Cantering

In the last week, I’ve begun to canter Smarty a bit. Nothing major, just down the sides of the arena. He has only picked up his right lead a couple of times for me, which is fine for now. I want to get him cantering before trying to force him on a lead; he is still figuring out how to balance himself at the gate. He goes just like a racehorse, not surprisingly, and really hangs on the bit. It has been fun so far! He’ll get his leads and learn to work off his hind end in no time.

I worked with an instructor a few days ago who helped me get Smarty going more forward and on the bit, which was great! Since he is still such a green horse, riding him effectively is or utmost importance.

Update

Hello! It’s been a while since my last post and I wanted to let everyone know how Mad for Smarty is coming along. We have been trotting regularly and he is doing well so far. After trotting for a few moments he will sometimes kinda fall apart, rush and drag himself around on the forehand (especially while I’m in two-point) but never horribly. He has never tried to run off, bolt, rush into a canter, grab the bit or buck. I’d consider that a success so far! Smarty is more comfortable traveling to the left and is able to carry himself correctly and stay in a nice, rounded circle more easily. We are still working on the right side!

I’ve been riding primarily in a dressage arena and an open trail area trotting in both places. There are a few places with mild slope on the trails, which I’ve been taking Smarty up and down to try and develop his top line a bit more. had planned to start cantering him this week, but it has been very rainy here and I have not been able to work with him as of yet.

A couple weeks ago I rode Smarty bareback for the first time. I enjoyed it, but I’m not so sure that he did! Smarty seemed a bit thrown off by my lack of saddle and was a bit reluctant to go forward. Overall, he was fine with it with no explosions or strong objection. 

Clipping

Mad for Smarty’s been looking a little scruffy, so I pulled out a pair of clippers and set to work cleaning him up. As with most things, Smarty was perfect with the clippers. I didn’t do anything major, just cleaned up around the fetlocks, whiskers and bridle path. I don’t think he moved an inch the entire time I was working around him. So yeah! I was thrilled with how perfect he was; so many horses are just awful about being clipped.

I’ve continued to ride Smarty over the past week and have been pleased with his good behavior. Just recently I began taking him outside the arena and around the property, taking him through some trail areas at Bel Canto. He’s been great! And, much progress has been made with him longeing to the right; Smarty has almost got it down.

Enjoying spring

Outside of the round pen

Smarty continues to progress. I’ve ridden him several times since my first ride last Tuesday and he has done well each time. Today I rode him entirely outside of the round pen, primarily in one of the dressage arenas at Bel Canto. Outside of the round pen Smarty was a bit more amped up; very willing to walk forward with little encouragement with ears pricked and alert. As usual, he was pretty awesome about the whole thing. Smarty only had one little freak-out moment when he saw something out of the corner of his eye. I got a few pictures of our ride!

First ride

On Tuesday I rode Mad for Smarty for the first time! He was pretty awesome. All we did was a bit of walking under saddle in the round pen. Smarty stood at the mounting block nicely and didn't try to wall off the instant I sat down. My instructor had Smarty on a lead rope to walk off with him once I mounted and walked with us for a few minutes before unhooking me. My mom and grandmother were there to watch our first ride together (and take photos). He was completely calm and chill throughout the ride with no problems at all. Smarty was walking forward nicely, bending around the circle and responding to my aids.

I rode with a very loose and didn't use much contact at any point in the ride. As he progresses I'll use my reins more actively and plan to work him in side reins down the line. I didn't put much leg pressure on his sides either for the first ride, and will slowly ease him into understanding more traditional leg and rein commands.

Smarty has a pretty good headset all things considered. Right now it is a bit too low, whereas most ex-racehorses have their heads too high. Of course I've just walked him, we'll see if his headset stays nice and low once I ask for faster gates.

Time to develop a top line!

 

Longeing

I talked to Three Chimneys’ vet, Dr. Morehead, earlier in the week and he suggested that I start bringing Smarty back to work, as it has been 6 months since his injury. I have been hand walking Smarty daily, and he recommended starting to walk him under saddle for a week before slowly incorporating the trot and working my way up from there. I’ll continue to check Smarty’s ligament for any heat or swelling through the process to make sure that he is good to go. Dr. Morehead thought it would be about 2 months before the horse is fit.

On Wednesday, I began working with Smarty on a longe line at the walk, all tacked up. I believe that he’s been longed before, as he sort of knows what’s being asked of him. We worked in a round pen, first tracking left. He did fairly well, despite falling in and bulging out just a bit. By the second day of walking on the line he was doing even better and moving forward nicely. Tracking right was a different story. He was having some issues on Wednesday and didn’t improve on Thursday; Smarty continually stopped and turned around. So we’re taking it a bit more slowly working to the right as I train him to go both directions.

So far he’s been great! No fireworks, bolting or over-excitement. At the walk, Smarty has a wonderful headset, relaxed and low. For the moment at least, there is none of the stereotypical racehorse tense-neck-head-in-the-air going on. I'll keep y'all updated on his progress!

Carrot stretches

I’ve begun doing a few “carrot stretches” with Mad for Smarty when I go out the barn. Essentially, it is a bit of yoga for my horse. You take a treat and hold it, say, towards his left flank. The horse then has to stretch their neck and work on bending to get the treat. There are several different positions I’ve been doing – left side, right side, in between the front legs – all to get Smarty stretched out and thinking about bending his body. At first when I held the treat to one of his sides he would try to spin in circles to get it. I wouldn’t give it to him those times, but instead would keep asking him to really make an effort to bend his neck and flex to the left. After a couple tires he understood what I was asking and would stand in place and only move his head and neck. I would give Smarty the treat while his head was still in the correct position or the stretch. That way, he’ll eventually learn to hold his position for longer intervals of time.

At first, Smarty was having issues flexing to his right. This was expected coming from the track, and I had already assumed that left would be his easier direction. He kept spinning in circles in an attempt to get the treat held to his right side rather than giving in a bending. Smarty was also less flexible to the right side; he wasn’t able to stretch as far to get the treat. But by the second day he was already improving and had a better idea of what I was asking of him.

The point of this exercise is to get Smarty thinking about bending and to build up a little strength and flexibility. When I begin working with him, Smarty won’t stretch down for the bit or bend but will try to carry his head too high and tense. These simple exercises will hopefully help him learn to relax and flex . Plus, it gives me another thing to do with him until I can begin work.