September Goals Preview

From my 2014 Outline:

September

Lots of options for getting out and about this month, depending on how we want to structure it. Do we want to do more low key stuff, or do we want to show off a bit? Some really good schooling show options if we choose to go that route. 

Possible events for riding or volunteering: Eddy Farm Schooling Three Phase (no dates yet), Equestry Schooling Dressage (no dates yet), East Hill Farm Schooling Dressage (no dates yet), GMHA Fall Hunter Pace (September 7), GMHA Horse Trials (September 13-14), GMHA Fall Foliage Ride (September 26-28)

 Yeah, there will be no showing off this month. There's nothing to show off.

However, we are officially committed to the GMHA Fall Foliage Ride on Sunday, September 28.

Modified goals: more fitness, for both of us. Add some dressage schools back in. Stick to the frequency of riding, keep track of everything in the ride calendar. On September 28, at the end of the month, re-evaluate everything based on a full month of pergolide + Cushings diet.

August Goals Wrap Up

From my 2014 outline:

August 

Keep turning those screws, keep hauling out to jump with Vergennes trainer, keep fine-tuning the dressage. Foxhunting if possible. 

Possible events for riding or volunteering: Vermont Dressage Days (August 9-10), GMHA Combined Driving Event (August 23-24), GMHA Distance Days (August 29-31)

When I previewed these goals, I wasn't very confident about hauling out or foxhunting, and Tristan's vet appointment to check on his foot was still in the future. I didn't yet know about the Cushing's.

In short, August looked quite a bit different than I thought it would. I didn't get to any of the events I'd listed - work or family commitments made them all impossible.

With the Cushing's diagnosis, however, I made a commitment to up his fitness levels, and I guess that falls under the "turning the screws" part of this goal. I'm actually pretty pleased with the way August shaped up in terms of frequency of riding, as shown by the ride calendar I've started.

August Goals Preview

So, after the dismal failure that was my July goals, what does August hold? From the 2014 Outline:

August 

Keep turning those screws, keep hauling out to jump with Vergennes trainer, keep fine-tuning the dressage. Foxhunting if possible. 

Possible events for riding or volunteering: Vermont Dressage Days (August 9-10), GMHA Combined Driving Event (August 23-24), GMHA Distance Days (August 29-31)

I'm already signed up for a day of scribing at Dressage Days. I'd like to help at the GMHA CDE but I might have a family commitment that weekend.

How much riding I get done depends entirely on the results of the vet appointment to look at Tristan's foot.  I won't be able to haul out for jumping, that's for sure; funds are too tight. I might get out cubbing, depending on how the schedule/timing/soundness works out.

Not feeling very optimistic right now.

July Goals Wrap Up

So, how did I do on my July goals?

July 

Work commitments ease considerably, and we should be able to pick up the pace here. If all is going really well we can turn the screws and think about the GMHA show at the end of the month, OR think about getting out and foxhunting. 

Possible events for riding or volunteering: Huntington Horse Trials (July 11-12), GMHA Dressage Days (July 25-27)

Sigh. Not really. Yes, sort of, but not really. I have been riding more than in June, but I would not describe it as turning the screws. More like flailing around and ending in tears.

I'm not feeling great about my own skills as a rider and the way Tristan is going right now. Some of that is my uncertainty and fear about the new foot problems overshadowing everything. Some of it is frustration, exhaustion, and lack of motivation. I can't remember the last time I had a few hours to spend at the barn with Tris to just hang out.

Those two volunteer opportunities did not happen, but I did get to crew at the Vermont Moonlight ride, so that was cool.

July Goals Review

So what did I think I would be doing in July?

July 

Work commitments ease considerably, and we should be able to pick up the pace here. If all is going really well we can turn the screws and think about the GMHA show at the end of the month, OR think about getting out and foxhunting. 

Possible events for riding or volunteering: Huntington Horse Trials (July 11-12), GMHA Dressage Days (July 25-27)

Yep! Pretty much. Huntington won't happen - maybe for volunteering, but I can also add to this the GMHA Member Days on July 14-17, and the Dog River Horse Club Gymkhana on July 27.

I'm looking forward to July. July is going to rock.

Quarter 2 Review

How are my 2014 goals progressing? Here's the 2014 Goals post; I'll go down line by line.

Tristan's Goals

1. Get fit and rebuild muscle

Going really quite well! He's fitter, and his back is really starting to look good. His neck is changing more slowly, but it is coming along. We're now trotting the long hayfield hill in a long and deep frame on a regular basis.

2. Strengthen dressage, particularly the canter

Also going really well, though I can't claim much credit for it.

3. Work on jumping again

I actually have popped him over a few jumps, and an actual lesson should happen in this next quarter.

4. Do a few tests at dressage show

Not yet, but the best candidates for this were always in midsummer through fall. The decision will be between a local schooling show and a bigger recognized show. I have some great options in both directions.

5. Complete a group trail ride

Hmmmm, not yet. Some good options coming up, though, especially with the GMHA member days.

My Goals

1. Get fit!

Hahahahaha. Ha. Damn it. Two steps forward, two steps back...

2. Find a schedule and stick to it.

I actually did a pretty good job with this through April and early May, and then June was like a bomb went off. Back on it going forward!

3. Take more lessons

Hmmmm, not as many as I had hoped for. A few planned for the summer. The big stumbling block here is money: I need to buy a new car in the fall, and I keep coming across unexpected expenses that are taking priority. However, the training rides were an excellent way to address this.

4. Rebuild emergency savings

I've just managed to start this up again, and the plan is for it to speed up in the fall.

5. Be better organized with barn stuff

Sloooooowly but surely. Some progress: I reorganized the trailer stuff, pulled the first aid kit to go over, and consolidated some tack. I need a few hours of good weather to drag out and clean my main tack trunk - it's musty and cluttered.

Final Training Ride

First: I'm aliiiiiiiiiiiiive!

So I know it's almost July, but let's review my June goal:

June 

Unfortunately I already know that most of June will be a wasteland due to a massive work event at the end of the month. The goal for this month is to keep my head above water: stick to a schedule and keep him fit. 

Possible events for riding or volunteering: East Hill Farm Schooling Dressage (no dates yet), Vermont Morgan Heritage Days (June 14-15)

I was right. June was a total timesuck, wasteland, minefield - pick your metaphor. I got maybe a half dozen rides in the entire month.

The good news? Putting him into training for that month was one of the best horse-related decisions I've ever made. Hurrah and huzzah for that! He kept in work and fitness, and not only that, he made huge, HUGE improvements.

In fact, I have proof. I was able to get out last night to watch the last of his training rides and I have two short videos: the first of his first canter stretch during warmup, the second of a canter further along in the ride that shows some of what his next step is: more sit, more lift through the shoulders.

Finally, I saw this note and had to laugh. Only in Vermont would we still be worried about it being below 50 overnight. (I camped for most of last week for my work event, and on Friday night it was 38 degrees. Yep. You read that right. SO COLD.)

Here's to more horse riding and blogging for the rest of 2014!

May Goals

May 

Get off property for trail rides 2-3x. Continue dressage. If jumping is a go, haul out for jumping lessons w/ instructor in Vergennes. 

Possible events for riding or volunteering: VERDA Bare Bones Endurance Ride (May 11), Hitching Post Horse Trials (May 17-18), GMHA Spring Horse Trials (May 31-June 1)

Very do-able. Good job, me from the past!

 Hopefully the trailer will be back soon, and I'll stabilize the money hemorrhaging from puppy, and we'll be able to do a lesson or two with the jumping trainer.

April Goals Review

So, how did I do?

April  

Start hacking regularly, whenever possible. Plan on minimum of 60 minutes out for each hack, 2x per week.  

Pull shoes, if all goes well, and get back to barefoot.  

Continue schooling under saddle, fine-tuning dressage. IF jumping is a go, jump 1x every two weeks minimum.  

Possible events for riding or volunteering: GMHA Mud Ride (April 26-27), VT Everything Equine (April 26-27)

Actually: not half bad.

We did a fair bit of hacking this month, and put in some good mileage. For sure we got out 60+ minutes several times. For the first two weeks, that was definitely 2x a week. The last two weeks...not so much. Turns out puppies are a timesuck.

Tristan is not barefoot. I thought he would be. I am not sure what went wrong. I suspect miscommunication with the farrier, but I have to call him and haven't had time for that yet.

We've continued schooling dressage and that's going very well, and we are ready to try jumping but haven't found time yet. The jump saddle is fitted so this is a simple matter of setting a time and getting it done.

I did go to Everything Equine, and will write up a review soon! It was a nice day.

Quarter 1 Review

Per my overall 2014 goals: how am I doing so far?

Tristan's Goals

1. Get fit and rebuild muscle.

So far so good! Definitely adding muscle.

2. Strengthen dressage, particularly the canter.

Hmmmmm. Well, we're on our way. He's stronger in the canter, but it's not yet a better canter.

3. Work on jumping again.

Not yet.

4. Do a few tests at a dressage show.

Not yet.

5. Complete a group trail ride.

Not yet.

(to be fair, 3-5 were projected for later in the year anyway, so I'm not yet behind)

My Goals

1. Get fit!

Very mixed success. Technically, I have lost weight and do feel a bit stronger; in reality, I'm still not doing enough to incorporate exercise into my daily routine.

2. Find a schedule and stick to it.

Despite weather-related crappiness, this is actually starting to develop well. I'm planning a week at a time and mixing up my rides, and getting out 5x a week to do something with him.

3. Take more lessons.

So far so good! Averaging about every two weeks now. April will be tough, but I have my fingers crossed.

4. Rebuild emergency savings.

Hahahahahahaha. Ha. In March I had a vet bill, trailer registration bill, truck repair bill (inspection + a few small things after the winter); in April, I will have saddle fitting and trailer repair. Maybe this summer?

5. Be better organized with barn stuff.

Baby steps. I have reorganized one bag's worth of stuff in the mud room. I can't get to my trailer yet. Weather is supposed to improve through this week, so maybe it will be bearable to haul my tack trunk out in the sunshine and clean it out on Sunday?

April Goals

So, what's on the docket for April? (per my 2014 outline)

April 

Start hacking regularly, whenever possible. Plan on minimum of 60 minutes out for each hack, 2x per week. 

Pull shoes, if all goes well, and get back to barefoot. 

Continue schooling under saddle, fine-tuning dressage. IF jumping is a go, jump 1x every two weeks minimum. 

Possible events for riding or volunteering: GMHA Mud Ride (April 26-27), VT Everything Equine (April 26-27)

More of this, please.

This should be do-able! Good job planning, me from the past.

Jumping will be attempted as soon as my jump saddle is fit: right now, it's looking like April 21 for that.

Hacking will commence in earnest this Thursday, 4/3.

Dressage is already being fine-tuned.

Probably I'll be headed to Everything Equine instead of the Mud Ride: Tris is going to be a school horse for the local university's IHSA mock show (just the riders on the team, which is new, getting used to the style of an IHSA show) on 4/26 and he's not quite fit enough for 15 miles anyway.

Talked to the farrier last night about pulling shoes and going barefoot, so we are on track for that.

It's a very low bar of goals, but I'm happy that it should go well anyway!

March Goals Wrap Up

Here's what I wanted to accomplish in March, per my 2014 outline.

March  

Spring shots & teeth. Get the trailer registered and potentially taken out to get inspected/repaired. Re-up my US Rider  

Continue topline & fitness, but we should be well on our way by now: capable of a full 60 minute lesson without too much exhaustion on either part.

Pretty darn good, actually!

Spring shots and teeth, done.

Trailer registered! Alas, it is going approximately nowhere until the snow melts. Perhaps mid-April. As soon as I can, I'll get it to the mechanic. I won't re-up the US Rider until it looks like I'll be hauling Tristan somewhere: probably May.

We're both very capable of a 60 minute lesson. In March, I noticed a marked improvement in his fitness and recovery. My own fitness is proceeding slowly but I am trying to add some things to the mix to help that. It's going to hit 40 today, and sunny, and I can already feel my energy improving.

March Goals

For reference: 2014 Outline & 2014 Goals

So, March!

March 

Spring shots & teeth. Get the trailer registered and potentially taken out to get inspected/repaired. Re-up my US Rider 

Continue topline & fitness, but we should be well on our way by now: capable of a full 60 minute lesson without too much exhaustion on either part.

We're just about capable of that 60 minute lesson already, but we have some more fitness work to do. I'll also add to this: get my saddles fit at the end of the month. Which means I am in for some expenses - sigh.

February Goals Wrap Up

For reference: 2014 Outline & 2014 Goals
So, February goals were:

February 

Ditto January: Stick to a consistent schedule; build topline & fitness; take a few lessons.  

If all goes well, try a few jumps under saddle at the end of the month.

How did we do?

So-so. First week was great; second week was wiped out due to work, weather, and illness; third and fourth weeks were free-longeing due to injuring my hand.

I took two lessons, both of which were hugely helpful. He definitely has gained both topline and fitness.

Jumping did not happen, but I suspected it might not. The saddle-fitter came out at the beginning of last week and that was too early for me.

Overall: I'm actually ok with where we are. He's in a good place mentally, and he's building strength. My fitness could be better, but I'm gaining skills as a rider and feel generally on track.

February Goals

For reference: 2014 Outline & 2014 Goals

So per the outline, here's February:

February

Ditto January: Stick to a consistent schedule; build topline & fitness; take a few lessons. 

If all goes well, try a few jumps under saddle at the end of the month.

That should cover it. Nothing fancy, just keep on keeping on. One catch is that his jump saddle is still not a great fit for him, so we might not jump after all until we have the saddle fitter out; we'll see how this plays out in the last week or so.

The 2014 Goals will hopefully see some work on overall organization - there are a few things in our mud room that really need to be sorted through and dealt with. Ditto my own fitness. Ugh.

2014 Outline

Last day of subzero temps, according to the weather app! I am ready to get in more riding and less whining. (And less baking, and eating of things I bake. Yikes.)

I already wrote about my 2014 goals, but this is a more general outline with some potential dates for things - and other stuff I need to keep in the budget.

January

Stick to a consistent schedule; build topline & fitness; take a few lessons.

February

Ditto January: Stick to a consistent schedule; build topline & fitness; take a few lessons.

If all goes well, try a few jumps under saddle at the end of the month.

March

Spring shots & teeth. Get the trailer registered and potentially taken out to get inspected/repaired. Re-up my US Rider

Continue topline & fitness, but we should be well on our way by now: capable of a full 60 minute lesson without too much exhaustion on either part.

April

Start hacking regularly, whenever possible. Plan on minimum of 60 minutes out for each hack, 2x per week.

Pull shoes, if all goes well, and get back to barefoot.

Continue schooling under saddle, fine-tuning dressage. IF jumping is a go, jump 1x every two weeks minimum.

Possible events for riding or volunteering: GMHA Mud Ride (April 26-27), VT Everything Equine (April 26-27)

May

Get off property for trail rides 2-3x. Continue dressage. If jumping is a go, haul out for jumping lessons w/ instructor in Vergennes.

Possible events for riding or volunteering: VERDA Bare Bones Endurance Ride (May 11), Hitching Post Horse Trials (May 17-18), GMHA Spring Horse Trials (May 31-June 1)

June

Unfortunately I already know that most of June will be a wasteland due to a massive work event at the end of the month. The goal for this month is to keep my head above water: stick to a schedule and keep him fit.

Possible events for riding or volunteering: East Hill Farm Schooling Dressage (no dates yet), Vermont Morgan Heritage Days (June 14-15)

July

Work commitments ease considerably, and we should be able to pick up the pace here. If all is going really well we can turn the screws and think about the GMHA show at the end of the month, OR think about getting out and foxhunting.

Possible events for riding or volunteering: Huntington Horse Trials (July 11-12), GMHA Dressage Days (July 25-27),

August

Keep turning those screws, keep hauling out to jump with Vergennes trainer, keep fine-tuning the dressage. Foxhunting if possible.

Possible events for riding or volunteering: Vermont Dressage Days (August 9-10), GMHA Combined Driving Event (August 23-24), GMHA Distance Days (August 29-31)

September

Lots of options for getting out and about this month, depending on how we want to structure it. Do we want to do more low key stuff, or do we want to show off a bit? Some really good schooling show options if we choose to go that route.

Possible events for riding or volunteering: Eddy Farm Schooling Three Phase (no dates yet), Equestry Schooling Dressage (no dates yet), East Hill Farm Schooling Dressage (no dates yet), GMHA Fall Hunter Pace (September 7), GMHA Horse Trials (September 13-14), GMHA Fall Foliage Ride (September 26-28)

October

My brother is getting married early in the month, and that may basically suck all the horse joy out of the first two weeks of the month. We'll see.

Possible events for riding or volunteering: GMHA Dressage Show (October 4-5), Lucinda Green Clinic @ GMHA (October 8-9), GMHA Fall Foliage Ride (October 10-12), GMHA 50 Mile Ride (October 18)

November

Trainer heads back to Florida. Things start winding down here. My goal will be to head into next winter with Tristan in good weight and fitness, and to have a specific series of goals to tackle through the winter.

December

Winter is coming.

2014 Goals

Okay. Here we go. May this year be better than the one that came before it.

Tristan's Goals

1. Get fit and rebuild muscle
His #1 goal for the year is to get back in shape. Ideal would be BN fit again, but we'll see.

2. Strengthen dressage, particularly the canter
I would love to come out of 2014 with a real canter. We'll see. I'll take anything other than giraffe motorcycling, at this point.

3. Work on jumping again
He is jumping in hand, but I'd like to try some jumping lessons under saddle and see how his foot holds up.

4. Do a few tests at dressage show
Tons of options here for places to go. Ideally I'd travel, but we have two shows at home each year that we could do if we want. The whole barn goes down to GHMA and up to the Champlain Valley Fairgrounds for big registered show each year, so I could dip a toe in there if I chose.

5. Complete a group trail ride
GMHA, maybe? They have some good CTR options on their schedule. This could potentially also be a hunter pace, or a more informal community trail ride.

My Goals

1. Get fit!
I need to be a stronger, more effective rider.

2. Find a schedule and stick to it
Year 1 in Vermont was about working like crazy in my new position. Year 2 will be, if anything, even more busy, with some major events coming up, but now that I have the basic routine down I need to be more disciplined about keeping Tristan in a program.

3. Take more lessons
Much as I wanted to, my lessons in 2013 were sporadic. I need to commit to working more barn hours and taking more lessons.

4. Rebuild emergency savings
2013 was the year of neverending vet bills. 2014 needs to involve more buckling down and replenishing the money that went away. I'll be shopping for a new daily driver in the fall, and looking toward replacing truck and trailer in another 3-5 years, and those things can't happen without better fiscal management.

5. Be better organized with barn stuff
My stuff is freaking everywhere right now - the car trunk, the truck back seat, the trailer, the mud room, the tack room...you name it. I need to go through, re-organize everything, and take stock of what I have - and keep it in better shape going forward.