Looking Ahead to This Year

Last week I talked about how far Spicy has come. But despite our successes, there are still things that left me very frustrated. While my 2020 doesn't include specific competition goals, there are a few things I'd like to tackle with him this year.

I don't have new pictures right now, so have some of my favorites from 2019!

Take more lessons.
My lessons on him have been sporadic at best. I think it's time to get back into the habit of regular lessons. I think it'll be helpful to have another set of eyes on him, particularly a non-emotionally-involved set. It'll also serve to motivate me. While I'd love to have something weekly, given my schedule and my current facility setup I think I'll try and aim for every other week. The lessons also don't have to specifically be on Spicy. I've talked to my dressage trainer about borrowing a horse to lesson on, which I think will do a lot for my confidence and also make me a better rider for Spicy.

Get off the property more.
Spicy went from never loading ever to self loading last year, but now we need to practice going places, hanging out, and coming home. This will be a goal for the spring, as I'm not super keen on winter hauling.

Work towards jumping.
I really miss jumping. Like, a lot. So this year is going to be about trying to introduce more jumping to Spicy. I'd like to have someone a little less out of practice than me take him over some things before I take up the reins. Bonus points if I can find something trained to have a lesson on as well!

Have more good days than bad.
I want to find the good things in my 'bad days'. If Spicy has a particularly naughty or difficult day, I want to step back and find something good about it. If I can't, then I want to quit whatever we're struggling with and do something I know he can succeed in. It's hard when you only have one horse, and that horse has the potential to be a total dingbat. He has an uncanny ability to take a great day and dump a pile of shit on it. He also does that to days where I'm already struggling.

There are times where all I really want to do is ride. I want to get on and trail ride, or feel his amazing canter. Unfortunately, Spicy is not about self gratification in that way. If I'm emotionally charged and try to ride him, it's going to go really poorly. But he is great at other things: like running to the gate when he sees my car, or learning a 'trick' in a matter of minutes, or letting me cry into his neck until I leave a wet mark. A lot of my work with Spicy has been about my attitude. This has led to a healthier relationship with horses in general. While things are better from 2018, I can still do more.

I try to make every year better than the last, and I hope 2020 is no different.

One of my new years resolutions for 2019 was to release a blog post every week. Despite an incredibly hectic but amazing year, I actually managed this. Going from sporadic to weekly was a challenge for me (bless those of you who write every day). Since I accomplished it I'm going to give myself a little break after this, so I'm going to go on a brief hiatus probably for the month of January. But never fear! I'll be back in February and I'll do like, a giveaway or something. Maybe a Richard Maxwell book. Or a Tigers Tongue. Or maybe I'll just giveaway Spicy. Y'all want a Spicy, right?

Right.