2013 Goals..... a little late haha!

Haha I totally forgot to post my goals for the year.... I have to go to bed so I'm just going to be real quick.  I have some pictures to post tomorrow though so make sure to check back.

Well last year was.... difficult and I didn't really meet any of my goals.  I rode Chrome and had fun with him and was safe.  Those were the two most important ones.  So I'm not even going to go into the old ones, but I will be carrying over some of them and adding some new ones for the new year.  Here they are!

2013 Goals

1. Start my Paddock Paradise 
Notice I say start... that's because it will probably be a long, ongoing process as I get the money to invest more and more into it.  If you don't know what paddock paradise is check out my earlier post here - http://rdxhorses.blogspot.com/2013/02/paddock-paradise.html. 

2. Teach Chrome to longe and ground drive.
Chrome is almost four so I figure by now his legs can hold up to some longeing.  :)  I want to teach him to longe so we can practice vocal cues, going forward with energy and also ground driving.  I finally got my round pen set up so I should be able to start working on this soon.  :)

3. Ride Chrome more and get him in shape (Do Couch to 5k).
I have to get Chrome in better shape.  To see why and also to learn more about the Couch to 5k program go to my earlier post here - http://rdxhorses.blogspot.com/2013/02/locking-stifle-or-stringhalt.html.

4. Buy a new horse trailer and get Chrome comfortable hauling.





I need a new horse trailer!  The one I have right now is a very old, Thoroughbred style trailer that is narrow, but very tall.  Someone took the center divider out before I got it so it only safely hold one horse.  That is very frustrating especially when we had to move them to our new home one at a time.  It took like six hours to get them all moved.  Chrome is also nervous of this trailer and doesn't like it at all.  It's so old it doesn't have trailer brakes or good suspension so I know the ride has to be rough and loud.  So yeah... I need a new trailer.  I just wish I had the money to go buy a new, fancy one right now instead of having to scour sale ads.  Keep your fingers crossed we find something finally!

5. Build some CTR obstacles and practice on them.


Since Chrome will be old enough to compete in competitive trails rides in a little over a year I probably need to start doing some prep work!!  I would like to build my own obstacles to work on.  We will see if I find the time and money....

6. Tame Led Zeppelin and get him gelded.

Now that we are getting settled in our new home with neighbors that are further away and won't be bothered by braying I am going to pen Zep up and get him tamed.  It's impossible to work with him out in the pasture with the other horses because they get in the way and he has too much room to run off.  I'm also planning to get him gelded.  Part of the reason we haven't is because of money, but now that my husband has a really good job that shouldn't be a problem soon.  The other reason I haven't is fear....  Zep will turn six years old this year and I've heard that donkeys can be more difficult to geld.  Something about bigger blood vessels that have to be sewn up or they can bleed to death....  I want him to be tame enough that if there is a problem I'll be able to see it before something happens....  yeah so I'm just nervous about it.

7. Work on Faran's confidence.

This one is more for my husband.  I haven't really written much about it on the blog, but Faran and I do NOT get along at all..... we basically ignore each other.  I feed him and check him for injuries daily, but that's the extent of our interactions (well other than me taking pictures of him).  I'll explain more later if any of you are interested. 

8. Take dressage lessons again (with Chrome if he's ready or on a school horse if he's not).
Now that I'm back in my hometown I want to start taking dressage lessons with my old trainer again!  If I can get the basics on Chrome well enough before the end of the year I'll start taking lessons on him, if not I'll just ride a lesson horse.  I can't wait!

9.  Get Chrome landing heel first.
I haven't talked about Chrome's hooves in a while, but he still mostly lands toe first so I want to learn more about hooves and figure out what I need to be doing to get him landing heel first.  I'll write more on this later.

Anyway I really need to hit the hay, so I'll talk to you all later.  :D  Oh and I'm trying to get caught up on everyone's blogs, but it's taking a while, so let me know if I missed yours.