Farewell 2009...

...don't let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!

I think I will join in with some of my fellow bloggers and do a bit of a review on 2009. Then I can close the file on that year and look forward to 2010. I'll spare you guys the boring details, but in a nutshell, 2009 had a lot of ups and downs for me - but that is life, isn't it? To quote Forrest Gump:

“Life is like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”

Let's see in 2009: Rusty had a really bad uveitis flare-up (thought he was going to go blind, but turns out he is ok) and a mild impaction colic a few weeks ago (also now fine). I got my new

western saddle in August and I still love it. The last six months have been a bit stressful for me, health-wise. Doing quite a bit better now and have about 6 Dr's appointments in January to hopefully sort out everything else. I did manage to get in a decent amount of riding - I even cantered around the hay fields - a first for me with Rusty.

OK - goals for 2010...

I’m not a huge believer in official New Year’s Resolutions per se, but I do think it is a good idea to write out some goals for the year. A couple of times in the past, I have made a big declaration that I would do something in the year coming up and when I didn’t achieve it, I felt like a bit of a failure.

So, this year, I will write out some goals that are attainable – and to do something a bit different, I’m going to review them every 3 months or so to make sure I’m on track or to see if I need to make a few modifications. We actually do that at work with our performance reviews, because as we all know, the best laid plans often go awry…

Without further ado, here are my horsey goals for 2010 (you are all sitting on the edge of your seats, jus waiting for this, aren’t you??? lol)

• During the winter months, make it to the barn 3x a week to ride or work on clicker training (started this last week for something fun and Rusty was actually getting it – more to come on this)
• In the spring/summer/fall (April – October), ride or work with Rusty 4x a week.
• Attend a hunter pace or an organized trail ride. (Need to set aside a bit of money for trailering fees now and review dates/options)
• Continue weekly lessons starting in Feb or March (often too cold in Jan) if financially possible, if not lessons twice a month will be a good alternative
• Maintain my emergency vet fund (for all pets). I have a decent amount set aside and I need to make sure not to touch that money…

Here is my crazy one that I might not be able to keep, but need to try:

• Avoid buying any tack, riding clothes or anything from a tack shop (except in case of emergency), in person or online until June 2010 (this may sound drastic, but I have so much tack for one horse that it is almost embarrassing! I actually bought 4 new saddle pads this fall! I think I have a problem!)

And the most important one:

• Start a contingency fund for a new horse and/or for retirement board.

Yes, this seems a bit drastic, but if something were to happen to Rusty, I have no money set aside to buy a new horse. Rusty is happy, healthy and sound right now, but he is close to 20 and you just never know. If he were to be retired all of a sudden, I also couldn’t afford to board two horses at my current barn. I should also add a sub-goal to this one – research a few retirement farms in the area, just so I know my options. I know there are a few farms where I could board two horses for just a little more than I pay for Rusty right now. I really like where I am, but money is the driving factor, unfortunately…

Happy New Years to everyone - your families and your four-legged companions, large and small!