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. 

New Year Goals for 2012

If you haven't seen it yet, check back two posts for a video of the things we worked on in 2011. I'm so proud of Chrome and all that we've done together. He's such a good boy.

So 2012 is the exciting year for us because he turns three years old! That means I finally get to start riding him after two and a half years of waiting. :D

So here are my goals for 2012 . . .

1. Ride Chrome! I bet you couldn't guess that would be my first one lol. My plan is to sit on him for the first time on his third birthday 5-19-2012. Depending on how he acts I may have my husband lead him around for a little bit, but I do want to make sure he's completely comfortable with me getting on and off before we do much moving around. To prepare for riding I'm going to build a mounting block and do a lot of practice standing next to it while I lean over him from both sides, wave my arms around and touch him all over. We're also going to work on ground driving to prepare him for being ridden. If he already knows voice cues and how to walk, halt and steer then the only new element will be having weight on his back. That should make it a lot easier for him.

2. Get Chrome in shape. I want to get Chrome in shape before I start riding him, so that he has the muscles to support me. The easiest way to do that would be longeing, but I don't want to stress his joints so we will go on lots and lots of hand walks around the property and on the roads. The roads will also have the benefit of continued trail desensitization. I'll also keep playing Chase the Tiger with him to get him moving around in the trot with his head low for building muscles over his back. Also what is everyone's opinion of cavaletti? Is two too young to trot cavaletti? If it is I can just walk him over them to make him pick up his feet. That will teach him to watch where he's going and also build muscle. I want to make this a slow, gentle process. I'm not going to overwork or over-condition him like a halter horse (not bashing, just using stereotypes for reference). I also want to walk him up and down hills because that's great for the back and learning to use his haunches. Anyone else have any suggestions for ways to get him ready for riding physically?

3. Get Chrome more comfortable with hauling in the trailer. I want to be able to start taking him places so I need to get him more comfortable in the trailer. If he's nervous and sweating I won't be able to go anywhere in the summer because he'll sweat to death. So I want to use the cool weather for practicing. I also need to teach him to stand tied in the trailer.

4. Introduce Chrome to obstacles used in Competitive Trail Rides. I want to build my own obstacle course and work with him on them, so that we can do CTRs someday. It will help build an even better bond between us and teach him to trust me as well, which will be great for trail riding in general.

5. Have fun with Chrome and be safe!! I think this is probably the most important one. So everyone when I start stressing because I don't think I'm doing enough or not doing it right please remind me of this one lol.

So that's the plan for 2012! I'll wrangle my husband down and get him to tell me what his goals for Faran are and get those posted as soon as possible, as well as some goals for Zep. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, safe and productive year!!

Goals Update - Some Serious Reevaluating

Note: If you read my other blogs, only a few things in this post are the same as the others, such as the first paragraph, but do please read through it so you don't miss something. :)

Well, we've made it to the halfway point. It's June already! Can you believe it? I've never had six months fly by so quickly in my life. I thought this was supposed to happen when you got older! I didn't realize it would start in my twenties! In fact the last six or seven years have gone by very quickly and I can only attribute that to joining the adult working world. I miss the simplicity of being a child. Sigh.

Anyway I've completely gone off course. I'm feeling kind of discouraged this month because I really didn't accomplish all that much in general. I didn't take him for any walks all month, didn't work on hauling at all, didn't give him a bath, etc. I did use clicker a little bit in desensitization with the fly spray, but really I should have been able to accomplish more.

I'm not trying to get down on myself, I'm just trying to be realistic. Between having a horse, a donkey, fifteen goats, a cat and over a hundred chickens (and now we're hatching turkeys!!) as well as having to deal with my continuing health problems I just don't have the time, drive or desire to accomplish all of these goals. Aside from those responsibilities I'm also working two part time jobs and spending my days off at the lake with friends or catching up on housework. We also found out we might possibly get to lease the forty acres behind our property in the fall so that will add to the workload. I'm just feeling stretched thin.

So I'm going to reevaluate my original goals.

My 2010 goals for Chrome were:

1. Use clicker training to desensitize Chrome to as much as possible.
2. Go for more walks on the roads. Use clicker training to make it a positive experience.
3. Teach Chrome some tricks specifically smile.
4. Write in Chrome’s blog more often.
5. Work on hauling to new places.

I don't think I'm going to make any specific goals. I want to continue to work on clicker training following the Alexandra Kurland book and I also want to do a lot more desensitization with him. I need to focus on practical things like the fly sprays and bathing instead of tricks like smile and kisses. I'll get to those eventually, but Chrome is a year old now and he really needs to be introducing to things like a saddle, long lines, etc. I'm not saying I'm going to start working him in them I just want to introduce him to the equipment. I also need to work on hoof care, hauling and bathing. I need to focus on practical things. I think if I concentrate on a few things I might be able to stick with it and make some progress. Now I understand why most people only make one New Year's Resolution.

So here are my new 2010 goals:

1. Work through the Alexandra Kurland book The Click That Teaches.
2. Work on desensitization. Chrome is going to mainly be a trail horse so he needs to learn how to deal with new and exciting/scary objects. This will include desensitizing to equipment, bathing, hoof care, new places and the trailer.
3. Get him gelded!! This will have to wait until the fall because of the flies but I do need to remember it.

I think these are reasonable goals that are practical and should be easy to accomplish as we progress through normal yearling training and prep. So what do you think? Did I miss anything? Any suggestions?

Monthly Goals 4-30-2010

My 2010 goals for Chrome are:

1. Use clicker training to desensitize Chrome to as much as possible.
2. Go for more walks on the roads. Use clicker training to make it a positive experience.
3. Teach Chrome some tricks specifically smile.
4. Write in Chrome’s blog more often.
5. Work on hauling to new places.


My break down of those goals for April were:

1. I want to keep using targeting to make sure he knows for absolute sure what the clicker means before we move on.
2. I would like to take Chrome for more walks just because I enjoy it so much, but I’m not going to put any pressure on us. If I feel he’s ready or has excess energy to burn I’ll take him for a short walk.
3. I want to keep working on targeting. I would like to get him to follow it around consistently and just make sure he knows that the click marks the correct behavior.
4. Keep up the good work!!
5. I think Chrome is almost ready to start working with the trailer. I want to use clicker to make it positive again. I don’t know if I want to teach him to follow the target on or if I want to shape him loading on his own. Not sure where he is mentally for that. Unfortunately right now the horse trailer is housing a few roosters that can’t be out with the flock. One of them is sold, but the others we don’t know about yet. If I manage to vacate the current occupants I might work on something with him.


My progress is:

1. Chrome definitely knows what the clicker is now!! We've made far more progress than I expected this month. He is so smart!!
2. I walked him a couple of times but I've spent so much time grooming him, playing with him, training him, cleaning the paddock, etc that I don't think he missed them.
3. Wow we've worked on targeting, grownups are talking, sticking with me, backing, kisses, etc. He's done great!
4. I did decent with writing. I've been keeping track of all of his clicker, so that's good.
5. Have not worked with the trailer yet, but the feathered occupants have finally been moved so it won't be long. :)


My new goals for May are:

1. I want to keep working on what we've been working on and practice gaining stimulus control. I need to add vocal cues as well. I am also dying to give him his first bath!
2. I'm going to continue taking him on sporadic walks so he doesn't forget how to behave while out walking. Depending on how he progresses I might use the clicker on a walk.
3. As for tricks I really want to teach him to give kisses.
4. I need to keep writing, but I also want to get more consistent with Donkey Day.
5. I haven't decided yet if I want to work on this in May. I did forget to mention that during one of our clicker sessions I had him following the target through tight places that he normally just goes around. I'm just going to wait and see what happens here. I really need to because I would like to haul him to the stable where I used to work to show him off to all of my friends.

Monthly Goals - 3-31-2010

My 2010 goals for Chrome are:

1. Use clicker training to desensitize Chrome to as much as possible.
2. Go for more walks on the roads. Use clicker training to make it a positive experience.
3. Teach Chrome some tricks specifically smile.
4. Write in Chrome’s blog more often.
5. Work on hauling to new places.


My break down of those goals for March were:

1. I need to find a treat that he enjoys that is also healthy. I don't like feeding him the sugar for clicker training.
2. Since I haven't felt any heat in his joints in a while I may start walking him again. He's getting more exercise now that Zeppelin is in the same paddock, but I still want him to get out and see the world. I may just need to wait until he's a year old and then start again when there won't be such a risk to his joints. All of our roads are asphalt. 8o
3. Can't teach tricks until he will eat treats.
4. Keep on blogging. :)
5. Still not ready to work on hauling yet.


My progress is:

1. Well I finally grew a brain and I’ve started using his regular feed delivered in a bucket as a treat for clicker training, so that problem is solved. I haven’t worked on any desensitizing with clicker training yet because I want to be sure he fully understands the concept first.
2. I didn’t take him for many walks because he’s getting enough exercise playing with Zeppelin and he gets mental stimulation from his toys and our time together. I still want him to see everything there is to see on the roads, but there is no hurry. I still have a good three years to work on that.
3. The only trick we’ve worked on so far is targeting. I want to really be sure he understands the concept before I start teaching things that are more difficult.
4. I did really well writing in his blog this month!
5. Have not worked with the trailer yet.


My new goals for April are:

1. I want to keep using targeting to make sure he knows for absolute sure what the clicker means before we move on.
2. I would like to take Chrome for more walks just because I enjoy it so much, but I’m not going to put any pressure on us. If I feel he’s ready or has excess energy to burn I’ll take him for a short walk.
3. I want to keep working on targeting. I would like to get him to follow it around consistently and just make sure he knows that the click marks the correct behavior.
4. Keep up the good work!!
5. I think Chrome is almost ready to start working with the trailer. I want to use clicker to make it positive again. I don’t know if I want to teach him to follow the target on or if I want to shape him loading on his own. Not sure where he is mentally for that. Unfortunately right now the horse trailer is housing a few roosters that can’t be out with the flock. One of them is sold, but the others we don’t know about yet. If I manage to vacate the current occupants I might work on something with him.

Monthly Goals 3-1-2010

My 2010 goals for Chrome are:

1. Use clicker training to desensitize Chrome to as much as possible.
2. Go for more walks on the roads. Use clicker training to make it a positive experience.
3. Teach Chrome some tricks specifically smile.
4. Write in Chrome’s blog more often.
5. Work on hauling to new places.


My break down of those goals for February were:

1. I want to continue to work on targeting this month.
2. I'm going to keep walking him as much as I possibly can to continue to expose him to new things. When he knows the clicker better I'll incorporate it into our walks. Right now if he makes scary eyes at something I just keep going. He doesn't shy or side step, so I don't think it'll hurt anything. I would eventually like to use clicker to encourage him to explore things that scare him. That will be a ways off though.
3. For now I'm going to stick with targeting.
4. Keep on blogging. :)
5. Still not ready to work on hauling yet. The ground is too soft to move the trailer and he's not familiar enough on clicker yet to do anything. I think I'll wait for warmer weather to start hauling.


My progress is:

1. With the OCD scare I didn't do any training. I have been spending a LOT of time with him though and I think that's helping to improve our relationship even more. He doesn't mind me being all over him petting him, hugging him, leaning across his back (no weight), pulling his tail, playing with his ears, etc. We've even made a new game where I pull on his lips to make them pop. He loves it!
2. I haven't been walking him because of the OCD scare but I'm not putting him up at night anymore and he's with Zeppelin now, so they can play anytime they want. I think he's self regulating his exercise much better now. I've fixed the fence to where he can be out, but people can't reach him through the fence so that takes away a lot of the worry. I'm also going to plant a prickly pear cactus barrier along the entire perimeter of my property to keep the obnoxious teenagers off my property.
3. I still can't find a treat he likes besides sugar! I may try using his feed again since he's better at taking treats, but I'm having to be so careful with his diet right now. He ate several carrots yesterday, but he spits them out and plays with them too much. If anyone has any suggestions on getting the turd to eat and enjoy carrots or apples I'd love to hear them. Also if anyone has any advice (or links to past posts) about 'charging the clicker' with horses I'd love to know that as well. I don't think he understands the click yet. When I find a treat I'll start working on this. I can't keep feeding him the sugar.
4. I've been doing better at posting. I need to edit the hundreds of pictures I still have and get them posted.
5. Still waiting on this.


My new goals for March are:

1. I need to find a treat that he enjoys that is also healthy. I don't like feeding him the sugar for clicker training.
2. Since I haven't felt any heat in his joints in a while I may start walking him again. He's getting more exercise now that Zeppelin is in the same paddock, but I still want him to get out and see the world. I may just need to wait until he's a year old and then start again when there won't be such a risk to his joints. All of our roads are asphalt. 8o
3. Can't teach tricks until he will eat treats.
4. Keep on blogging. :)
5. Still not ready to work on hauling yet.

Monthly Goals & A Short Walk

My 2010 goals for Chrome are:

1. Use clicker training to desensitize Chrome to as much as possible.
2. Go for more walks on the roads. Use clicker training to make it a positive experience.
3. Teach Chrome some tricks specifically smile.
4. Write in Chrome’s blog more often.
5. Work on hauling to new places.

My break down of those goals for January were:

1. Charge the clicker and work on targeting.
2. Start walking around the property until clicker training is started.
3. Nip the nipping in the bud before it turns into a biting problem!
4. Keep writing.
5. Hold out on this until I get clicker training started.

My progress is:

1. I charged the clicker and worked on targeting once so far. Go here to read all about it. I'm still trying to find something other than sugar that he'll eat.
2. I actually skipped the walking around the property step and went straight to solo road walks! He's doing fantastic. I don't think he registers Zeppelin's braying as a horse's neigh so he doesn't get upset at all. In fact I think he's starting to really enjoy it. I took him out this evening right before dark to walk up the road and back. As we were starting out I paused to wait on my husband and he started to rear up a little, feeling frisky, but I told him no and he stopped. Then we went for a run together. I'm so happy he's learned to trot on lead already. There was a crazy little Jack Russell following us and barking, but Chrome never batted an eye. One truck passed us and you could see him flinch away a bit, but he held his ground. Chrome's such a good boy! To see more examples of our walks go here and here.
3. Chrome is doing really well with the nipping. He still sometimes swings his head toward me, but he knows not to make contact. He's not threatening me. He just wants to play, so I'm not scolding him for it (unless he gets too close).
4. I've been doing great with posting to the blog as you can see if you check the archive.
5. Still waiting on this.

My new goals for February are:

1. I want to continue to work on targeting this month.
2. I'm going to keep walking him as much as I possibly can to continue to expose him to new things. When he knows the clicker better I'll incorporate it into our walks. Right now if he makes scary eyes at something I just keep going. He doesn't shy or side step, so I don't think it'll hurt anything. I would eventually like to use clicker to encourage him to explore things that scare him. That will be a ways off though.
3. For now I'm going to stick with targeting.
4. Keep on blogging. :)
5. Still not ready to work on hauling yet. The ground is too soft to move the trailer and he's not familiar enough on clicker yet to do anything. I think I'll wait for warmer weather to start hauling.

So there you have it. I feel like I'm doing pretty good with Chrome. I'm doing enough new things to keep him interested, but not trying to do too much. I've been doing really well keeping his age in mind and being patient with him. We have a very good understanding of each other. He occasionally gets pushy, but we're working on that and at the moment I don't feel like it's a dominance thing. He still looks to me as the leader. It makes me feel so happy when Chrome runs and bucks and then trots to the fence and looks at the front door because I know he wants me to come out and play (even if I'm just taking pictures).

Chrome loves to play with Zeppelin (we let them out to play together for the first time on Saturday) but he's very rough and Zep finally had to tell him enough. I was pleased that he did listen. :) I knew Zeppelin would teach him some manners lol. I have great videos of Chrome trying to get him to play that I'll post as soon as I can. I have hundreds (maybe close to a thousand) of pictures to edit after the snow, so please be patient. :) Anyway, check back throughout the month and at the end of the month to see the progress we make on the goals.

Monthly Goals

Okay, I have decided that I need to break down this year's goals into monthly goals. Working in tiny steps encourages success. I feel like if I don't do this I'll just procrastinate and say, "Oh, I have all year!"

So here were my goals for Chrome for the year.

1. Use clicker training to desensitize Chrome to as much as possible.
2. Go for more walks on the roads, using clicker training to make it a positive experience.
3. Teach Chrome some tricks specifically smile.
4. Write in Chrome's blog more often.
5. Practice hauling to different locations.

And the break down of these goals for January . . .

1. Introduce Chrome to the clicker and practice targeting to build a solid foundation.
2. Start walking around the property daily for exercise, but wait on doing anymore road walks until we're using the clicker.
3. I know number three is to teach a trick, but since he doesn't even know anything about clicker training I'm making this something else for January. Nip nipping in the bud before it becomes a biting problem!! This is an important one for young colts and he's definitely starting to get mouthy.
4. I've been doing better about blogging, so for January just keep writing.
5. Wait on this one until we have more practice in clicker training. I want to have the tools to reward him for loading by himself.

Since the month is already almost half over I don't realistically expect to complete all of these, but it's my goal to do them anyway. If I have to carry some over into February that's okay too. Stay tuned tomorrow for some big news. :)

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year everyone! I've had a great day and I hope yours has been just as special. Last night I decided to brave the cold and go out to take a picture of Chrome at midnight so I would know what he was doing when we welcomed in 2010. And as usual my sweet little colt was being totally adorable.

Chrome has decided he likes lipping at my hands. I know this is a precursor to getting nippy like colts have a tendency to do so I'm not going to let him do it anymore, but I just couldn't resist getting pictures of it last night. You can click to enlarge.

Look at those cute whiskers! Now I'm going to share my 2010 goals for Chrome. Here goes . . .

1. Spend a lot of time desensitizing Chrome. I don't want to do this in the old fashioned way of flooding the horse until he no longer responds. I'm going to attempt to use the clicker training method of desensitization. Clicking and rewarding him for exploring new objects and accepting new experiences, stimulus and sounds.

2. Take Chrome on more walks out on the roads so he can get used to traffic and other things he might see out on the trail. I'd also like to take him out without another horse to see how he does but I'll wait to do that until we've started clicker training so I can communicate with him what I want and what he's doing right. Otherwise I'd be forcing him to leave his companion, hauling him around when he's upset and frightened, thus building up a negative association to the roads. That would lead to a buddy sour horse in a heartbeat. It could possibly lead to being barn sour too.

3. Teach Chrome some tricks with clicker training, specifically to smile. :)

4. Write on Chrome's blog more. I know I've slacked off with the colder weather so I'm going to try to do better.

5. Continue to work on trailering him to new places. I don't want the only time he ever gets on a trailer to be for a vet visit. We have a local riding club with a covered arena, so I'll probably start trying to haul him there. This will of course depend on our schedules since I haven't learned to pull a trailer yet. :)

Well that's all for now. I hope everyone had a wonderful first day of the new year. Mine was great and I'm going to strive to continue that theme for the rest of the year. :)