Tuesday, 5/3/11
After a great day photographing racing at Atlantic City Race Course, I hurried to the barn to catch the last bit of daylight. I took a trail ride with my two barn friends and their mares, Lily and Philly. We took the short loop and got back just before dark. I then did some ring work with Wizard, who was feeling fresh from the erratic riding schedule. I rode him in a Stubben EZ Control D-Ring , and he seemed to like it. I focused on lateral work, and by the end of our ride, he was softening and relaxing nicely.
Wednesday, 4/27/11
Great ride! I really concentrated on doing specific exercises and did not let myself meander around the ring. We did transitions from walk to trot, which made our canter departures very balanced. I was even able to get a walk to a canter! We did some bending work, which dovetailed into softer circles. It was one of the best rides we’ve had in a while.
Tuesday, 4/26/11
Bath day for Wizard! I also rode him outside and he was a little unfocused. I’m not sure if it was the bugs or my riding, but he was not as good as he was on Monday.
Monday, 4/25/11
Wizard and I took a trail ride at a walk, and then did some relaxed work in the arena, focusing on stretching exercises and loosening his topline. He was happily snorting and seemed to enjoy the work.
Saturday, April 30
10AM – 4PM
Handy Acres Farm
49 Grawtown Rd
Jackson, NJ 08527
RAIN OR SHINE- Free Admission.
SELL TACK: Bring your tack plus a table/chairs & rent a space for $10 OR call to reserve a large table for $25. Large tables are limited.
BUY TACK: English/Western, name brands and bargains
VISIT THE BARN: Accepting new boarders & students
SEE OUR HORSES: 4 available ponies & horses, English/Western, registered Quarter Horse, Haflingers
A photo fundraiser will be held to benefit two local equine rescue organizations: Helping Hearts Equine Rescue and Horse Rescue United. Fifteen signed, numbered prints of each photo will be available and 100% of the net profit will be donated to the rescues.
Wizard Rides 224, 225, 226: Wunderbar!
Wednesday, 4/20/11
Before work, I stole over to the barn for a quick ride. I put Wizard on a longe line before riding, just for my own peace of mind. He played a little in the cool air, but was mostly responsive. We took our first trail ride of the year. He was lovely, just fussing a bit when a squirrel jumped out in front of him. He is really nice to ride in an arena, but on trails he really shines. His walk is H-U-G-E, and he strides out powerfully. When something startles him, he “spooks in place”, which is a priceless attribute in a horse. I made the little video clip above on our ride. To enjoy it to its fullest, be sure your speakers are turned out. I do a very ungraceful THWAK into a tree while trying to video Wizard- Wizard, unsurprisingly, does not care.
Friday, 4/22/11
Another trail ride for Wizard! My friend rode Lawman (photo above), a beloved lesson horse at my barn. Lawman is an easy-going horse with an interesting past. He was once a Texas prison horse, and from what I’ve heard, those horses have a lot of training and have seen a lot. It makes sense, because he’s a really solid citizen. We rode around a short loop, and were out for about 25 minutes.
Saturday, 4/23/11
One more ride on the trails for us! This time, Lily and Philadelphia were our equine companions. It was the first time my friend was taking Philly on the trails since she moved to the farm, and she was awesome. We took a slightly longer loop, and all the horses had a great ride. After we were done, I rode Wizard in the outdoor dressage court at a trot for two laps in each direction. It was our first time trotting since I hurt my back and it felt great!
Wizard Ride 223: Shake the Disease
Wednesday, 4/13/11
Ride? Did I say “ride”? Yes, I did!!! It’s been way too long- over a month, to be precise. I turned Wizard loose in the indoor arena to let him stretch his legs since he’s been stalled quite a bit due to rain recently. I then tacked him up and longed him indoors. He was a star. He WALKED and trotted like a pro in both directions. I noticed him stretching down into the bit more than he has in the last- it looks like he’s losing some of the tension about longeing to the right. Maybe his brain has successfully rewired itself again about longeing.
After he longed about 20 minutes at a walk and trot, I got on and cooled him out at a walk. He barely broke into a sweat, so it seems like he is getting fitter. It was SO NICE to be back in the saddle. I was dying to trot, but I knew I should take it easy. Dismounting was the toughest part. I did not want to jar my back by landing on my feet with a hop, so I slid down from the saddle as slowly as I could. My barn friend called it “the dangle”.
Wizard had just a little bit of nasal discharge, and I’m watching to see if he has a cold. His temperature is normal. Hopefully it’s nothing- his appetite is good and he is acting like his usual quirky self.
5 Photos, 220 Words: Street Sense
Street Sense is a study of the beauty of moderation. He is a dark bay horse with a tiny star on his forehead. He is not very short or very tall. Nothing stands out because he is so harmoniously proportioned. He did not have a flashy running style and he does not win every race by 10 lengths. His accomplishments on the track, however, made him a star. He broke the “Juvenile Jinx” by capturing the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at 2 and the Kentucky Derby at 3. He also was the first horse in over 10 years to win the Kentucky Derby and the Travers Stakes.
2007 at Saratoga was magical- I had the privilege of photographing Street Sense several times: on the track, in the mornings, and relaxing in his stall. He’s a photogenic horse, and it seemed like I never got a bad picture of him.
In 2009, I made my first trip to Kentucky, and visited my favorite son of Street Cry once again, this time at his new home at Darley. He was as handsome as always, and he had filled out and seemed to be enjoying his new career. I look forward to seeing his sons and daughters on the track and my hope is that they have inherited the talent and beauty of their sire.
(all photos taken with a Nikon D200. Photo 1 shot at f2.8, 1/125 sec. Photo 2 shot at f2.8, 1/100sec. Photo 3 shot at f5.6, 1/1000 sec. Photo 4 shot at f5.6, 1/1000 sec. Photo 5 shot at f2.8, 1/1000sec)
1 Photo, 75 Words: Wizard At Night
Taken on April 11, 2011 under arena lights in unseasonably warm weather at 1/500 sec, f2.8 as Wizard frolicked and showed off his physique. I’ve been experimenting with the arena lights and hoping for this image for a few weeks now, and last night he ran under the perfect patch of light, muscles rippling and neck arched. Some photos require a team of helpers and some are simply a dance between photographer and subject.
Wizard Session 222: Better Things
Wednesday, 4/5/11
Another night of longeing, and Wizard is showing improvement. We worked again under the arena lights outdoors, still keeping the session short. Wizard trotted in both directions, but broke into a tense canter twice to the right. I worked him back down to a trot both times. He walked left, but could not walk to the right- that is our next challenge.
Wizard Session 221: I Can Learn
Monday, 4/4/11
Our lessons from Saturday carried over to Monday. I hand grazed Wizard with his new friend Philadelphia and then turned him loose in the outdoor arena under the lights. He ran several laps around the arena without stopping, and it seemed like he appreciated burning off the energy. I tacked him up and we did a longeing session under the lights. He warmed up at a walk to the left, and then trotting without side reins to the left and… to the right! Yes, he has once again decided that trotting to the right is an okay thing to do.
Once he was warmed up, I fastened the side reins and asked for a few laps at the trot in each direction. To the right, he was responsive, but broke into a canter a few times. When we had an appropriate trot, I took off the saddle and cooled him out. It’s nice to know that Wizard is back to being able to trot clockwise and counter-clockwise!
Wizard Session 220: One Step Ahead
Saturday, 4/2/11
After a fun day of working on photo projects, I worked with Wizard on the longe line. Since there was a competition in the indoor arena, we used the dressage court in the far arena by the woods. Wizard was FRESH from the time off and because I did not turn him loose in the arena before I worked him.
We started without side reins and I asked him to walk and trot tot he left. I could tell that he was really amped up, and I did not want him rushing to the right (his mentally sticky side) so I fastened the side reins. He trotted left quite nicely, with good rhythm and focus. I reversed him and got a big NOPE! from him. He stopped. He barged me. He spun. He did everything he could not to go to the right. The arena we were working in is definitely the most “exciting” since it has woods around it and no fencing so I tend to get the most animation and least focus in this arena.
Since we have some time to work exclusively on ground work while I get my back figured out, I took the opportunity to work on this refusal to go right and get to the core of this issue. Under saddle, Wizard rushes a little to the right but after a few months of riding, he was just as good to the left as to the right. He’s actually far worse on the longe to the right- I never have issues under saddle to the right anymore.
I asked for him to reverse the same way I always do, and it failed several times. He became more concerned, both crowding me by bumping me with his nose and by doing little “wheelies” with his front end. I would not quite call it rearing, but he was definitely not keeping all four feet on the ground. To protect his and my safety, we broke the behavior down even more. When he crowded me, I backed him up. I really hate using backing up as negative reinforcement, but the crowding is dangerous for both of us, and he is evading my cues. I placed myself on his right side with the longe line in my left hand and the whip in my right hand. I walked alongside him, asking him to go forward by touching his hind end with the whip. We did this several times, halting, walking, over and over. He “fishtailed” a few times, swinging his hindquarters away from me, and that meant I did not have control of both front and back ends. After a few more repetitions, he was no longer evading the forward cue and I was able to transition him into longeing on a small circle. Once he was confirmed to be listening, I made the circle after about two rotations. He then trotted PERFECTLY to the right, listening, stretching into the bit, with good tempo and no evasions.
I really hate to work through issues like these, and I always prefer to “finesse” a horse into doing something, but when Wizard is being unsafe and I cannot find a physical reason for his behavior, I occasionally have to reschool him. The whole longeing session lasted 25 minutes, including his cooldown, so it was not physically intense. He barely broke a sweat under his girth. But it was a lot of mental work for him. And me! The true test will be to see how he responds the next time I work with him.
Wizard Session 219: Helplessness Blues
Wednesday, 3/30/11
It looks like I won’t be riding until I consult with a neurosurgeon about my back-so frustrating! Hopefully we will set up some physical therapy and then I’ll be back in the saddle. Until then, Wizard needs a job. We longed again tonight, this time in the outdoor arena where the footing is deeper. Rain is expected for the next few days, so I wanted to take advantage of the dry outdoor footing while I still could. Wizard pulled a few of the turn-around-and-face-me tricks when he was going to the right, but I pressed into his side with the butt end of the longe whip and that kept him out of my personal space and prevented him from crowding me. Wizard did not want to walk on the longe line, either, but after a few attempts, he remembered how to do it. My goodness, how quickly they forget how to do the things they don’t like doing!
Rock and Racehorses: The Blog 