Goals Check In (Q2/Q3)

Goals? How about enjoying more lovely nights like this one!

It's everyone's favorite time again ... goal recap time. LOL. I do find these helpful, but wow did I chock this one full of random photos just in an attempt to keep your attention. Let me know if it works!

Let's start with this bucket of goofy attitude.

Q2 Pig Goals

1. Stay happy and healthy and settled at the farm. ✔️
2. Shorten those damn long toes as much as possible. ✔️
3. Return to low level work with myself and/or lease rider. ✔️

Goal for next quarter to ride him in a saddle once or twice? Nah...

Overall, Pig is in a really great place right now. He's being ridden 3-5x a week, and feels sounder than ever. I started him on a devils claw supplement that seems to have tackled a lot of his ongoing inflammatory issues (due to all of his joints being real damn arthritic). I've noticed his warm ups are down to 10 minutes, and trotting him no longer feels like riding a ship at rough sea. I'm so happy with where he is right now.

MUCH EXCITE!

Q2 Bast Goals

1. Keep health, weight, and ulcers managed. ✔️
2. Show Recognized Training level for scores in the low to mid 60s. ✔️
3. Find relaxation in work, resulting in better suppleness and bend. ✔️
4. Cross water 2x a month to get to longer trails. ✔️
5. School First 1-2, and identify weak spots. ✔️
6. Lesson 5x. ❌
7. Trial and error a few things to try to reduce all that mouthing action. ✔️
8. Jump 2ft a couple of times. ✔️
9. Introduce more collection into the trot. ✔️
10. Introduce more counter canter and collection into the canter. ✔️

Why so much work, mom?!

While we never made it to a lesson (whoops, we're badly in need now), Bast really impressed me this past quarter. He went to a recognized show and pulled scores up to a 67%! He started schooling all of first, and ended the quarter schooling some second. We had a small setback when he came up lame and had to go to the vet for an evaluation. However, all that came of the exam was an ask to keep conditioning the horse. I ramped up Bast's hack days and included a wider variety of jobs (read: poles) to his work since then. All of this paid off in a horse who is in the zone when it comes to working, and is developing the ability to sit and cycle his hind legs slower without losing power. It's wild how fast things change sometimes.

Personal goal is always to not fall off this chestnut trainwreck.

Q2 Personal Goals

1. Blog 1-2x weekly. ❌
2. Finish 1 of my training books. ❌
3. Contracts in order. ❌
4. Establish budget to support showing and meeting needs of animals in light of new purchases. ✔️
5. Run 90 miles.
6. Gym 2x weekly, adding back in circuit workouts 1x weekly. ❌
7. Find way to get to work 30 minutes earlier in day, so you can sleep more. ✔️
8. Get a couple of extra pounds on Asterid without allowing Lyra to return to #fatElvis status. ✔️

We're the freaking nerdiest. We'll work on that...

I'm always so bad at valuing my personal goals as much as I do my horse's training goals. Ugh. Summer this year was absurd, with many weeks going by without having a day off. That's not so much an excuse, as I need to get my schedule to make a little more sense. Lots of these goals should bleed over into next quarter, but honestly my ability to accomplish some this year is iffy at best.

On to Q3 goals!

FISTBUMP BRO

Q3 Pig Goals

1. Continue to keep his soundness and mobility high by ensuring he is ridden 3x a week on average.
2. Continue to keep his toes shorter, possibly looking into epoxy solutions.
3. Keep or increase weight going into the autumn.

Watching you!

Q3 Bast Goals

1. Negotiate the changes of fall without losing weight, struggling with ulcers, or regressing in behavior.
2. Solidify the start of the half pass, gaining more suppleness and balance at the walk and starting to introduce in the trot and canter with basic suppleness and bend.
3. Ride 4-6x weekly, with a focus on building strength in the stifle and topline.
4. Introduce the shoulder in on the quarter line.
5. Consult a trainer about starting the flying changes.
6. Show First Level with scores in the 60s.

Personal goal #1: Figure out why I own such a filthy creature. Haha. Gross!

Q3 Personal Goals

1. Seriously. Finish one of those training books.
2. Reevaluate running goal and find one that is achievable with the time left in the year.
3. Solidify the morning routine in place, getting us the extra time needed to get to the farm.
4. Don't. Panic. At. Change.

More trail rides are on the schedule, and I'm so excited!

There are some changes for the boys coming along later this month, so I have my fingers crossed those things don't cause too much set back in our accounting. If everything lines up right, we'll be all set up for a streamlined winter ... if Hurricane Dorian doesn't flood the east coast off the map. Eek! Wishing anyone further in the path best of luck, and for us I just hope the wind and rain doesn't interfere too much with my pony plans!