The Wiz

There's always a good deal of excitement that comes with a new horse, especially in a schooling barn. Add to that the fact that my trainer has loads of friends on the A circuit who like to retire their horses into her lesson program. But then there's also a good deal of anxiety because a) I'm me and b) I saw the corkscrew bit before I saw the horse and also c) I'm me.

So yes, very exciting but also slightly terrifying.

But then, I saw THAT FACE, and who can resist an actual unicorn?

This is Wizard a.k.a. The Wiz a.k.a. Wiz Kid a.k.a. Harry Potter a.k.a any other ridiculous nickname I can come up with before his owner thinks I'm weird and takes him back. He's a something warmblood that's done a bunch of amateur owner things on the A circuit. Very steady, very reliable, a real good boy. Laid back enough that I tacked him up in the stall without tying him.

But, again, the anxiety set in the moment I went to mount up. Now, here's where I realized just how perfect this horse is. First, he's a dropped rein type of ride and will go directly where you point him. At the same time, he's still very well trained and doesn't hate contact or some leg pressure. He can also take a joke, and a bad one at that.

His best quality: breathing. Not really sure why he does this, but Wiz breathes loud and deep, not enough to cause a health concern but enough that several people have commented on it. The good news for me though is that a horse doing deep breathing shockingly encourages me to breathe deeply and calm down, something that probably made our ride significantly more successful than if he didn't have this really weird trait.

I know this sounds like such a Weird Horse Girl thing, but, guys, it worked. Deep breathe with your horse. Inhale, exhale your way to the top.

He also fell asleep three times in under an hour, and I only know that because he almost fell over all three times.