Wizard Session 39: My Umbrella-ella-ella
Wednesday 1/15/09
Tonight, the Parelli Support Group met for their bi-monthy gathering at Handy Acres. I was there to photograph everybody’s progress. Christie brought her iPod player, and I was reminded of all the years I spent listening to the radio while I trained Alibar. Music and riding go together, especially when we’re rocking out to The Band while we walk through snake pits with green horses. The weather was COLD. We sipped hot chocolate and waddled around in our layered outfits like the characters on South Park.
Miss Tuesday aced the platform:
King tried to eat the umbrella…
And Roy did things his own way…
After the Parelli group left, my friend Christie and I took Wizard and Mary the Morgan into the arena to play with the obstacles. Mary made the platform look easy- she’s a natural with her bold attitude and nimble feet.
I applied clicker training principles to navigate the obstacles with Wizard. Wizard is not quite as brave or as handy as Mary, but I was really pleased with our session. He came into the arena and snorted loudly when he saw all the strange objects. Some horses only start snorting when they are about to blow up, but Wizard snorts as soon as something does not look right. It’s pretty cute when he does it.
He handled the Snake Pit with grace…
He walked over the tarp like a champ…
The mattress was no match for the Mighty Wizard…
He used a little fancy footwork to get his feet into the hula hoop…
And he was far more graceful on the platform this time! He is not coordinated enough to put all 4 feet on the platform yet (it’s a fairly small area) but he puts his fronts on the platform readily. He also walks off of it by putting his hind feet on it so I think he’s only a few steps away from having all 4 feet on it.
The scariest object was the umbrella. Walking up to it and touching it with his nose (clicker training) was no problem. But when I spun it on the ground by the handle, it blew his mind. He rocked back into a defensive position, practically sitting down, while he watched it, snorting all the while. He still trusted me, but I could tell he was very uncertain. As I handled the umbrella, I devised a great way to get him more comfortable with it: I held it ahead of him, and as he walked toward it, the umbrella “retreated”. It worked like a charm! The way I see it, the advance and retreat is a good way to teach horses to walk toward spooky objects. I used to charge at loose dogs with Alibar and it saved us from touchy predicaments more than once.
As the umbrella retreated, Wizard became more bold. I was then able to lift the umbrella up to eye level, then up over my head. I could see the whites of Wizard’s eyes rolling as it lifted, but he held his ground and trusted me. We walked along with the umbrella over our heads. He even let me touch his sides with the closed umbrella- I could see him WANTING to jump away but he was sooo good about standing still. He’s such an honest horse.
We have a cold snap headed our way in New Jersey- the temperatures are supposed to drop to single digits tomorrow night. Wizard is ready with his plush winter coat, buckets of warm water, and lots of hay.
Wizard Ride 38: By the Light of the Silvery Moon
Monday 1/12/09
This weekend, we had the perigee moon, the biggest full moon of 2009. While tonight the moon was not full, it was a buttery gold when it rose and it had a beautiful ring around it in the clear January sky. I wish it was a little warmer and I would have been crazy enough to ride under it. I used to ride Alibar by moonlight at the old barn- it’s one of my fondest memories of him.
Tonight was a pleasantly quiet night. Sometimes I love the hum of a busy barn and I like the comings and goings of horses and riders. Sometimes I love to ride alone and focus completely on the horse. Tonight was one of those nights. My barn buddies finished early with their horses. Sarah was finished for the night and asked if I wanted a lesson, but I decided to try out everything we learned last week in a session by ourselves.
First, I hand walked Wizard for about a half a mile in the indoor arena (approx 8 laps around the indoor arena equals a mile). Then, I longed Wizard for about 10 minutes. While he longed, I kept his quarter sheet on him to help warm his muscles up.
Then, I took off the sheet and worked at the walk under saddle. We worked on small circles along a bigger circle- I used an opening rein to encourage the smaller soft circles. We worked on them in both directions. Then, we trotted. It was not the prettiest thing in the world, but it was not ugly! We trotted about 4 big circles in each direction, stopping to walk when needed. He was a lot easier to the left and he stretched into the bit a few times. His neck was tighter to the right and he began to rush a bit, which was a little frustrating until I remembered that this was our first time ever trotting alone for any extended period of time. Progress! I then worked Wizard at the walk as a cooldown. We walked down a series of poles in the center of the ring- he is very calm and willing to navigate obstacles. I dismounted, untacked him, and let him trot at liberty for about 5 minutes. In this cold weather, the horses don’t get quite as much exercise during turnout since they cannot really run on the frozen ground. I like to make sure Wizard gets a little time to stretch his legs. As he gets fitter, I can see him enjoying his playtime more and more.
I put his tack back on (loosely) to walk him into the barn- it’s good schooling for him and I did not want to carry it all back myself ;^) He was much better about grooming. I noticed a few hairs shed out on him and I think he’ll enjoy grooming MUCH more when he starts to shed all the way. I put Thrush Buster on his feet, put him in his stall, gave him two buckets of lukewarm water, and fed him a feed tub of Dengie. As I watched him chow down on his forage, I noticed how muscular he’s getting. He was in good pasture shape when I started riding him, but now the muscles are smooth and big, not short and ropey. It looks like he has also put on a few pounds. His coat looks lovely and as usual, his mane and tail are abundant. The Wizard is looking mighty fine!
Session 37: Leapin’ Lizards, Wizard!
Saturday 1/10/09
Wizard and the rest of his barn buddies stayed indoors due the the weather situation here in New Jersey (sleet and slippery snow). I decided that today was a perfect day to try something physically and mentally challenging so we did a free jumping session. It was a great idea- what fun… and I learned that Wizard can jump pretty nicely!
I set up a regular fence with standards along the wall of the indoor arena. Then I made a chute of two jumps end to end perpendicular to the jump in order to encourage Wizard to jump straight. We started with a pole on the ground between standards, then raised it to a crossrail and finally a vertical about a foot high. My friend photographed while I concentrated on working with Wizard.
Wizard first learned free jumping during Ride 27 . He retained quite a bit of the lesson since he immediately went over the poles by himself as soon as he was turned out in the arena! Click and treat for Wizard.
I asked him to warm up at the trot at liberty. I then asked him to take the ground pole at a trot, which turned into a canter, which turned into him showing off and prancing and snorting after the jump ;^)
He jumped the ground pole about three times and then I raised it to a crossrail. He cleared the crossrail twice very easily so I raised it to a one-foot vertical. He jumped the vertical really well! He jumped about 7 obstacles total (ground pole, crossrail, then vertical).
Next time I free jump him, I will set up some sort of combination of obstacles as a tiny gymnastic so Wizard can round up more and not rush as much. At the end of the session, he get getting too quick and pulled the rail with his hind end. I think he simply got too excited and flattened out.
Throughout the session, I used the clicker to enforce good behaviors such as forward motion, a soft trot, and his jumps. The clicker worked really well until the end, when he did not pay as much attention to it. He was too busy celebrating after the jumps by arching his neck and leaping around in the far corner of the arena. It was really cute to see him play after the fences.
I was quite pleased with Wizard’s jumping efforts. I assumed that because of the angle of his humerus, he would not be the tidiest jumper in the world. While he did hang below his knees, his forearms looked quite nice, especially for a greenie who knows nothing about jumps!
Wizard’s Former Career as a Racehorse
©1999 Equi-Photo. Used with permission.
Wizard is a New Jersey bred Thoroughbred and was foaled on February 5, 1996. Wizard’s registered name is Doctor’s Secret. His sire is Secret Hello and his dam is Slewper Girl, by Slewpy.
Wizard:
Wizard
Wizard’s sire, Secret Hello:
Secret Hello
Wizard’s grandsire, the beautifully-bred and influential sire Private Account. Sire of Secret Hello:
Private Account
Wizard’s great-grandsire, Damascus. Sire of Private Account:
Damascus
Wizard’s broodmare sire (maternal grandsire), Slewpy. I think that Wizard strongly resembles this sire line.
Slewpy
Wizard’s great-grandsire, Seattle Slew. Sire of Slewpy:
Seattle Slew
Aside from conformational similarities, Wizard has also inherited an attractive and unusual trait from the Seattle Slew line: his honey-colored eyes…
It is a pet peeve of mine to hear people brag about a horse being related to Man O’War or Secretariat somewhere on the 10th generation. It is quite common for Thoroughbreds have some very impressive names in the 3rd and 4th generation and beyond. I usually look at the immediate generations for class and racing ability. Although Wizard’s pedigree is considered working-class for a racehorse, it contains the names of some racehorses commonly sought-after for sport horse breeding, such as Damascus, Buckpasser, Bold Ruler, and Princequillo in the first four generations. He also has Alibhai on his 5th generation, making him a verrrrrry distant cousin to Alibar :^)
Wizard’s pedigree is free of Northern Dancer, Raise A Native, and Mr. Prospector lines, which is a little unusual. His tail female line is Reine-de-Course Beaming Beauty. This is one of Colonel Bradley’s great families, and it contains Bubbling Over, Bymeabond, Damascus, Native Charger, Banshee Breeze, C P West, Buddha, Echo Lass, and All At Sea. Moreover, he is line bred 4×4 to Kerala, the dam of Damascus; this is a term called the Rasmussen Factor, which is the inbreeding of superior female families through different individuals. Wizard is also line bred 4×4 to leading broodmare sire Prince John.
Wizard raced at ages 3 and 4 at Monmouth Park, the Meadowlands, and Philadelphia Park. His official workouts were at Monmouth Park and Garden State Park. He raced 15 times, winning once and coming in third twice- his earnings total $11,500. He ran nine times as a 3 year old and raced six times at age 4. Wizard’s lone victory came when he was a 3 year old at The Meadowlands in October 1999 and is pictured above. He raced at a sprint distance of 6 furlongs for the majority of his starts and always raced on dirt. He was ridden by jockeys Felix Ortiz, Stewart Elliott, Mark McCormick, Luis Romero Rivera Jr., and Miguel Angel Espindola. His career started at the end of May of his 3 year old year, which indicates to me that he was a bit of a late developer. He was gelded before his first start. He raced without Lasix/Salix until his 4th start.
In his first few starts, he ran in state-bred maiden races. His typical pattern was to run mid-pack and make his move around the turn. For most of his first few races, he finished mid-pack. Later in his 3 year old year, he was moved to press the pace a little bit. When he won in October (the day before my birthday :^), he won from the front of the pack. He finished in fractions of :22 4/5, :46 2/5, :58 4/5, 1:11 1/5 and this was his last race of the year. It was a state-bred maiden claiming race and he defeated 10 other horses age 3 and up. It seems like he ran best at the Meadowlands- perhaps he liked the firm base.
Wizard’s 4 year old season started at Monmouth Park in July. He made little impact in any of his starts that year, and is listed as “DNF” (did not finish) for one race in August. He finished close to last in most starts, racing at Monmouth, the Meadowlands, and his last race was at Philadelphia Park. The charts indicate that he started awkwardly and flattened out soon after. My best guess is that this would indicate an issue with breathing, soreness, or he was simply not competitive anymore.
Wizard Ride 36: Wizzy Buns
Thursday 1/8/09
Before my ride, Wizard was really laid-back on the cross ties. He barely reacted to grooming, which I found interesting. Did the day off recharge his batteries? Did he remember that I reprimanded him last time he pinned his ears at me when I brushed him? I don’t know, but I rewarded him appropriately.
Tonight was my third training session with my friend Sarah. Wizard is improving by leaps and bounds with the added input of an experienced trainer. I hand walked Wizard for about 10 minutes as a warmup. Then, Sarah rode him for about 10 minutes. She first rode the walk and repeated the “contact game”: she took contact, then released when he stretched into it, took contact, etc. She then carried the contact work over into the trot. First, she allowed him to “touch his toes” at the trot and stretch his neck. Then, she asked for him to take contact for a few steps at a time. The contact was light and she would release frequently. The most interesting part was when she changed from the easy side (left) to the more difficult side (right), he accepted contact more readily. It seemed like he could carry himself more easily to the left but was willing to get a little support to the right. And there was far less rushing to the right. Sarah also did a little experimenting with his rein cues and came to the conclusion that he does not know very much ;^) We’re in the world of direct and opening reins right now and we’ll be there for a while.
Then, I rode for about 20 minutes. I rode Wizard at the trot for longer periods today than we did in our last session. I was able to ride full circles with him. We first worked on stretching and relaxing his topline. He rushed a few times and I focused on using my seat before my hands. I also worked on my position, stretching into my heels and bringing my shoulders back from my fetal position that I assume when I get distracted ;^) Sarah then allowed me to take a little contact at the trot and it felt good! Wizard felt willing and comfortable. We’re a L-O-N-G way from being on the bit, but I could feel a teeny tiny flicker of how he’ll feel with more schooling. Wizard also got a little bit of schooling around horses since Miss Tuesday was in the arena for a groundwork session. This was the closest Wizard has been to other horses in the ring since I’ve started riding him. He pinned his ears as he rode past her, but kept his focus on me. He even kept his focus when Tuesday left the arena and they closed the arena door. Good boy!
When we were done, I put him in his stall with some Dengie and I fed him some treats: Uncle Jimmy’s Squeezy Buns.
My mom heard the crinkling wrapper and asked, “What are you feeding him?”
“Squeezy Buns,” I replied.
“Wizzy Buns????” she asked, astonished.
“No… SQUEEZY Buns, but I kinda like the name Wizzy Buns,” I answered.
Wizard Ride 35: Stirrup Kisses and Dumbo Loses the Magic Feather
Tuesday 1/6/09
I broke my sessions with Wizard into two mini-sessions today. I longed him in his new Happy Mouth King Dee mullen mouth shaped bit so he could get a feel for it. Although the bit looked big, the plastic sides actually push the bit away from his cheeks. The mouthpiece itself fits him perfectly. Wizard normally takes a 5 or 5 1/4 inch bit bit Happy Mouth bits tend to need to be sized up so he wears a 5 1/2″.
We longed for about 15 minutes, mostly for a little fitness and to work on our walk-trot transitions. He was the perfect little horse and did everything I asked. I put him back in his stall and he ate his dinner while I watched some other lessons and hung out at the barn with my mom.
Later in the evening, I tacked Wizard up for our ride. For the past 4 rides or so, Wizard has become more reactive to the saddling process. I changed him to a sheepskin saddle pad but I see no difference- if anything, he’s more agitated. Once the pad and saddle are on him, he does not react to the girthing process, which is strange to me.
Wizard is also sensitive to grooming. I purchased the softest brush I could find, but he still flattens his ears when I brush him. I let him give his editorial opinion for many sessions, but I finally had to reprimand him recently. I simply yelled, “ENOUGH!!!” and bumped his neck with the hard part of the brush. He quieted himself immediately and I praised him profusely when he relaxed.
As much as I hate, hate, hate to scold any human or animal, Wizard was simply getting too pushy about grooming. I try to let animals tell me how they feel about things, but after 30+ sessions and with him getting more and more opinionated, I finally had to let him know that this is unacceptable. And he listened with one loud word and a brush bumped against his neck.
After we tacked up, I rode Wizard indoors for about 15 minutes.
We started with Stirrup Kisses, a suppling exercise known by many other names and one that crosses disciplines from dressage to western pleasure. I asked Wizard to turn his head to my right stirrup by pulling the right rein toward my hip, while releasing my left rein to allow his neck to bend. When his nose is close to my stirrup, I release the right rein. Then I did one to the left, reversing the cues. Wizard was quite good at this exercise and even held position on both sides. He’s a bendy guy!
Then we worked at the walk, which felt fantastic. My seat felt more relaxed and I rode confidently. Wizard responded with a big walk that I call The Dinosaur Walk- kinda like this.
The trot was not as smooth :^) Without my Magic Feather (aka my friend Sarah), I could not trot Wizard as well. We also were riding at the far end of the arena (away from the gate and barn) because the arena was watered but had not yet been groomed. The trot was just-OK, but I lost my quiet seat and began to fiddle with Wizard’s mouth again. Argh- SO frustrasting!!! More rushing, less balance on my part. My timing was off. Wizard even broke into an awkward canter at one point when he had trotted himself off balance. Good to know that I have plenty of stopping power, even in the Happy Mouth Bit ;^)
We DID get a few nice moments at the trot, but none nearly as nice as the ones from the night before.
After one last decent little trot, I went back to the walk with Wizard. The VERY good part was that he was perfectly willing to go back to the Dinosaur Walk immediately after trotting. He was relaxed and willing, even after a few clumsy trots with me.
Back at the barn, I worked on Wizard’s bow- he’s slowly learning how to lift one hoof and bow down like a little circus pony.
Wizard has Wednesday off. Thursday night? Another session with Sarah and Sarah :^)
Wizard Ride 34: On the BUCKLE!
Monday, 1/5/09
One more session with Sarah- this time even BETTER!
I hand walked Wizard for about 5 minutes and then walked under saddle for about 5 minutes. I already felt more security in my seat from seeing how he looks with Sarah. Then she mounted up and worked him for about 10 minutes. The improvement in relaxation from yesterday to today was AMAZING and inspiring! I was so impressed with them both. Wizard was stretching downward while maintaining a fairly good rhythm in his trot. His transitions were more comfortable. He seems like he’s a real people-pleaser and as soon as he grasps a concept, he does it. He still rushed to the right, but never broke stride or did anything out of the ordinary.
Then she hopped off and said, “Time for you to trot him”.
Sigh.
Deep breath.
And so we did.
Quite well!
It’s such a different feeling having somebody on the ground to coach me. It gave me confidence and I could relax so much more. I ride with people in the barn and even in the ring with me very frequently, and they are all very knowledgeable people, but having somebody there to actually instruct me made a WORLD of difference. I accomplished in one ride what would have taken me 10 on my own. I’m content to train at a GLACIAL pace, but a mini riding lesson once in a while certainly gets me going!
The tips that Sarah gave me were in line with what I had been doing, but just having her there really helped. Plus, her timing is fantastic and she knows exactly when the horse is going to speed up or get unbalanced. And she could see when my position was tensing up. She had me and Wizard trotting more in one session than we have all summer, fall, and winter! And we trotted on a very loose rein. I was able to ask for a walk with just my seat. He responded to a really simple form of a half-halt, and even “touched his toes” for me (stretched his neck downward). What a feeling it was to go from fiddling with his mouth to riding him on the buckle at a trot!
The right was more difficult than the left since he speeds up, but we got the job done.
What a good feeling it was to see such a quantum leap in training in such a short time. I know it’s not something that always happens, but every once in a while, it feels good!
Wizard Ride 33: It Gets Ugly Before It Gets Pretty
Sunday, 1/4/09
After work, I headed to the barn. I watched my friend Christie work with Mary the Morgan. They have made SO MUCH progress and it’s such a thrill to see them learn about each other.
After their ride, I tacked Wizard up and hand walked him for about 10 minutes as a warmup. I try my best to change the routine to keep things fresh. I keep some parts the same to teach consistency but I change some so that Wizard does not think that he MUST longe before riding or that he is entitled to a clicker session after a ride.
Then my friend Sarah got to the barn and she rode Wizard for about 15 minutes. Sarah is an accomplished hunter/jumper rider. I’ve known her since she was a little girl and she has become an admirable horsewoman. She has worked with some of the top trainers in my part of New Jersey and she has ridden all kinds of horses, from imported warmbloods to the most modest backyard grade horses.
Sarah has a lot of experience with Thoroughbreds- she also has one of her own. As soon as she started walking, she was already riding with a beautifully loose rein and Wizard appreciated it. She sat quietly, working with him as he got himself comfortable. When he bounced into a jog, she settled him back to walk and gave a pat and a big release with the reins. Release is so key with green horses, especially Thoroughbreds. Within one or two circles, he was walking calmly with a low, relaxed frame. Sarah took up contact for a few steps, then released, over and over.
Than she asked for a trot. It was a really excellent learning experience for me because I got to see all of Wizard’s quirks from the ground instead of from in the saddle. I saw how he chomps when he’s nervous, I saw how short his neck gets when he evades the bit and gets behind it. I saw how much of a range there is from his fast trot to his slow trot. And I also got to see how to ride through it. Sarah’s reins were VERY light on his mouth and she did everything she could to encourage him to stretch down and carry himself. It gets awfully heavy carrying a horse’s head in your hands ;^) Wizard needs to learn to relax and carry himself before he can accept contact.
I also learned that a lot of the fussing he’s doing with his neck and head is just him trying to get comfortable. He is not trying to run away or misbehave, he is just trying to figure out what to do. I know that he’s a good horse, but there is a tiny shred of self-preservation in me that wonders if he’ll take off bucking if I give him so much rein.
Wizard was far more balanced to the left than to the right. Alibar was a little sided, but not nearly as sided as a lot of horses. The good news is that I’m a lefty and I actually ride better to the right. So maybe Wizard and I will even each other out.
To the right, Wizard did rush a little bit. But he never broke into a canter, he just sped up his trot. Sarah simply rebalanced and he rebalanced. She also asked for a walk before he’d get too confused.
By the end of her little ride, she had him trotting on a loose rein, stretching downward in both directions. Hooray!
Then I hopped on and walked him out for about 10 minutes. He was back to his wonderful Wizard walk, the one I worked on so diligently for all these rides. Sarah told me that each new training experience will probably be awkward like this in the beginning. It will be ugly before it gets pretty, especially when we are first teaching him to balance himself.
Wizard Ride 32: A Pedicure and a Happy Mouth
Saturday 1/3/09
Wizard had his feet trimmed by my local farrier. He saw good improvement in the feet and was pleased with how they held up. Wizard has thin soles so I expect that he might be too tenderfooted to do a lot of riding over hard surfaces. Right now, he seems just fine barefoot and I plan to keep him barefoot as much as possible.
After his pedicure, I turned him out in the big outdoor arena and did a fun free longeing/liberty session. The weather was sunny and the ground was not frozen. The arena was dragged so the footing was quite nice. Wizard ran around like a youngster and after he got his ya-yas out, he began to longe in circles around me without a longe line. He’s so much fun. My mission is to get this same mood and behavior under saddle. At liberty, he’s like a big Golden Retriever, as my mom remarked.
I longed Wizard for about 15 minutes. He jumped around and fussed at the far end of the arena, but he was in the ring with a silly young Thorughbred who was bucking on his longe line. I gave Wizard a pass. When the other horse left, he longed just fine. I used a mullen mouth loose-ring Happy Mouth bit on Wizard for the first time. Improvement, but still a lot of chewing. My reins are so long that my hands are past the laced portion. He stretches down, but it does not feel like those nice toe-touching stretches that we want in dressage. Then the reins are totally long, and he scrunches his neck up really short and tucked under and then he tenses up and bounces a little bit. I’m trying to just let go and allow him to trot, but it feels so awkward and crooked. I’m sort of wondering if he’s going to do the porpoising thing from Ride 4 again. So part of it is my own trepidation and part of it is me over-analyzing everything.
So we just worked on walking this time out. He was tense and started doing a little bouncing but I got a flat-footed walk eventually. We rode for about 10 minutes. Now that the weather is milder, I’m hoping that my friend can hop on and take him for a spin tonight and maybe give me some pointers.
Here were are. Wizard is chomping on the bit. The rein was looser in the frame before but I’m tightening it here. You can see how low he wants to carry his head. I’d let him carry it that low but then he tucks his head up and I have a foot of extra rein. Also note the neck strap. It’s too short to really help me until we are trotting and cantering.
Wizard Session 31: Trampled Underfoot
Thurs, 1/1/09
Happy New Year! My mom always told me to spend New Year’s Day doing what I want to be doing for the rest of the year. So I went to the barn :^) I also worked during the day, which is fine since I love my job.
The weather was COLD. The ground was pretty hard so I decided to do a longeing session with Wizard indoors. Before I started longeing him, we were standing in the indoor arena and something startled him. He jumped forward a step or two and tripped over my foot with his hoof. The sensation of a COLD human foot getting grazed by a horse foot is not a good one. Owwwwie! It was a little purple the following day but now it’s just a little sore. It could have been far worse. And I managed to never, ever get stepped on by a horse for 31 years so I suppose I was due for a little tap by a hoof. Good thing he’s barefoot!
Wizard is getting a better grasp on verbal commands on the longe line. We still do not canter, since I think that trotting and walking are best for his mental and physical development at this point. Plus, I don’t train with the longe line as long as I like since he needs a shorter line to listen to my cues. As he gets more advanced, I’ll longe him on the longest line possible. My favorite line is the World’s Finest Lunge Line and it’s long enough to do a 20m circle.
We warmed up without side reins and I put them on for a few minutes when Wizard was at the peak of the session. He is still showing evasion to the bit whenever there is ANY contact. Is it his teeth? Is it the bit? I’m not sure. He needs more work done to his teeth so I’m hoping that will help him.
When he works in the KK Ultra, his mouth works very quickly. When he works in the Myler Comfort Snaffle (no hooks), he pulls downward a lot, more than just a stretch.
I’m also in the process of regrouping and trying to figure out exactly what I need to do to take our next step forward under saddle. Right now, I feel him tense up when I prepare to trot. He walks with a VERY LOW head set and he lifts his head much higher to trot, even at liberty. It makes the walk-trot transition a little difficult for me. It feels like he’s going to rush forward so I take a stronger hold on the reins, which I KNOW is the wrong thing to do. Sit up, let go of his face, and go FORWARD. It will be ugly before it’s pretty. Sounds so simple, but my brain cannot let me do it.
Rock and Racehorses: The Blog 