JR Session 17; Wizard Ride 61: Give, Give, Give
Saturday, 3/21/09
On Saturday, we had beautiful, gorgeously gorgeous weather. I longed JR for about 15 minutes in the dressage court and then we went for a hand walk on the trails with Mary the Morgan and her owner. Both horses were fantastic. When my saddle is adjusted, I plan to start taking JR under saddle on the trails.
I let JR have a bit of grazing, groomed him, and he ate his dinner. I rode Wizard outdoors. There was a riding lesson in the arena near the gate, so I rode Wizard at the far end while my friend rode Mary the Morgan. I’ve ridden Wizard outside a few times, but always at the end by the gate/barn and only light work of walking a bit of trotting. Today was a big test, since there were a lot of trailers pulling in and out, horses entering and leaving the arena, and we were at the end closest to the woods and away from the barn.
I started the session by longeing him. He was fine to the left but got nervous when he longed to the right. He stopped about 5 or 6 times. As far as I can tell, it’s a combination of avoidance, distraction, and a little stress. It’s his peaceful protest. As soon as he longed clockwise to my liking, I hopped on and rode. He’s gotten much better at the mounting block, by the way. I fixed the budding issue by giving him a peppermint when he’s standing still, and simple repetition.
I walked Wizard in both directions. I could tell that he was nervous by the way he was playing with the bit and scrunching up his neck. When I asked for a trot, he bounced, wiggled, and further scrunched his neck. He listened to me, but was completely off my leg and hands. We tinkered with it a few times- he continued fiddling with the bit and tried to bounce into a canter a few times. He also ducked his head verrrrry low, not in a productive way, but in a nervous and evasive way. I thought to myself, “Wow, we have not had a ‘bad ride’ in a verrrry long time. I guess I’ll do my best to end on a good note.” Sigh.
The riding lesson ended and we moved our horses out of our little corner and used the rest of the ring. Then, a funny thing happened. I kept riding. And we had a good ride.
I channeled my inner Walter Zettl and every time I felt my hands grabbing to steady Wizard, I said to myself, “Give”. And I gave instead of taking. And when Wizard felt tight, I said to myself, “Keep riding”. I went over my mental checklist repeatedly, kept riding, and gave, gave, gave. Wizard settled after about 10 or 15 minutes and began to seek contact with the bit. He began to relax his topline. I gave. He began to relax his trot and move more fluidly. I kept riding. I rode for a total of about 30 minutes. It went from ugly to reasonably pretty with a little hard work and a little faith in the horse :^)
When we were done, I let Wizard graze for a little while. There were about ten cows at the barn for Saturday night team sorting so I led Wizard in the arena and let him see the cows. From what I was told, Wizard has actually done team sorting once before. He went right up to the cows and sniffed noses with one of them! Perhaps if hunter/jumpers are not his cup of tea, he’ll be a good cow horse.
JR Session 16; Wizard Ride 60: Hello, Abs!
“We have to show the horse what we would like to do, but we have to allow him to do it.” – Walter Zettl
Thursday, 3/19/2009
The other day, I got the wheels turning in Sarah’s head when I told her how well Wizard trotted the ground pole in our last ride. Tonight during my warmup for my lesson, I heard the wonderful and familiar sound of jump poles being rearranged. Once we worked on getting a good rhythm for our trot and asking for a little bend, Sarah told us to trot the a pole. I stayed straight, concentrated on the rhythm of the trot, curled a pinky finger in his mane, kept my eyes ahead, and Wizard took care of the rest. Good boy! We trotted the pole in both directions. She added another pole and we trotted a “line”.
Then Sarah got creative.
She set up a little bitty hunter course of poles. Line, diagonal, line, diagonal. If I felt Wizard rushing or getting tense, I asked for a walk for three steps and went back up to the trot. Wizard was fabulous! He trots the poles really nicely. I remember doing a lot of work like this with Alibar and he always wanted to canter after the pole, but Wizard is happy to trot, and he really picks his feet up nicely. Work over ground poles and cavaletti will help his topline as well as his balance.
Sarah got really creative.
She made little itty bitty teeny tiny crossrails that were about the height of the poles themselves. She even made what we jokingly called a vertical and a spread fence, of poles on the lowest jump cup, about 6 inches apart. Wizard did the little course like a champ! It was so much fun (after the initial shock! I had assumed we were working on more trot work and bending and was totally not expecting this kind of lesson).
The change in routine was great for me. I could feel myself riding better and Wizard was very interested in his job. It was a big challenge to keep all of our flatwork in mind and focus on the course of poles.
Here’s our little outside line…
And then we popped over this one… Just kidding.
The entire ride lasted about 45 minutes. Wizard is getting fitter- he just had sweat under the saddle. As Walter Zettl also says, “We have to go to the limit, but never over”.
I was recently going through Ingrid and Reiner Klimke’s The New Basic Training of the Young Horse and was delighted to see that Wizard is following the basic schedule that they use for young horses (minus the hacking, but I’m hoping to do a little trail riding soon). Of course, we’re going twice as slowly as the book’s plan *g* Here’s the third month’s training plan:
Main aim: Developing looseness under the rider; developing pushing power and contact on the lunge.
Quiet work in rising trot on both reins, both on the circle and going large around the school, trot-walk transitions, stretching and chewing the reins out of the rider’s hand. When possible following a lead horse in walk and trot over cavaletti and single poles. Hacking out in walk behind a lead horse- enjoying the countryside.
Introducing the driving aids of the voice and the whip on the lunge. Short spells of canter on the lunge. Increasing tempo in trot to develop pushing power and the contact with the bit, making sure that the horse does not come behind the vertical. The side reins must not be too short. Cavaletti work on the lunge is a good gymnastic exercise and strengthens the back muscles. Free-jumping; free-schooling in the indoor school- with correct equipment.
After Wizard was cooled out and put to bed, I took JR out for a groundwork session. My goal was to start him with the process of long-lining with clicker training. I tacked him up with a surcingle and a longeing cavesson and attached my long lines to the rings on the cavesson and through the surcingle rings. I stood to his side, asked for a walk, and when he did… click and treat. Good boy!
We repeated the cues a few times in each direction. He broke into a trot a few times but as long as he was forward and straight, I let him trot. I prefer forward at this point.
I longed him a few rotations at the walk and trot, then turned him loose to stretch his legs.
He is moving out freely and I think that he’s feeling pretty good after his chiropractic adjustment. Hooray! He has an amazing amount of suspension for an Appendix Quarter Horse- I can totally see him in the dressage ring some day :^)
As I walked out of the barn, I felt a familiar muscle burn- abs! Hello abs, nice to have you back. It’s been a while, eh? I think the work over poles with Wizard helped me use my core muscles more properly today. I’ve long believed that the motivation of jumping always makes me a better rider- I always pinned better in over fences classes than I did in flat classes. It feels really good to get my riding muscles back. A year ago, Alibar injured his hock and I did not ride very much for several months. When the hock healed was when he was diagnosed with lymphosarcoma. And in the beginning of my sessions with Wizard, I really sat pretty quietly and stayed out of his way. Now that we are ramping up the work in our lessons, I’m beginning to feel like a rider again and it feels good.
Jaguar Hope: 4/15/98 – 3/18/09
I extend my deepest condolences to fellow blogger, photographer, and Thoroughbred fanatic Wendy Uzelac for the tragic and sudden loss of her beloved, beautiful, talented Thoroughbred, Jaguar Hope.
Please take a moment to read about Jag’s legacy.
The JR Chiropractic Report and Wizard Session 59
Wednesday, 3/18/09
JR had an appointment with an excellent local veterinarian/equine chiropractor yesterday. His neck, poll, teeth, atlas, all felt great. She adjusted his left knee but otherwise, his legs looked great and she likes the work my farrier is doing with him (he’s barefoot). My farrier is slowly bringing his toes back a bit and rebalancing his feet. She felt the same back-soreness that I felt. She said that the rebalanced feet will help his posture quite a bit, plus she suggested that I get my saddle reflocked. The tree and panels of my saddle fit the shape of his body but the saddle is bridging a bit, which might be aggravating his already sore back. JR loved the acupuncture treatment :^)
So I have a call in to a local saddle fitter/adjuster and until then, it looks like JR will be doing a lot of groundwork :^) I also learned that JR is an Appendix Quarter Horse! I had always assumed that he was a full QH.
I longed Wizard outside for about 15 minutes. I longed him in the unfenced dressage court. I graze him by the arena but he’s never worked out there with me before. He was energetic but responsive, even when all the horses in their paddocks decided to have a bucking party. Not a lot of horses work in the dressage court so they were totally fascinated to see us out there.
Bold Forbes and Rock Lists: Thoroughbred Daily News Writer/Reporter Jon Forbes’ Top Ten Albums of All Time
Jon Forbes and fellow Kinks fan Smokey Stover
I was delighted for so many reasons when Jon Forbes joined the staff of Thoroughbred Daily News:
– I was no longer the staff newbie
– Jon Forbes likes mule racing even more than I do
– Like many TDN staffers, Jon loves excellent rock music
And he’s got quite a bright future in sports writing. Winning the Horseplayer Magazine’s inaugural “Blog Yourself to a Job” contest led Forbes to write several features for the magazine in 2007. Jon was a Blood-Horse intern and contributor to California Thoroughbred, Standardbredcanada.com, and AQHA’s Racing Journal by the time he graduated the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program.
Fresh out of college, Jon made the trek from the San Francisco Bay Area in California to the Jersey Shore. He may know Black Ruby race calls by heart, but you should see the California Kid struggle with New Jersey snow on his car.
Ask him about Bay Meadows. Or ask him about any of the dozens of racetracks he’s visited. Ask him for the winner of the final race at any track that has closed since 1992. Or ask him for his top ten albums of all time:
1. The Who Sell Out-The Who (1967) The third LP by the ‘orrible ‘oo, a mock pirate radio broadcast, was the group’s first concept album. Included with the songs are fake commercials and “borrowed” jingles from Radio London broadcasts. Although the pirate radio broadcast concept loses steam at the end (apparently the group ran out of fake commercials and were in a hurry to finish production), it’s much more of a concept album than Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The album is full of sharp social criticism, but the album never ceases to lose its goofy sense of humor.
2. Ramones-The Ramones (1976): Thanks to bands like Yes; Emerson, Lake & Palmer, and the band that brought us the #4 album on this list, rock ‘n’ roll had become bloated and needed a spark of energy. Which was exactly what The Ramones self-titled debut album offered. Rock, I believe, has fun at its core, but the genre had become so darn self-serious by then. I mean, how can’t you love a band that doesn’t “wanna go down to the basement” or “walk around with you”, but does “wanna sniff some glue”? Note the irony of a Jewish Brooklyn native singing about a “Blitzkrieg bop” and how he’s a “Nazi schatzi” who fights “for the fatherland. “ 1-2-3-4!
3. Who’s Next-The Who (1971): Anyone who listens to classic rock on FM radio is probably sick of hearing Baba O’Riley, Behind Blue Eyes, and Won’t Get Fooled Again. I mean, those are great songs, but I have this album ranked highly because I really like a lot of the lesser-known tracks. The Song is Over successfully combines poignant soft rock with harder stuff. Getting in Tune is simply, well, a good tune. And Going Mobile is a fun song to sing while driving. Not that I sing in the car or anything…
4. Wish You Were Here-Pink Floyd (1975): Real Pink Floyd fans may a disagree with me, but this is by far my favorite Pink Floyd album. Actually, it’s the only one I listen to. I know a serious Pink Floyd fan who thinks its “cliché.” And granted, it’s not as adventurous or ground-breaking as some of their other efforts. But that’s why I like it: It isn’t so damn obtuse! The songs make sense. The theme of Syd Barrett’s downfall after falling into the trappings of rock ‘n’ roll success is easy for feeble minds like mine to follow. (Actually, David Gilmour and Richard Wright agree with me. Said Gilmour: “I for one would have to say that it is my favourite album, the Wish You Were Here album. The end result of all that, whatever it was, definitely has left me an album I can live with very, very happily. I like it very much.” And Wright: “It’s an album I can listen to for pleasure. And there aren’t many of the Floyd’s albums that I can say that about.”)
5. Revolver-The Beatles (1966): On this single album, you’ll find the childish fantasy of Yellow Submarine and the hard rock psychedelia of Tomorrow Never Knows. The latter track still kicks ass nearly 43 years later, and they didn’t have modern luxuries like synthesizers or computers to produce the trippy effects. On the other end of the complexity spectrum is For No One, a melancholy two-minute tale of a romantic breakup that lacks of the excessive saccharine-ness of some of McCartney’s later efforts.
6. Rubber Soul-The Beatles (1965): Really, the five and six spots are interchangeable. This LP was the Beatles’ last effort before Revolver. It does have a much more organic feel than the preceding album, however, but still was a tremendous move forward from their early albums. Gone are the “boy meets girl” and “boy loses girl” songs, replaced by songs about seduction, jealousy, adultery, and isolation. The Word is their first song about love as a broader concept, and I prefer it vastly over the pretentious All You Need Is Love, which came two years later.
7. Leave Home-The Ramones (1977): This is the Ramones’ second album, which is a lot like the first. Except now they prefer sniffing Carbona cleaning products to glue. And we should now fear opening that door, instead of going down to the basement. And while Jackie is a punk and Judy is a runt, Suzy is a headbanger. Gabba gabba hey!
8. The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society-The Kinks (1968): When young people were tuning in, dropping out, and turning on, the Kinks were singing about village greens, steam-powered trains, and picture books in this concept album, which about small-town British culture. There is an irony to Ray Davies’ lyrics, granted, but it’s an affectionate irony. God save Donald Duck, vaudeville and variety! (Except I don’t know why the American Donald Duck made Ray Davies’ list of British things that should be preserved, but I’ll grant him some artistic license.)
9. The Last Waltz-The Band (The concert was in 1976. Soundtrack released in 1978.): This album is about as “live” as Richard Manuel and Rick Danko now are (yeah, I went there), but hey, I like it. This soundtrack to the film of the same name is from The Band’s final concert with their original lineup. The album and film are filled with studio overdubs, but apparently Levon Helm’s drumming is live, so that’s good enough, right? And his vocals are pretty damn good on Up on Cripple Creek and The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down. Except that hack Martin Scorsese truncated a lot of the songs in the film and took out the verses in Up on Cripple Creek that were about going to the racetrack. Those were the best verses!
10. Bringing It All Back Home-Bob Dylan (1965): I like Bob Dylan a lot, but on most of his albums, I love half the songs and never listen to the other half. But on Bringing It All Back Home, I’ll listen to nearly all of them, except I do prefer the live version of Maggie’s Farm. Also, I don’t think it’d be a stretch to say Subterranean Homesick Blues was one of the first rap songs.
JR Ride 15; Wizard Ride 58: Peel Me a Grape
Monday, 3/16/09
Peel me a grape, crush me some ice
Skin me a peach, save the fuzz for my pillow
Talk to me nice, talk to me nice
You’ve got to wine and dine me
Don’t try to fool me bejewel me
Either amuse me or lose me
I’m getting hungry, peel me a grape
When I was at the market before I went to the barn, I picked up a jar of molasses. Alibar was on my mind and I decided to spoil Wizard in his honor. When I arrived at the barn, Wizard was lying down in his stall like a little lamb, head to toe covered in bedding. I walked into the stall and he stayed lying down and nickered expectantly. I dutifully dipped a carrot in the jar of molasses and fed it to him.
When Alibar took his naps, he used to do the same thing- he’d stay lying down and wait for me to walk to him and feed him carrots. His funny little mouth would open like a hippo, waiting for treats. My mom always joked that he was saying, “Peel me a grape.”
I gave HRH Wizard some Hi-Fi and some UlcerGard and let him dine while I rode JR.
JR has an appointment with the chiropractor on Wednesday morning. He feels backsore and my friend noticed that he carried his tail to the side. A crooked tail can sometimes be a sign of a horse who is out of alignment. I also noticed that JR was resistant to leg aids today. I started out the session by longeing him for about 15 minutes as a gentle warmup. For variety, I longed him over two trot poles. He took them pretty well the first 2 or 3 times but knocked them a few times after that. I changed it back to one trot pole.
Under saddle, JR was forward but he felt tight and not comfortable. I’m really glad that I called the chiro when I did since he feels tighter now than he did during our last ride. I REALLY hope it’s not a saddle fitting issue. Since JR is not my horse, it seems a little crazy to get my saddle reflocked to fit his back, but I’ll see what the chiropractor has to say. We did light work, mostly walking and trotting with just a little canter. I worked on walk-trot transitions and I worked on my own position by riding with a loop in the reins and doing my best to sit back and correctly align my arms. When I felt JR relaxing his topline, I called it a day for him.
I longed Wizard for about 15 minutes. I’ve increased his canter time on the longe to about 4-6 rotations in each direction- it is working well because he can now balance himself nicely without rushing. I hopped on and rode for about 20 minutes. It was a wonderfully pleasant ride! Wizard is a classic Thoroughbred in many ways; he is very responsive to me when I talk to him and he’s very willing. We worked on our trot and he understood exactly what to do and performed his task beautifully. To the left, I was able to keep the reins slack and work on my seat while encouraging him to stretch into the bit. To keep my hips aligned, I actually post with my inside hip pointed to his outside ear. While this sounds counterintuitive, it actually straightens me to the correct alignment so I’m not overbent. To the right, Wizard was a little more unsteady, but still remarkably relaxed. It put a big smile on my face to think of how far he has come. I’m really proud of him. I even trotted him over a ground pole at the end of the ride :^)
After Wizard was cooled out, I walked him back to the barn, untacked, groomed, and put him to bed. His honey-colored eyes watched me through the slats of his stall wall as I prepared him another tub of Dengie. He stood politely but expectantly as I drizzled just a taste of molasses on his bedtime snack.
Pop me a cork, french me a fry
Crack me a nut, bring a bowl full of bon-bons
Chill me some wine, keep standing by
Just entertain me, champagne me
Show me you love me, kid glove me
Best way to cheer me, cashmere me
I’m getting hungry, peel me grape
Here’s how to be an agreeable chap
Love me and leave me in luxury’s lap
Hop when I holler, skip when I snap
When I say, “do it,” jump to it
Send out for scotch, call me a cab
Cut me a rose, make my tea with the petals
Just hang around, pick up the tab
Never out think me, just mink me
Polar bear rug me, don’t bug me
New Thunderbird me, you heard me
I’m getting hungry, peel me a grape
JR Ride 14; Wizard Ride 57: C-A-N-T-E-R = J-E-L-L-O
Thursday, 3/12/2009
Another tough but fantastic riding lesson! Figure 8s, serpentines, sideways figure 8s, serpentines along the center line, circles in each corner. Shoulder in, leg yield, straight lines down the center line. JR’s balance has improved so much. His transitions are getting smoother and he’s lighter on the bit at the trot. He’s wiggly when we work on bending, but I’m pleased that he’s so willing and flexible. His leg yields were awesome- I think somebody started lateral work with him somewhere during his preliminary training.
And the canter? We worked on very large circles and straight lines. His left lead is easier than the right and it took a few tries to get him to pick up with right lead but he was willing and forward. When he’s cantering, it’s a full-body workout for me! Maintaining rhythm, keeping my legs secure, asking for a bend, WHEW! I have done only light riding for the past year so now that we’re stepping up the work, my body is getting all its old riding muscles back. Just that work at the canter had my legs feeling like Jello. We rode for an hour total and it was FAR more demanding riding than last week’s lesson for me. My right ankle feels a little swollen and I have a feeling it’s from riding in suede half chaps instead of my old leather half chaps, which give far more ankle support. After our ride, I gave JR about 10 minutes of grazing time and a good grooming.
Leg yield:
On to the horse who does not make me feel like Jello Legs :^) Wizard was fantastic. I longed him for 10 minutes, mostly trotting and just asking for a few rotations on the longe at the canter. I rode for about 15 minutes. He’s accepting more contact and stretching nicely into the bit. His transitions have improved and he’s quieter with his mouth. Wizard also got some good grazing after his ride. I think we can start to move forward with work in our next sessions, asking for more bend and riding more complex patterns. But for now, my Jello Legs are headed off to bed.
JR Ride 13; Wizard Ride 56: Sealed with a Kiss
Wednesday, 3/11/2009
A girl who boarded and worked at my old barn had a habit of kissing her horse on the nose. My trainer used to playfully joke with her, “If you love your horse so much, go clean his stall!”
I have a lesson scheduled for Thursday so I wanted to spice up our routine a little bit. I rode both horses outside. The outdoor arena is recovering from rain and last week’s snow so it’s still damp and the footing is deep. I’m a firm believer that footing is a huge factor in a horse’s soundness. Difficult footing is harder to negotiate than one might think. I kept this in mind when I worked both horses tonight. They are used to the footing in their turnout and in the indoor arena- both places have firm footing with a good base. The outdoor arena has a good base but it’s significantly deeper- it feels a little like a racetrack when it’s full of moisture.
Each horse received the same training session. I worked JR first. I turned each horse out individually at liberty in the big arena so he could get used to the footing. I did a little clicker training. JR is picking up on the idea of longeing at liberty and the huge arena (100 x 200) is a great place to test his skills. We targeted a few items in the arena and worked on a trot circle around me.
When I free longed Wizard, he was more interested in running than JR was. Wizard has that indomitable heart of the Thoroughbred. While horses like JR like to buck and prance and show off, Wizard loves to take off and run. There was a very narrow chute of jump standards that was about 3 feet from the fence and Wizard ran down the entire chute on his own- I think he thought it was part of our game! I smiled at his willing disposition and apparent desire to please.
After the liberty work, I tacked up and longed each horse for about ten minutes. Then, I lightly rode as a cooldown, with a little trotting and mostly walking. JR leaned into the bit and Wizard was light in my hands as usual. Both horses were pleased to be working outdoors. I’m looking forward to summer evening rides :^)
Because the deeper footing works different muscle groups, I carefully cooled each horse with lots of walking. I hosed their legs to get all dirt and mud off of them. I checked their feet for stones. I rubbed liniment on their legs. I tied their tails up during work so they did not get full of mud. I wiped the mud off my tack. I took the saddle pads and girth home for washing. I carefully groomed all sweat marks. I conditioned their hooves. I conditioned their coats. I gave them fresh water. I fluffed up the bedding in their stalls. I opened their stall windows for more overnight ventilation. I fed them Dengie and a handful of their favorite treats. And then I gave each horse a smooch on the nose.
The Legend of Alibar: A Star is Born
Alibhai’s Alibar was foaled in New Jersey on March 28, 1979. Alibar was liver chestnut with a big blaze and two hind stockings, a left front sock, and a white right pastern. His milky chin and knife-point stockings are signs of sabino genetics at work, and his raccoon tail and speckled flanks indicated rabicano markings as well. His foal coat was reddish but as he matured, his coat became a rich, chocolatey color that had a purplish cast in some light. Although he was genetically a chestnut, his mane, tail and back were so dark with countershading that some people mistakenly called him a bay.
Although Alibar was registered with the Appaloosa Horse Club and was the son of a Quarter Horse dam, the largest percentage of blood in his pedigree was Thoroughbred. Alibar’s sire was a tall, leggy Appaloosa stallion named Golden Alibhai. Golden Alibhai was sired by a Thoroughbred named Peakablu and was out of an Appaloosa mare of Canadian lines named Golden Candy. Peakablu had the blood of champions in his veins; his grandsire Bull Lea was the king of Calumet Farm and sire of Triple Crown winner Citation and his broodmare sire Alibhai was highly influential to the breed and was grandsire of the immortal Kelso. Blue hen broodmares such as Blue Delight and Teresina are also found in Peakablu’s pedigree. All of these ancestors could not make Peakablu run any faster, and he had an unsuccessful career in California and went on to sire horses of other breeds. Not much is known of the Appaloosa side of Golden Alibhai’s pedigree. I found a few photos and made MANY phone calls to breed registries but the roots of the bloodlines are lost to the Canadian winds.
Golden Alibhai was very athletic and temperamental. He was a very talented jumper and sired some successful show jumpers, but his personality kept him from having success in the show ring. Alibar’s breeder told me that Golden Alibhai made a habit of walking on his hind legs with a rider in the saddle. I found this photo in an old issue of Appaloosa Journal. Such a big fellow and very different in appearance from the modern Appaloosa.
Alibar’s dam was a small, stout, black Quarter Horse mare named Treva Bar. She was bred 4×4 to influential sire Three Bars. She came from mostly racing and cutting lines. Alibar’s breeder said that she had a nasty disposition and killed one of her foals. A few years ago, I corresponded with the family of Treva Bar’s breeder. This is what they had to say about Treva Bar and her sire, Reddi Go Bars:
When I started training her as a 2 yr old, she was a bundle of energy. Everything was pretty typical at first but once I got her out of the round corral and started riding her in larger areas, once we moved from the walk into a trot or canter she would never come back down to a walk; she would just jig. I worked her in deep sand in a dry river bed doing figure 8’s around the trees trying to wear her down. She never wore down. One good thing I remember was that she felt very solid and secure doing figure 8’s in the deep sand, never felt she was struggling in the deep sand. She was stout and very muscular. It was just very tiring to ride her because she wouldn’t walk. We were working on a ranch in eastern Colorado at the time and my husband took her to ride a couple of times. The first time he had been out moving and checking cattle all day and coming home Treva Bar was still jigging. The second time he took her for the day, he roped a 2yr old bull off of her. He said she handled it just fine, but still with all the work she wouldn’t walk. She would always stop when we ask, but just not walk.
Reddi was always pretty good to handle and ride. Treva Bar looked a lot like him. They used Reddi to breed their own mares and showed him at halter. Reddi’s colts always looked like him and black was the dominant color.
Alibar was turned out with a few other Appaloosa weanlings in the summertime. According to his breeder, the weanlings were so difficult to catch that they had to leave short lead ropes attached to them. On the notes for these photos, she titled them “The Three Musketeers”.
After Alibar was weaned, my mom’s friend Diane purchased him. And you’ll learn more of her adventures in Chapter Two :^)
And so begins The Legend of Alibar. Thank you for reading about my special horse and I look forward to sharing more of the Legend soon.
JR Ride 12; Wizard Ride 55: Natural Born Wizard
Monday, 3/9/2009
I think I’m going to have the chiropractor look at JR. He’s forward and willing, but he seems a little tight in his back. He’s getting goosier during grooming and feels a little tender through the loin. I’ve felt it since I started riding him and it’s not going away. I thought back to what I did for Wizard when we were first starting out, and he had two chiropractic/acupuncture treatments. It would only be fair of me to get JR aligned, especially since he’s already doing more demanding work with cantering and a little bit of trot poles. He’s a healthy and sound horse and I want to give him every advantage I can afford.
Our ride was good. I longed JR for about ten minutes. He was feeling a little fresh and did one or two little bucks and broke into a canter, although I only wanted a working trot. I usually only ask for a canter on the longe in very small quantities, more for balance and training than any sort of exercise. I prefer to do most longe work at the walk and trot, especially with green horses.
I rode for about 15 minutes and we did about 10 minutes of relaxing trot work. Unlike our last lesson, I mostly worked on “long and low”. JR has the habit of bracing with the bottom of his neck during transitions so I’m trying to work and stretch the muscles in the top of the neck and not let him brace the muscles in the bottom of his neck. It went well- I got a few nice stretches out of him and we did a baby shoulder in at the walk in each direction. I also set up the ground pole box (four jump poles in a square) and we did a little work on halts and disengaging the hind end. He’s wiggly at the trot and he’s heavier in my hands, but I think it’s his greenness and his build. When he’s more schooled, I expect him to take more contact than his friend Wizard.
Speaking of Wizard… breakthrough, breakthrough, breakthrough! I was on Cloud Nine after our ride tonight. I longed him for ten minutes to let him warm up- he did that wonderful working horse snort… not the purr of a jumper, but the rhythmic snort of a fresh horse ready for work. Under saddle, his walk was relaxed and willing. He chewed his bit slowly and thoughtfully, not nervously. I kept him on a large circle for our ride. I started on his hard side (right) with trot work. The transitions were the most harmonious yet! There was very little awkwardness and we got in sync really quickly. Wizard picked up a little bend when asked and did some amazing stretches. A few hints of long and low, on our way to the coveted dressage stretchy circle. We trotted left as well with the same results.
It might not have looked like a lot, but Wizard had a major breakthrough and it was thrilling. All of a sudden, things are falling into place. These are basic movements, but they were not possible without all of this careful riding and care for his health. I gave him Ulcergard and I’m still trying to figure out if it’s the magic bullet. If it is, it’s a pricey magic bullet ;^) Two of my barn buddies have confirmed my thoughts that Wizard looks like a new man- his belly is gone and his muscles are getting smooth and round. Wizard is a natural-born mellow and willing guy. He is eager to please and it is very rewarding to find the real horse as a result of all our hard work. I was getting close to giving him another long layoff, but the extra time and money have really paid off.
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