As the clock ticks down to the 2009 Rolex Kentucky 3-Day Event, it is time to learn about this year’s contenders. Who are the favorites? Who are the underdogs? And how did these spectacular athletes get where they are today?
The Lexington Herald-Leader ran a story today about Canadian rider Mike Winter and his Rolex mount, Wonderful Will (TB). I remember seeing them on-course at Jersey Fresh two year ago, but I did not know their story.
Wonderful Will is a racehorse, turned track pony, turned event horse. Kentucky outrider Joe Riggs trains ex-racehorses for a second career as track ponies, but Wonderful Will was not so hot in either profession.
“I’ve had a lot of success on racehorses,” Winter said from his farm in Newnan, Ga. “They have boundless energy and athleticism. What I always say is that, in your training, you have to convince them to look to you for answers because they think and move so quickly, they try to solve everything themselves.”
Wonderful Will is only about 15.1 hands, not much above a pony, and Winter bought him for a client, a woman named Sher Schwartz.
But the son of Woodman proved too much horse for most everyone but Winter. He remembers training the horse over his first jump, a small cross rail on the ground. The horse jumped as high as the standards on either side.
“Mike had this expression on his face like, ‘What just happened?'” said Schwartz, Wonderful Will’s owner. “Then he did it again. He just always took to jumping. He was supposed to be my little event horse to go novice, but he jumps me out of the tack.”
This year’s Rolex has a strong international contingent, as riders are getting their feet wet for next year’s Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games.
Winter will be riding Wonderful Will and Kingpin at Rolex. He’s one of several international Olympians coming to Rolex in anticipation of the 2010 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games. Others include Germany’s Bettina Hoy, Australia’s Lucinda Fredericks and France’s Nicholas Toussaint. Last year’s champion, Phillip Dutton, will return to defend his title on Connaught.
I’m looking forward to seeing this team compete at Rolex. Best of luck to their connections.
In Spanish, “Ritual De Lo Habitual” means the ritual of the habitual. Taking our daily lives and making them sacred, or taking our addictions and making ritual of them. It’s a high-minded mission, and it is for that reason worth celebrating. Most albums are content to share a good time (or a sad one) between the artists and the listeners, but some work to make the ordinary and the sordid to appear to us as truth and transcendence. –Justin Hall’s 1999 Nude As The News wrapup of the iconic 1990 Jane’s Addiction release, Ritual de lo Habitual
I’ve got a thing for discipline. I don’t like hearing about how Paul McCartney does not know how to write or read music. My head spins when I hear about people who learned to ride in a back yard on a green horse. My teeth grit when I read about painters who rocket to notoriety with artwork that has no foundation in the history of art. Without a foundation, art is cheap and one-dimensional. You cannot have subversive creativity without knowing what you’re subverting. One only gains artistic breadth and scope with an eye on every other artist who has tried before to express the very same concept, emotion, or theory.
Charles Pravata is our country’s best horse racing photographer under the age of 35. Imagine my horror when I found out that he’d only been shooting a year or so before his work started gracing Daily Racing Form covers and showing up in all of the most prestigious racing publications in the country. How did a person with no formal training and half a decade of practice become a highly-esteemed editorial photographer in the racing community and a big inspiration to my own development as a photographer?
A little more than three years ago, I remember wondering, “who IS this punk?” as I browsed through Pravata’s killer photos of Brother Derek on Flickr. I’ve been a racing fan since I was a little girl and I never saw his name before on photos credits in editions of Blood-Horse or Thoroughbred Times. At the time, I was looking to take a step into photography and was in the market for my very first SLR camera. I had sent out several emails to people who shot equine sports asking for help selecting a camera and a lens. Of the dozens of emails I sent, only a handful wrote back: Charles was one of them (Bud Morton was another). He was not the typical condescending, mystical, tight-lipped shooter- he was happy to share details about lenses and cameras and answer any questions I had.
I met Charles the following year and we got to spend some quality time in my home state, standing on ladders in torrential downpours on the inside rail at Monmouth Park for the 2007 Breeders’ Cup. Photographers all around us complained about the weather and groused about water in their cameras, but Charles enjoyed the mud and the grit- you can almost taste the sloppy track in his photo of Curlin winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic. It was a far cry from the arid air and synthetic racing surfaces of his home state of California, where the Breeders’ Cup was held the following year.
When I went out to Santa Anita for the 2008 Breeders’ Cup, I learned first-hand just how challenging the light can be, with the harsh sunlight and the off-kilter grandstand angle. But when you look at Charles’ work, the shadows and angles are incorporated handily into excellent images. He is a master of harnessing light and using it to his advantage:
Santa Teresita, by Charles Pravata
Colonel John, by Charles Pravata
But mastery of light is not the only ingredient in his images. Through his lifelong love of racing, he manages to capture the essence of the track and distill it into his photos:
Storm at Santa Anita, by Charles Pravata
Santa Anita, by Charles Pravata
Del Mar Start
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and now residing in California, Charles knows the best and worst of both coasts of racing. Talk to Charles and you’ll learn a lot about the sport- look at his photos and you’ll learn even more. From a deeper place still come the most creative and evocative photos of his collection, from his artistic statements about the sport to his creative treatment of the warrior Curlin and American girl, Zenyatta. I so dig the surreal and illustrative treatment of his favorite horses.
Zenyatta, by Pravata
And sometimes Rock and Racehorses gets way out-rocked!
Andy Summers, by Charles Pravata
Perry Farrell, by Charles Pravata
Discipline is needed to shape an artist. But perhaps my definition of discipline is a little short-sighted. Perhaps art school is not the only place to learn the laws of composition and exposure and to study the greats who have come before us. Maybe the hot California sun is the spotlight on the studio of Santa Anita. And maybe the work of the Old Masters surrounds us at the racetrack, hangs on the walls in the racing museums, and lives on the pages of our epistles, the racing trade publications. No matter how I attempt to define it, Pravata has made a holy ritual of our habitual. Truth and transcendence.
What does Charles Pravata rock out to on his way to the track? Here’s his list of the Top Ten Albums of All Time:
1. Jane’s Addiction – Ritual De Lo Habitual – “Stop”, “Then She Did”, “Three Days”, “Ain’t No Right”, “Of Course”, etc. “Three Days” is one of the greatest rock anthems of all time. Stranded on an island, this is the one album I want with me. The one TV show would be The Honeymooners, but that’s another list.
One of the funniest things about Nothing’s Shocking, Jane’s Addiction’s much-ballyhooed 1988 release, was how it skewed the conventions of L.A. Sunset Strip metal, managing to be distinctively perverse in a world already saturated with bad taste and bacchanalia. At times the music was glorious, playful psychedelic metal, as Perry Farrell’s avant-gypsy garb, weird eye makeup and prepubescent voice plugged you into the visionary amorality of children. With its trippy nature imagery and porno bent, Nothing’s Shocking struck the gong.
Ritual de lo Habitual finds Jane’s Addiction thin and wandering, blowing ploys that worked before – overdubs and echoes, loose jamming, Farrell’s playground melodies. Split into a hard-rockin’ side and a prog-rock side, the album doesn’t cohere – whatever the band members have been doing for the last two years, they haven’t been practicing much. –Erik Davis’ 1990 Rolling Stone review of the iconic 1990 Jane’s Addiction release, Ritual de lo Habitual
Life imitating art: Charles Pravata (center) costumed as Perry Farrell
2. The Police- Regatta De Blanc – Every album they recorded was great, as evidenced by the present day Karma of the great filly Zenyatta.
3. The Clash – Story of The Clash Volume 1 – One of the most dynamic bands of all time, and this compilation is evidence of that.
4. The Ramones- Ramones Mania – Another compilation; call me a cheater. The guitar player steals the lead singer’s girlfriend, marries her, and the band stays together. That’s true punk…. and Joey Ramone is the epitome of style.
5. Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin – Even though they robbed most of the songs on this album and took credit for writing them (I can replace this album with any other Zeppelin album).
6. Pink Floyd – Dark Side of the Moon – Many adventures to the Hayden Planetarium for this album’s laser show between the ages of 11 and 21. Was fortunate enough to see Roger Waters perform the entire album live a few years ago. Epic.
7. The Smiths – The Best of the Smiths 1 & 2 – Listened to these albums, and The Queen is Dead on my drives down to Del Mar last summer; hurled me into a depression that I just recently started to come out of. It’s all about impact, good or bad.
8. The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced – Inspired a lot of people to take acid (so did #6 on my list).
9. Metallica – Master of Puppets – This used to be a great band.
10. Tool- Undertow – One of the few honest bands left in modern music.
Charles Pravata at the Kentucky Derby
Continuing my collection of Top Ten lists from my favorite photographers, writers, musicians, and athletes in the world of rock and racehorses. Also check out the Top Ten lists of jockey Joe Talamo, Barbara Livingston, Bill Finley, Bud Morton, Jonathan Andrew, Kevin Martin, Holly Van Voast, and Jon Forbes.
Wizard Session 76; JR Session 31: Little Lambs Eat Ivy
Thursday, 4/16/09
Before I went to the barn, my mom and I met a flock of spring lambs and watched a wonderful Border Collie named Riot do some herding.
Quicksilver Q-Eye-It Riot, HXAs, TD, RN, FDCh-Gold (aka “Riot”)
This ewe was watching an airplane
The weather was warm and sunny. I worked both horses in the dressage court, which is on the edge of the woods and past the paddocks. Wizard and JR are both quite good about working by themselves but they do get a little bit of that wonderful magnetic pull toward the barn when they are in high spirits. I longed JR first, tacked up in a bridle and surcingle. I warmed him up at the walk and trot before putting the side reins on him- they were on the loosest hole and barely even made contact. When they are attached to the saddle, they are a tad shorter but they are pretty long when they are attached to the surcingle. JR worked about 10 minutes in the side reins. I then attached one side rein to the bottom ring of the surcingle and attached the clip to a tied piece of baling twine under JR’s chin, hooked to the bit. The single side rein encourages different muscles from the traditional side reins and I like it as a cooldown exercise since it asks the horse to travel more long and low and allows him to reach his nose out more than side reins. When JR’s longeing session was over (a litle less than 30 minutes, including warmup and cooldown), I took him for a hand walk on the trails. My mom came with us. JR was fantastic! He’s a little reactive to sounds and sights, but he did not spook a single time. We worked on a little hill that is used for dirtbikes, climbing up and down it a few times. I took him back to the barn and gave him a good grooming- he’s still shedding.
Wizard got an almost identical workout, warmup with no side reins, worked 10 minutes with them on, and a little work with the single rein set on the bottom ring. He was very responsive and seemed pretty comfortable in both directions. He rushed less to the right than he did last time we longed. He did get pretty excited when he saw Mary the Morgan come out to graze, but we worked through it. We then took a walk in hand on the trails with Mary the Morgan. Wizard was fantastic! He has a really big and fast walk, but I was able to rate it when needed. He did not speed up at all on the way back to the barn.
After both horses were cooled out and back in their stalls, I met with Danielle. She s a high school student who is interested in equine photography. I showed her how I do my basic liberty photos, using Mary the Morgan and Cee Cee the Quarter Horse as our models. Then I showed her how to get the most flattering angles for portrait work, and we practiced some doorway portraits.
Up until that point, Danielle was using her own camera (a Nikon- yay!). Then she used my camera :^) She did a good job! Check out her portrait of JR:
Portrait of JR, by Danielle
Continuing my collection of Top Ten lists from my favorite photographers, writers, musicians, and athletes in the world of rock and racehorses. Check out the Top Ten lists of Barbara Livingston, Bill Finley, Bud Morton, Jonathan Andrew, Kevin Martin, Holly Van Voast, and Jon Forbes.
New York racing fans are a tough bunch. They don’t take kindly to just anybody. They’ve seen it all, from Man o’War to Secretariat. They are stingy with their applause and only reserve it for a select few. After the 2009 Wood Memorial, the New York applause thundered through the small but tough crowd. Joe Talamo and I Want Revenge were officially welcomed to the fold.
Before we go on, take another look at the 2009 Wood Memorial.
Watched it? OK, good. What did you think of Joe Talamo’s ride? I loved it. Balanced riding out of the gate when the colt awkwardly broke, infinite patience waiting to make his move, and a quiet ride to the wire, encouraging his colt but not pushing him any more than needed. Gotta save some of that run for the first Saturday in May.
I’m a racing fanatic, but I’m also a fanatic of excellent riding of any discipline. Check out Talamo’s position at the start of the Wood: eyes up, elastic and giving hands, patient posture.
How does a 19-year-old jockey develop these skills? Where did he come from? Who taught him? Was he born a rider? Being a Louisiana native, he cut his teeth on the very same tracks as many of the greatest riders in the sport. Check out the little HRTV clips: Joe Talamo’s Meteoric Rise: Part 1 and Joe Talamo’s Meteoric Rise: Part 2.
I met Joe very briefly at a work function when I was in California shooting the 2008 Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita. I only spoke with him for a few moments, but I could tell that he was keen to make a good impression with anyone who spoke with him. I can imagine the same keenness when he is hustling mounts at the barns at dawn every morning. Coupled with excellent riding skills, it takes a certain amount of charisma, discipline, and boldness to get a good reputation.
Gamblers and horse racing fans alike have known about Smokin’ Joe Talamo since he took California by storm in 2007, winning Grade 1 races at the tender age of 17, becoming the youngest jockey to ride in a Breeders’ Cup race (Monmouth Park 2007 aboard Nashoba’s Key), and winning the Eclipse Award for Best Apprentice Jockey. A larger population got to know Talamo through Animal Planet’s hit series, Jockeys. Talamo’s drive and determination are a large part of the show’s success and the show is currently filming its second season as we count down the days til the Kentucky Derby.
What does the jockey of the 2009 Kentucky Derby favorite deem the top ten movies of all time? Check out his list:
1. The Godfather (1972)
2. Goodfellas (1990)
3. The Dark Knight (2008)
4. Seabiscuit (2003)
5. American Gangster (2007)
6. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
7. Cinderella Man (2005)
8. Wedding Crashers (2005)
9. Phone Booth (2002)
10. A Bronx Tale (1993)
Wizard Ride 75; JR Ride 30: Frustration
Monday, 4/13/09
Not a great night :^/ I grazed Wizard for about 30 minutes and let him work on some alfalfa while I longed and rode JR.
JR longed well- he longed with his head free most of the time but I put side reins on for about 5 minutes. After about 20 minutes of work with longing/long lining, I rode him. He still does not quite feel right but he did not do anything wrong- I felt him tense up a few times and flick his ears back a few times. Since we were riding outdoors in the deeper footing, I kept the ride to a 10 minute walk. If he is still backsore, I want to make sure he really feels better before I ask for any work.
I longed Wizard for about 15 minutes, and asked for about 5 minutes or less with side reins. He moved out pretty well and I noticed that he was a little bit less fidgety about grooming. Did the bute have anything to do with it? Maybe, maybe not.
I got into the saddle and could immediately feel that Wizard was uncomfortable. He pinned his ears flat to his head and his whole body was tense. I asked him to walk just a lap or two around so that I was not immediately getting out of the saddle when he pinned his ears. I am working very hard to listen to his needs but I also don’t want to teach any bad habits along the way.
Wizard is such a sweet and willing horse that I am sure something is really bothering him to react the way he is. I’m stumped. Everything is passing through my head, from saddle fitting issues, to terrible diseases like EPM or Lyme Disease, to an old injury, to an ulcer flareup. I have an appointment scheduled for the chiropractor when I get back from my trip to Kentucky, but I might have the vet out before I leave to take a look at him. I just had the saddle fitter out to look at him, so it seems doubtful that the saddle that was deemed good a month ago suddenly is no good. Plus, Wizard was so willing and forward just 5 rides ago. I’m perfectly happy to take things slowly as long as the horse is willing and comfortable, but stumbling blocks like this are frustrating.
On a good note, check out how nice he looks!
Taken Easter morning…
Taken March 12…
Taken December 4…
Wizard Session 74; JR Session 29: The Easter Parade
Sunday, 4/13/09
A sunny, brisk Easter morning at the barn :^)
My barn buddies prettied up their mares Miss Tuesday and Mary and we had a short photo session. Both owners were looking for nice headshots so I worked my magic with my popular black background doorway portraits, as well as a few other pretty headshots on the property. In the morning, the lighting is backwards from the usual evening light so I had to get a little creative. Fortunately, the property has a lot of pretty scenes so it’s not too hard to find a good spot.
Here’s Miss Tuesday, a Thoroughbred mare who is a granddaughter of the mighty Storm Bird:
And Mary, a 7 year old Morgan mare:
Just a day or two ago, Mary’s owner received her order from Simple Change Browbands and Mary modelled it for the camera. Isn’t it lovely? The browbands are strung together on a strong chain with clips on both ends so a rider can change the beads- you can have a different browband for every day of the week ;^)
Wizard and JR (barely) stood for some basic conformation photos, which I’ll post tonight or tomorrow. Both boys were a little wiggly, Wizard wigglier than JR, but I got the photos I needed to monitor their progress.
I longed both horses. JR was good in the indoor arena, and he was way better than he was just a few days ago. He did a few little loopy circles, but nothing bad. Wizard was FULL of run! He broke into a canter immediately and went around several times this way- I think he was feeling pretty silly because he was locked in his stall the day before due to the rain.
After longeing, I dosed Wizard with bute as an experiment and as a diagnostic tool. I’m going to see how he reacts to grooming and work Monday night when he has bute in his system. If nothing changes in his behavior, then I can narrow down a few possibilities.
Wizard Session 73; JR Session 28: I’m a ‘Sole’ Man
Saturday, 4/11/09
OK, Wizard does not have a brand new pair of roller skates, but he does have a pair of brand new shoes. As a result of the shoes, the farrier said that Wizard’s sole is growing nicely now that he can grow more foot- hooray for soles! The farrier also mentioned that the outside of Wizard’s right hind hoof showed a little unusual wear, which ties in with the issues with his left hamstring. Overall, he really likes Wizard’s feet and was pleased with the changes.
JR’s feet looked great as well- I’m keeping him barefoot. A little reshaping and he was ready to roll.
I longed JR indoors due to the wet weather outside. The air was chilly and JR still feels a little goosey on his back so I longed him with a quarter sheet. I also used one side rein buckled to the girth and attached to his bit. I only longed for part of the session with it attached and left his head loose for the rest of the longeing. When he first felt the side rein, he crowhopped with every single stride around the circle for a full rotation. When he resigned himself to the side rein, he quickly learned that if he carried his head long and low, there was no pressure. When the side rein is attached to the girth between his legs, it does not force him to flex at the poll, which is good for a green horse like JR. I think that he needs to learn to work from the base of his neck before we worry about his poll.
I longed JR for about 25 minutes, just enough to get him to break a light sweat and get a little workout. The horses stayed indoors due to the rain so JR seemed pleased to be working. After the session was over, I walked him out and grazed him.
I put my Thermatex cooler on Wizard while he was resting in his stall in an attempt to keep his hamstring warm in the chilly air. I massaged him a little before he worked. He was not quite as receptive to it as he was last time. When I tacked him up, I removed the cooler and put the quarter sheet on him. I also attached the side rein, but did not use it until he was completely warmed up on the longe.
I started him longeing at the walk to the left, then asked him to walk to the right. Frequently, Wizard breaks into a trot when we change direction to the right and I now think it’s a reaction to the tension in his hamstring. Today, he was relaxed enough to walk, but he was chewing on the bit.
I then asked him to trot to the left and he travelled very nicely with a playful spring in his step- he increased the tempo quite a bit to the right but was responsive and obedient. I changed direction again and hooked the side rein to the bit. It took a few rotations for him to learn that a low, relaxed head is what I wanted. Then, we went right. He trotted quickly again but was obedient. He stopped twice on the circle and the second time was reluctant to go back to trotting and it took a little finessing to get him trotting clockwise again. After he did his work with the side rein, I took it back off and asked him to trot each way without it. It was rewarding to watch since he stretched his head and trotted freely.
My hope is that Wizard might have torn some adhesions when he was playing in the deep footing last week and perhaps this caused the soreness. I’m toying with the idea of administering a dose of bute before a ride to see if it makes Wizard feel better or if it has no effect.
I brought him back to the barn, untacked him, cooled him out, and grazed him for about 20 minutes. The sun came out at the very end of the day and hinted at the wonderful weather we’re expecting for Sunday :^)
Wizard Session 72; JR Session 27: One Froggy Evening
Thursday, 4/9/09
Springtime baths for the boys! The temperatures were quite warm today and the air was very dry so JR and Wizard got much-needed baths. I don’t know how they do it, but they get themselves amazingly dirty.
I started with the yeller feller. I longed him for about 15 minutes in the dressage court. Our session was a far cry from last night’s wild longeing. JR was very well-behaved. He started out a little distracted, longeing in paisley shapes instead of circles, but eventually I was able to get a good working trot out of him. As soon as we were done, I gave him a bath. He stood very well- whoever trained him as a youngster did a really good job with handling him- I can hang all over him, wash his face, and put silly costumes on him and he does not care one bit. He is about 66% done with shedding his winter coat. When he’s all shed out, he’s going to look really handsome. Here he is, in all his cleanliness- enjoy it, since he will be a mudball by Sunday!
After JR, I longed Wizard for about 15 minutes. He was far more consistent than his friend JR. I longed him through a big puddle, off grass, onto grass, and he took it all in stride. His tempo increased quite a bit to the right (clockwise), which makes sense if his left hip/hamstring is sore. I kept the workout very simple and easy for him and he responded well. Then he got his bath. He was a little more tense than JR but he was still very well behaved. As a racehorse, Wizard probably got hundreds of baths so this is nothing new to him, but his racing days were ten years ago :^)
When his bath was done, his coat dried in about 15 minutes in the arid air. His dapples were dazzling and his bright bay coat shone. Here are some photos:
Mary the Morgan also got a bath, so be prepared for some Easter Morning Sarah K. Andrew Trademark Glamour Shots :^)
Before the horses’ baths, I talked to a barn buddy outside for a few minutes. When I walked back to Wizard’s stall, my mom told me that Wizard ate a piece of her banana. This was surprising to me since Wizard only likes carrots and molasses treats- he does not even like apples and he barely likes mints. I had never tried to feed him a banana, but I remembered that I read a study about flavors that horses like best and bananas were close to the top. Cool! New treat for Wizard.
So after Wizard’s bath, I ate a banana and offered a piece to Wizard. He looked at it with disgust. I tried to slip a piece in his mouth and he shook his head and spit it out as if I was trying to feed him poison. My mom watched in amazement- the scene reminded me of the One Froggy Evening cartoon, in which Michigan J. Frog only sings and dances for one guy, but does his typical froggy “brrrrrrroppppp” for anybody else who sees him. Wizzigan J. Horse only eats bananas for my mom. Brrrrrrrroppppp.
Every few days, my barn buddy Cathy sends me photos of Wizard and JR during the day while I’m at work. Here’s her latest photo of the two hooligans. I find it very amusing that I can keep tabs on them while I’m in the office- reminds me of the nanny cams that people install in their houses.
Wednesday, 4/8/09
So my wool saddle pad theory was all wrong :^/
I hand grazed Wizard for about 20 minutes before I rode today. The air is cool and lows tonight are in the 30s. From the beginning of the evening, Wizard’s body language was tight. He was ticklish and sensitive about grooming and a little jumpy outside- not spooky, just kind of on edge. When we were done, I put him back in his stall with some Alfa Supreme for 30 minutes. I left the Thermatex cooler on him while he ate, hoping that the warm wool might loosen up his cold muscles a little bit.
I longed JR in the indoor arena. Little yellow fellow is feeling FRISKY! He was pretty mellow at first but when he broke from a trot to a canter, he EXPLODED into playful bucks and once again, I felt like a deep sea fisherman wrestling a marlin. I’ll have to tack him up next time if I want a more serious longeing session- he was in a halter today. He trotted a few times over some ground poles and he was very willing and round. Good boy! Our longeing session lasted about 20 minutes, including warmup.
I put JR to bed and tacked up Wizard. He was still sensitive, even when I put his plushy saddle pad on his back (no more wool for him). I kept the cooler on him and took it off once he was warmed up a bit at the walk on the longe line. The footing was a little hard and dry but Wizard looked pretty good on the longe- I longed him for about 10 minutes, just walking and trotting. I longed him because I wanted to see if he worked out of the tightness I was seeing.
Sarah showed up for our lesson and I explained Monday’s ride. I mounted up and Sarah asked us to do a long, easy warmup at the walk on a very loose rein. After several minutes of walking, she asked us to trot on a loose rein. BACK went Wizard’s ears again! We had not trotted a full circle before Sarah said, “He’s hurting” and asked me to dismount.
I took off my saddle and she ran a line of pressure down both sides of his back to feel for soreness since he looked to be backsore rather than sore in his legs. Back seemed pretty good, but when she got to his left hip and hamstring, she found the root of the cause: a big knotted muscle. This is the same injury the chiropractor felt when she worked on him. I was a) impressed with Sarah’s judgment and diagnostic skills and b) relieved that it was the same thing we’ve noticed before.
Sarah and I walked Wizard back to the barn and she showed me some massage techniques to help break up the tight muscle tissue, rubbing and currying in even circles in the direction of the hair. Wizard let us know exactly how he felt about it by yawning and chewing contentedly. Yawning is seen as a release of toxins by some equine practitioners.
So now that we know that Wizard’s left hamstring is sore, what can be done and how did it happen?
Fibrotic myopathy requires surgery in its more severe cases, but can be relieved with massage, acupuncture, and laser therapy. I plan to call the chiropractor out in the next week or two to see if she agrees with this possibility and to see how she thinks we can address it.
How did Wizard get a sore hamstring? I believe that it’s an old injury but it seems like it gets sore sometimes. On Sunday night, he was playing and galloping in the outdoor arena and perhaps he pulled it in the deeper footing (footing is not as deep indoors). He also has a rowdy new equine neighbor who has been leaving bites on Wizard and they might have been rearing or wrestling.
Honestly, I’d rather work on something like this than a leg or hoof issue so I’m relieved that Sarah diagnosed the issue. Now he just needs a little pampering until he no longer has a pain in the butt :^)
Check out the silly sign I found in a local antique store- it’s now proudly hanging on Wizard’s stall door :^)
Wizard Ride 70; JR Session 25: Yin and Yang
Monday, 4/6/09
Rain, rain, rain. The sidewalks were rich with earthworms, but the barn was dry and cozy. I turned Wizard out in the indoor arena to let him play for a few minutes before I rode him. He leaped over a pole (photo above) and ran around the arena like a colt. The horses stayed in their stalls today so Wizard seemed quite happy to play in the arena.
I saddled up and rode Wizard for only 20 minutes. Why such a short ride after all of these 40-45 minute rides of late? Wizard was PINNING his ears and swishing his tail. He warmed up OK at the walk but when we started trot work, he pinned his ears every rotation or so for about 6 or 7 strides at a time. We trotted over a few poles and worked on a loose rein, but he still was tight and unhappy. Is it an ulcer issue? Is it soreness somewhere in his body? I’m not sure, but as I explained the ride to my mom as I drove home from the barn, I developed a pet theory… it was the saddle pad.
Now, I know it sounds silly. The pad is a high-quality pad. It’s a Nuumed Hi-Wither wool pad. But it’s a little itchy, not silky soft like the merino sheepskin pads I’ve been using. And this is the SAME pad that Alibar used to hate. Whenever I put the pad on Alibar, he used to make the “tick face” and point his lip and nicker for me to scratch him. I think it made him horribly itchy. In colder weather, the pad was just fine but when the air was warm and his pores were open, the pad drove him nuts. So why on earth do I keep using the pad on Wizard and JR? It’s beautiful! I desperately want it to fit SOMEONE. But I have a feeling that nobody likes the itchy wool pad :^( I’ll test my hypothesis next time I ride. Honestly, an itchy saddle pad is an easy fix and I hope I’m right with my guess.
After I was done with Wizard, I turned JR out and let him walk, trot, and canter indoors. JR was very focused on me and would trot toward me with my commands. I think he was getting a little bored with the lack of work and seemed very pleased to be in the spotlight again.
In Chinese philosophy, the concept of yin yang is used to describe how seemingly disjunct or opposing forces are interconnected and interdependent in the natural world, giving rise to each other in turn. On a smaller and far less vital level, Wizard and JR are interconnected and interdependent for me as a rider and a horsewoman :^)
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