Category: Magic

Magic and I went to ride the Old River Trail on the Buffalo at Ponca today. The river was too high (14 inches airspace at Ponca Bridge) and everybody had left when I got there and I was 10 minutes early. Anyway I found Susan House in Ponca and we rode up above Ponca to some of her family’s old places. Bill Kenter, Margorie Heacock and Ginger Richard also rode with us. It is a steep climb up the hill. Magic was a little fidgety at first but settled down and walked up the hill and worked up a sweat. I think the horses enjoy these social trail rides. They like to see all the other horses. Occasionally a horse, usually a mare, shows irritation about the other horses but most of them get along like they are old friends. It seems to improve Magic’s attitude, even days later. We went down the Clark Creek Spring Trail to the spring and returned. It was a nice ride.

Magic and I had a great ride this morning. We worked on the lunge over cavalitti. I put some corral panels after the little set up canter jumps. Magic took both leads correctly! We only cantered a little (one round) as this is new activity for us. He is trotting the cavalitti with big, high strides, placing his feet deliberately. We rode a little in the bull pen working on going straight, transitions and stops. I feel progress. We rode around the Ash pasture. Magic is just the horse I need. We are learning.

Magic and I rode this morning. We worked on the lunge line with the cavaletti and small jumps. Magic handles trotting the ground poles with ease. We moved to the small jumps whose purpose is to get the correct lead “every time”. It did not work for Magic. He really likes that left lead. We rode the ground poles and perimeter of the Bull pen and then in the Ash pasture. We spooked some deer but they did not spook Magic. He was very well behaved today. It was a good, but short, ride.

Magic and I went on a trail ride with BRBCHA. We rode from Pruitt upstream. It was a workday for trail maintenance but not heavy work. Magic has become very good on these trail rides. He loads very good if the trailer height is 14″ or less. I can tie him to the trailer and go to the bathroom. When we first went on rides he would get nervous at times but experience has solved all his jitters. I can stay behind to do some work on the trail while the main group rides ahead without having a fidgety horse. Underneath all the calmness is a horse willing to go forward when asked. Magic is a very good horse. We rode about 14 miles in 50 degree weather with high winds. The winds on the Buffalo are not as severe as here on Pinnacle Mountain.

I did a bad thing. Ted Spears was riding beside me as we rode along a gravel road headed back to the trail after lunch at Cedar Grove picnic area. He asked me if I had ever let Magic run. I said no and certainly not on a gravel road. He said “Come on John”, spurred his horse and took off. I had not been in this situation in 50 years but it all came back quick. Magic and I were off! Ted passed some riders on the left and I went on the right. Magic was under control as a horse veered away from Ted into our path. We got past them with no injury and caught Ted in about two strides. It was fun to see the wind knock his hat off as we passed. It was soon clear that we won and I pulled Magic up with no trouble. Horse racing in this situation was a bad thing. It is dangerous to the horses and very inconsiderate of the other riders and their safety. I did apologize and promised never to do it again. Magic was very well behaved during the whole thing. I am very lucky that he suffered no injury. I hope to resist any such temptation in the future.

I groomed and tacked up Magic this morning. We did ground work first and I thought I saw his head bob. When we started lunging I could see his head bob for sure. It is his off front. I did not ride. I can not see or feel any problems. Hood testers would be nice right now. My guess is that he bruised his sole. I did not notice anything while we were riding yesterday. It could have happened in the pasture. Tonight it was more noticeable when he first moved in the pasture but he might have been standing there for a while. Walking to and around the barn it did not seem worse. I will look more carefully in the morning.

Magic and I rode this morning. We lunged and used the ground poles. I propped the far end of the last pole up about 20 inches and made the distance from the set-up pole about 10 feet. Magic has the right attitude about “go forward”. He trotted over the set-up pole and was set to jump the little jump which he did and landed in a canter on the correct lead. Julian Westall suggests such a set-up in his book “Educating the Young Horse”. It seems to work. I have not cantered Magic much. He seems to have a nice canter but it has been difficult to get the correct lead on a counter clockwise circle. (the right lead) I expect that I am the problem in this situation. We will keep on working with lunging and ground poles. He seems to have learned to watch his feet and adjust his stride to match the ground poles. In the arena today he seemed more willing to pay attention and take the correct bend. We rode up to the spring on Pinnacle Mountain and a little past. It was a very enjoyable ride.

There are a lot of resources available today about how to train a horse. Right now I am utilizing methods from two sources and they seem very, very different. Julian Westall in his book “Educating the Young Horse” studies each minute step in great detail. His approach is to take your time and get it right. I am also watching Clinton Anderson’s videos about training his OTTB “Tricky”. Clinton progresses the training at a fast pace. One episode he has Tricky working in some elaborate obstacles. He is lunging and sending Tricky over half-round 2’6″ jumps, 4 of them in the circle. It looks awkward to me like the distance is exactly right to get Tricky in the wrong position, stride wise, to make the jump. Nevertheless, Tricky makes it around, several times. Clinton’s philosophy, I think, pushes the horse to go where he is pointed; make the effort; do it. I cannot follow either example exactly. If I did it Julian’s way, my horse would sour with the slow pace of progress and if I did it Clinton’s way, my horse would be overwhelmed and loose confidence. I am trying to learn which parts of each approach I can use with my horse at my speed. It is a great advantage to have so many resources to learn from.

Magic and I rode this morning. I put out some more ground poles. There are two in one group and 3 in the other. I positioned them so Magic can cross them working on the lunge line. They “radiate” out so they are close enough at the nearest point for walking and further out they are at the right distance for trotting. Magic does good with them. I have been working with the exercise Clinton Anderson calls the sending exercise. It seems to teach that when you point with the hand holding the lead, the horse is supposed to move forward. You send them back and fourth between you and something, maybe a fence or something they are wary of. We rode in the arena and the Oak pasture and up on Shirey. I am really enjoying riding Magic. He “acts up” and expresses a differing opinion now and then but I have no fear that he will explode or forcefully rebel. He is trustworthy. He has the right amount of go. It was a nice ride.

Today I did some measurements. I laid a board flat on the trailer floor and measured the distance to the ground where it extends out past the rear of the trailer. This measurement would be called the height of the trailer floor. I stopped by my distant cousin’s trailer sales lot yesterday. He volunteered that most trailers floor are 13 inches high. Parked in the same location where Magic has been loading so good, the height was 11 inches. The height was caused by the low spot for the trailer wheels. I moved it where it was parked last week when Magic did not like to load. The height was 19 inches. I found a more favorable position to park the trailer yet very near this bad position / location which resulted in a floor height of 14 inches. I got Magic out of his stall. He showed some reluctance to approach the trailer. He remembered what happened when we were there last week. This was what I was wanting, the old memory but now with a lower trailer height. Everything the same except the key factor I wanted to test. He walked up to the trailer, looked it over and said “John, this is cool. No problem.” then stepped up in the trailer. We did it again but I was convinced. The solution to this problem is to park the trailer in a favorable position (not always possible) or a ramp might work. In the future, after I build some obstacles like Clinton Anderson’s, Magic might load in a bob truck. But I need a right now solution.

I parked the rig on a level area and measured 18 inches. I made some 4″x6″ blocks that I could drive the rear wheels up on and drove up on them. It took 4 wheel drive and low range gears but it raised the rear wheels 4 inches. This lowered the step up to 16 inches. Not enough.

So I will build a loading ramp on the trailer. I have wanted to try a two horse trailer style stocks in this trailer for some time. It is a bumper pull trailer and this will best position the horse weight in the trailer. They will have to back out and I think a ramp will help with this. I went by Miller’s this afternoon and got the steel. This will give me a very large 2 horse trailer with tool and tack storage up front. In the 70’s I hauled 4 horses in this trailer. My horses are bigger today and not even one will fit in the back compartment.