Back To Basics- Springtime Riding Plan
Well, I’m back! And here we are at week 1 of our springtime riding plan.
Setting Your Plan
We need to have a plan before we begin, so this week I started with my plan for which 3 days I will be working with Ethan this week. So this is my plan:
- Day 1 (Sunday)
- Day 2 (Wednesday)
- Day 3 (Saturday)
Day One – Sunday
The first day of my plan is I want to have a starting point to refer back to. So I grabbed my camera to capture Ethan in the complete rough. I wanted a true representation of what he looks like right now, before we get into this weekly riding plan. Plus, getting him photographed in the rough will make his transformation that much more incredible at the end of 6 weeks.
We didn’t do a lot of fancy stuff today, mainly working on being respectful, and standing still. I had him tied at my hitching post for a bit while I gathered my grooming supplies. He got a basic grooming, and then I decided to take him for a walk, and work a little bit on the long lead in my riding area.
Day Two – Wednesday
I didn’t need any motivation today, because the farrier was coming. That was all the motivation I needed to get out and spend a little extra time with Ethan. I want my horses to be respectful when they are getting their feet worked on. I don’t want my farrier to dread coming out to see my horses. It is hard enough to find a farrier, I don’t need to scare him off with pushy spoiled horses. So Ethan got a thorough grooming, and lots of standing tied work.
Once the farrier was done, I had the day off from work so it was an excellent opportunity to continue with my groundwork and lunging. We also went for a little walk off property.
Day Three – Friday
I had intended on only doing three days this week, but I was home from work for a little stay-cation, so I thought it would be good to make use of that valuable time. Ethan got tacked up, and lunged for about 10 minutes. Nothing huge, but he still had to work.
Day Four – Saturday (Bonus Day!)
I am so happy I was able to have an extra day opportunity this week. It makes it so much easier when I can work with Ethan when it is light outside!
End Of Week One
I know I wanted to do a photo at the first day, and the last day of this 6 week plan, but I have decided I also want to do a photo at the beginning of the week, and also at the end, to see if I can notice any improvement. This is Ethan at the end of week 1:
I can see that he is shedding, and he looks a little bit neater than the beginning photo, but that is about it. I don’t really see a difference, yet. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will be able to tell. The one thing that I can see an improvement in is his attitude. When we started this one week ago, he was a lot more disrespectful, and did not have very much patience. But by the end of the week, he was behaving much better. So even if I can’t see a difference in his physical appearance, his attitude has greatly improved. I call that a win.
Planning For Week Two
So one week is under our belt. Now it is time to plan for the upcoming week. This is what I am planning for week two:
- 4 days of lunging – walk, trot, and canter (15 minutes total each day)
- 3 days of riding – walking and practice two-point, and my positioning in the saddle (10 minutes each day)
- Walking under saddle
- Standing for mounting
These goals are in no particular order, the point is just to have some attainable goals. You will have to come back next week to see if I was able to complete my goals, so be sure to check back next week! How about you? did you start a springtime riding plan? If you did I would love to know how it’s going for you. Please leave a comment below, and we can motivate each other, while we also hold ourselves accountable to commit to this challenge!