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. 

A Plug & More Answers

I have so much I have to do today so just wanted to write a quick post.  First off I wanted to tell you about a blog I absolutely LOVE called Super Ponies (http://superponehs.blogspot.com)!  She's training her adorable young gelding who just turned three so a lot of what she does is relevant to me and Chrome.  She deserves way more followers than she has so go check it out.  :D  I promise you won't regret it!

I also wanted to answer some questions you guys have had.

Allison, I'm actually on the Paddock Paradise Facebook page already.  I think it's on Chrome's FB page under likes or something if you want to join in.  Also you asked if I was going to change the footing on the track, yep that's the plan.  I'm going to leave it as is just long enough to find out which spots are going to get muddy then I'll fill in with rock or pea gravel.  It will be a long work in progress, but I think it will be totally worth it.  :D

DS, thank you for the advice on the arena.  I do plan on doing dressage with Chrome, but no jumping.  His haunches, hooves and rear leg conformation are just not conducive to safe, healthy jumping.  I don't know if I will be able to fit a regulation sized dressage arena, but I'm going to make sure it's at least big enough for two side by side twenty meter circles.  My trainer's indoor arena is like that so you can do a twenty meter circle at both ends and one overlapping in the middle.  It works for her dressage lessons, but she uses the outdoor arena for shows because it's full sized.  :)

Anyway I gotta run, but I'm planning on going for a ride later so I'll try to get pictures/video for you guys!  Later!

Paddock Paradise

So how many of you have ever heard of paddock paradise??  Check out this website for more details http://paddockparadise.com/  I've been wanting to try it, but I didn't own the lease land so I couldn't.  Now that I have my own place I can do whatever I want.  The pasture is only 5.2 acres so I think it would increase the productivity of the land to set something up.  Here is a screenshot from Google Maps that shows my property.

The red line on the outside is the perimeter of the pasture (the yard is to the right and is another almost five acres, we have ten total).  The perimeter fence is hog wire/field fencing with a strand of electric tape along the top.  The blue will be interior fences made of portable electric tape.  The green lines are gates.  The part where the barn is (and where the new horse barn will be) is the dry lot.  They will stay there when it's too muddy to be out on the track.  The track is set up with wide corners where we will put hay, mineral/salt blocks, places to roll, toys, etc.  I haven't decided if I will fence off the pine trees or not.  The track is set up so they have to go to the end to get a drink and all the way back to the beginning for food.  It encourages movement which is so good for them.  We can cut hay on the open part where there aren't a lot of trees (and they can be let on there to graze or play).  I'm not sure what size the arena will be, but the fenced off part to the left of it is mostly trees so it will be for riding on or whatever.

So what do you think?  Have any of your tried a paddock paradise system?  Or know someone who does?  Any suggestions for making this one better?  I haven't started on it so it's simple to make changes lol.  Sorry if it doesn't make any sense.  If you have questions or I didn't explain something well enough, just let me know.  I have to run now.  Later!