I took a relaxing trail ride, walking the whole way. We rode the short loop behind the barn, and when it was too short, we took the trail across the street as well. Both Wizard and Sunny were their usual wonderful selves.
Wizard Ride 285: Lazy Day
Monday, 9/19/11
After work and a quick photo session, Kris and I took a quick ride on the trails. The sun was dropping, so we rode two short loops, one behind the barn and one across the street. We did some trotting, and both Wizard and Sunny were feeling GOOD. When we returned to the barn, it was getting dark, but we had just enough light to ride in the outdoor arena without turning on the big lights. I worked on some trot work, doing leg yields, circles, and shallow serpentines, and, then, ah, I lost my mojo and got lazy :^P So Wizard had a decent workout, but definitely was not pushed in any way.
Wizard Ride 284: Superstition
Saturday, 9/17/11
On another pre-autumnal Saturday, Wizard and I took a trail ride with Kris and her Mustang mare Sunny. We rode the big loop in the opposite direction from the usual route, just to keep things different. We did some trotting. I cantered Wizard while Sunny did her big, ground-covering trot on the smooth cantering lane. Our trail ride was a little under an hour long.
When we got back to the barn, I rode in the arena with a big group of riders in the outdoor arena. I mostly stood/walked and watched while they practiced their jumping, and then Wizard and I did some really simple canter work. I found a new song that has the perfect tempo for cantering: Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”. We cantered in each direction, doing big, loopy circles, and riding down the long sides. It was a really straightforward ride and we were just working on tempo and I worked on my position, getting in and out of my jumping position.
To cool him off, I walked Wizard back through the woods on the very short loop, just as a change of scenery. I need to keep adding to the Wizard Cantering Music Library…
Wizard Ride 283: Hot Dog
Friday, 9/16/11
I took a much-needed mental health day, and set out for the barn early for a ride with Rachel and Lily. A few other people were planning to ride as well, so they joined us for the first leg of out adventure. We rode around the main loop at a walk with the big group, and I experimented with putting Wizard on the front, as well as the back of the herd. Wizard was a little anxious at the back, but not bad enough to cause any problems. When we got to the end of the regular loop, our friends went back to the barn, and three of us continued to the tree farm.
As we left our usual trails and headed to the tree farm, Wizard got a little amped up. When we walked through the park, it felt like I was riding a coiled spring. He did not actually lose control, but got pretty hot when one rider and horse separated from the herd to hop some logs. We rode around the tree farm for maybe half and hour and then headed home. Our trail ride totaled about two hours, but it was almost all at the walk. When we got back to the barn, I rode with my barn buddies to the hot dog truck down the road. Wizard (again) mostly was okay, but got really, really anxious when one rider circled her pony around the truck. I think he thought they were leaving to head back to the farm.
We walked back to the farm, and I rode Wizard in the arena for a little while, not so much for the exercise, but to cool his mind a little. He had reached the edge of his calmness, and I wanted to work him back into that calmness. It worked really well, and he trotted around the arena quite nicely, doing serpentines and figure 8s with nice contact and a relaxed topline. Maybe he needs to be ridden two hours every day :^P
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