I should ride my fancy show horse more often. He gets turnout & ridden a few days a week now. It’s a time vs work vs energy thing.
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Start lessons on Grundy to get her going better. Hopefully time will get rid of her frogginess, and hauling off site will be good for her in general. Trying to avoid sending her out for training for my Old Man’s sake.
First lesson January 12!
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My 2024 show season ended abruptly with a leg injury for my gelding last June. He’s back to work and sound, but we haven’t jumped since. We also moved to a new trainer in October. So, I don’t want to get my hopes too high for this year, but I do want to go to as many shows as I can afford (probably 6), and if things are going swimmingly maybe try a very low derby.
He’s still green and the plan was to enter into our first 2’3 together before that injury happened. I haven’t discussed yet with my new trainer what she wants me to do, but I imagine we’ll start jumping again this month.
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Ride my two green broke horses MORE than I have been. More regularly. My older “going” horses are getting near retirement, and unless I do this NOW, I’m in a pickle, aren’t I? And no, there is no one else to do this job FOR me. I’m it. I wouldn’t let anyone I’ve seen locally even groom them, let alone ride them. I’m just “that way”. I have to know and respect someone’s skill before I let them near my horse. They are both green broke WTC, and have never made a bad move for me. They are currently turned out 24/7 for winter grazing with the retirees. Come spring (if we ever get any REAL winter- which so far, we have not), things get going again around here.
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What breed/discipline? Just curious!
LOL hunter/jumper… and everyone around here is a cowboy.
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Training: Start riding with a H/J trainer 2x monthly. There’s a working cow/ working ranch horse trainer I’m debating reaching out to about lessoning with too. My goal for working with one/ both of these trainers is to continue learning how to develop young horses. When I get a trailer, start hauling my 5yo mare into lessons.
Start doing mounted archery with my mare!
Keep working with my weanling and start taking her for solo walks in the woods.
Paddock: gravel more low-lying areas and the perimeter, put in a sand rolling pit, build a hay hut, consider putting in a track system next winter when it gets rainy to save the rest of the paddock from turning into a torn up mud pit and keep the ponies stimulated!
Pasture: get pasture #1 cleaned up, fenced, and connected to the paddock. Take many pictures of the ponies frolicking. Sit under a tree and read a book while they graze.
Arena: get the arena pad leveled and start putting in 2” sand. Not too sure what the foundation of the arena should be for drainage without making the cost skyrocket but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it!
Build archery targets, trail obstacles, jump standards, and cavalettis, paint more ground poles, and build a little lean-to for all of these things to live in when I’m not using them.
Horse #3: start looking for horse #3 probably late 2025 or early 2026. I am a mare person but this horse will probably be a gelding just so my two current mares don’t forget how to interact with geldings. :-p I want an OTTB, preferably a bay gelding with a big ole hip on him! Though if I am being honest there’s a non-zero chance I (semi-impulsively) buy a cutie off Bowie.
Husbandry: learn how to KT tape my mare. For whatever reason her posture is infinitely better with KT tape on. Get my hay tested (we buy a year’s worth at a time) so I can fine-tune my nutritional program. Get said mare ^ tested for PSSM because that would make a lot of sense.
2025 will be my first full year of having the horses at home. My goals may seem like a lot but this is nearly 30 years of anticipation finally being able to be put things in action. 
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My goal is simple: keep the horses in regular work throughout the year!
Love reading everyone else’s goals and resolutions 
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Wow. Ambitious, but go for it as someone that has had their horses home for years and got burned out on projects🤣
Where are you located? Not a great time now, but Finger Lakes Finest posts a lot of OTTBs…
Most people here are hunter/jumpers! I kinda really miss dressage, but the good dressage trainers have moved on.
A little dressage has to come into everyone’s life at some point… if they are going to ride and train horses successfully. Except there’s “crazy” in the dressage world these days too.
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Agree! My barn does SOME, and we have a wonderful instructor, but I wish they had more, and I think everyone would benefit from more.
I don’t do resolutions, just goals.
#5. Run a training ride to introduce local riders to endurance
#4. Finish the Iceland Ring Road by riding horses.
#3. Get the lease horse solid enough to attend club rides and competitions.
#2. Work through DRT 1 and 2 again, and then do DRT 3
#1. And my number one, most important, trumps all other goals is to enjoy time with my senior horse, who will be 27 in April, and is currently balanced on the edge of the precipice before oblivion.
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1: improve our SJ
2: improve rideability/adjustability
3: work on my hands (chronic “shopping cart hands”)
4: go recognized again
5: qualify for Area II Champs
We started back into our spring fitness a little earlier this time around so we can have a longer spring season 
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No big goals but I might like to restart driving lessons and maybe show my mini in a pleasure driving class one last time. I need to find an instructor who can deal accept my physical limitations without getting frustrated and that won’t be easy. Driving instructors are few and far between here. I can show without one at this point but it’s always nice to be able to keep learning.
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My main goal for the year is to qualify for and successfully complete the Beginner Novice Classic Three-Day at Waredaca.
Behind that there are goals to keep working through my show jumping anxiety so I can move up from the 0.90s to the meter jumpers at some point over the summer and then move up to and run an unrecognized Novice before the three-day (XC doesn’t scare me at all but SJ does so my personal rule is that I’m not allowed to move up at events til I can successfully jump around a level higher in pure SJ).
As far as my horse goes, the goal every year is to keep him happy, healthy, and comfortable doing his job, although my trainer may steal him from me (with my full support) sooner rather than later if he keeps demonstrating the fact that I am the limiting factor in our relationship, lol.
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Last year was a bit of a bust with my ‘new’ horse Marvin. He was on stall rest most of the year for 3 different accidents/issues. And I didn’t take advantage of his down time to work on my own fitness.
So, this year the plan is to improve my fitness/lose extra lbs and to work with him (with my trainer) and get out and about to unrated dressage shows, horse trials and trail riding.
I’ve wasted enough time. 
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that makes me feel better - I am in the exact same spot with my going horses all aging or aged out and greenies that are good sorts but green and need miles to get past the green stuff, and it’s so easy to just grab mr reliable instead.
For the last three years I’ve been part of a social media ride tracking group with the goal of at least 100 rides or sessions.
I hit 124 this year and am hoping to hit at least 130 in 2025. I’d like to get off property, take a few lessons, etc but my biggest goal is continued consistency with the number of rides.
Tracking my rides has been eye opening how a day or two of bad weather plus work challenges can add up to 7-9 days off. We both thrive with consistency so I’d like to keep that up even if it ends up being a 20 minute hack at dusk rather than having an all or nothing mindset.
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My goal is to learn how to put together a course and jump more than cross rails. My horse loves jumping and was fantastic in his first event.
I have my first how to jump clinic on Saturday… wish me luck.
My goal is by Valentine’s Day to take said horse to a 2’ jump clinic. They do a course of 3-4 jumps so feel like it’s achievable.
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