End of November Analysis; December Goals!

Geez is it the end of the month ALREADY? I think I say that every month, but it really surprises me every time it comes up. We had a really excellent November, full of goal-achievements and fun (and vacation!), and once again have accomplished all of our goals and then some. 

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O-Ren Novemeber Goals:

1) Successfully get through our SECOND SHOW!

 Success! A BIG success! Not only did get just get through it, we cleaned up and took home a slew of first and seconds AND were Champion in the Horse division, AGAIN!

2) Get on a better schedule - last month things got crazy and we didn't keep one very well. This month, once back from vacation, she needs to be driven 3 times a week with 1 lunging and 1 other training day, no exceptions!

 Success! Or well, mostly. The week I got back, I worked her all four days (which was all I had) and showed, the following week she only drove once but lunged twice (which made me reevaluate my schedule), and then this week she drove four times and lunged once. Given my schedule, that's great! I have a pretty rigorous training schedule set up for December - we'll see if we can stick to it mostly!

3) Keep hunting for what kind of vehicle we'd like to upgrade to!

Success! And then some! Not only did we locate a great little cart, but it has been purchased and is now sitting in our cartport under a blankie!

4) Get a new whip and work on whip training!

Just got the new whip in... now whip training can begin in earnest!

5) More work with the chambon... it's very helpful!
 Success! We did lots of chambon work - I like the chambon a lot, but I also think we need to do more regular long-lining. We'll add that in this coming month!

 Pangea November Goals:

1) Watch her levels of comfort as we get into wetter weather
Haven't needed to worry about this one thankfully... it has largely stayed dry, and she is moving like  a million bucks (for her). She even came galloping in this morning for breakfast!

2) Her dietary needs will change in January... do more research on what she will need!

Success! But, I need to fine-tune this!

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O-Ren December Goals:

1) Keep a tight schedule and stick to it! (Needed days off for either of us and changes due to weather acceptable of course!)

2) Whip training - teach her how to move off the whip

3) Figure out ways to life-proof the new cart - to keep it nice while in use!

4) Start working more on dressage tests and cones exercises

5) Transitions transitions transitions - keeping a steady and quiet contact throughout upwards ones!

Pangea December Goals:

1) Same as before - watch her comfort levels, especially as she gets bigger!

2) Fine-tune dietary needs, starting in January changes will begin!

3) Next rhino shot!

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Tomorrow's weather is supposed to be cruddy and dismal, so today I decided to get the new cart out for a spin! I was worried that she might be a little scared by the weight and the big-ness of it, but she was totally fine - although slightly confused about the additional weight for a second, until she figured out how to push harder to start forward. She definitely has solid brakes with it though!

 Boy we sure have come a long way from this in just a few short months....

You can see that she was fussy with the contact - she is NOT happy with the amount of curb that the first rein slot on the liverpool offers. It is way too much for her. Next time I will move it up to the next setting, which offers *very slight* leverage when engaged but otherwise sits like a regular snaffle! Our field is rutty and bouncy, so I get jostled around a bit (in any cart), but otherwise it rides great - SO much springier than the other cart, which was kind of jarring both our kidneys out I think!
Also, all the little animals running around in the video were my two catahoula mutts and about 5 cats... I should have included the footage of all of the cats suddenly galloping off in one direction together across the screen!