December Analysis | January Goals + New Years Resolutions

This post will be fairly short while I focus on my bullet points below, but regardless I'm thrilled to report I absolutely crushed my December Goals, regardless of how simple they are/were.  I'm looking forward to January, which tells me my Evil Mind Tricks have been working.  January/February are notoriously brutal months weather-wise, so I'm remaining hopeful that this gloriously mild winter will maintain throughout that period, otherwise it may effect my ability to hit January's goals.  

With the plan of building off this month to maintain my goal-crushing-skillz, I had to go against my desire to quadruple my December goals and remain reasonable to ensure I find success yet again.

December Goals:

• Spend at least 2 hours in the saddle
  Hit 2 hours on Dec 16!  I finished the month with double my goal (about 4 hrs)!
• Spend at least 3 hours on the ground (grooming, ground work, just hangin')
  I think I spent way more than this hangin' out, etc and it's kind of inevitable so I guess this goal was a bit of a "cheat".
• Incorporate more Stretching (on the ground) Did cookie &/or leg stretches *almost* every time I saw her .. I think I missed 2 or 3 days
• Get Sierra's Teeth Done
  I had this booked in but decided to push it off to the new year.

Admittedly, I've had this blog sitting in my scheduled posts for weeks and I have been crossing things off as I go, but with that I have also revised my January Goals about 10 times.  I think I've narrowed things down to a slightly more challenging, but still quite simple list.  Continuing on with the Evil Mind Tricks, I am also anticipating an onslaught of god-awful weather because lets face it, it has been FAR too mild so far - Snowmageddon (or, mother-fcking-cold-mageddon) is lurking in the shadows, I can feel it! Personally, in an unheated arena and an outdoor turn out board, I won't ride beyond -15C or so as I just don't feel it's fair or worth it, so these goals are based on expecting a cold snap limiting my riding.. but I hope i'm wrong!

January Goals:

• Spend at least 4 Hours in the Saddle
• Continue with regular Stretching (on the ground)
• Spend at least 30 minutes without Stirrups
• Continue to work to lengthen my right side and soften my thigh, especially while tracking to the right
• Work to develop a more reliable and consistent response to the lateral aids
• Improve the canter - go large and trust her.

New Years Resolutions:

• SAME OLD / Eat healthier
• SAME OLD / Ditch the negativity
• SAME OLD / Don't do things that make me miserable for the sake of making others happy
• NEW / Ride for the journey, not the ribbons
• NEW/ Be less wasteful/Have less environmental impact
• NEW / De-Clutter your life physically & emotionally
• NEW / Read more Novels