September Wrap-Up and October Goals?

Wow, OK - so while nearly everyone horsey I know was at WEG, I was at the barn handwalk-walk-walking the beast.  Oh, and then I went to Kansas (and I mean deeeeeeep, rural Kansas) to visit an old friend.

 Kansas is f-l-a-t.  Holy Smokes.  Pia would be a regular lightning rod out here...

I had never actually been to Kansas before, so this was a big 'ol check off the US map for me, plus an excellent time to see one of the girls who knows me best in this world... 

Upsides? lots of cowboys, fun dancing and super darling houses.  Downsides? Tiny town, remote location and not a single establishment "downtown" offered a salad (or other unfried veggie) on their menu. 

Woof.  Needless to say I got home late last night and devoured some spinach. 

In terms of the Beast-Mare, The BO was in charge of the last of the ultraounds, and handwalks over the weekend and I'm out there today to double check the mare.  I'm waiting for the formal go-ahead from our vet, but in theory we should be back to W-T-C under saddle this week! (yahoo!)

But, before we go there, let's revisit our September goals and see where we got...

1. Clean, smooth, regular transitions for WTC.  Something tells me that if I tried today, we'd have some extra "enthusiasm" thrown in, but in all honesty, we had some lovely rides early in the month.  I'm not quite checking this off yet, since I still mentally cringe a bit when asking for her right lead canter....
2. My Equitation.  Success?  I think... At the very least I don't look horrific when I go by the mirrors.  Even though we were reduced to handwalking, I made myself walk with my elbows in (lol) just to keep the muscle memory there.
3. Ride Without Lunging.  SUCCESS!!!! We had several rides without lunging, though I'm guessing that as we return to undersaddle work, the lunge line will be a staple again for a few weeks...
4. Continue with Body Work.  Success! P got a spa treatment on Saturday while I was in Kansas.  Rumor has it she was much more relaxed, in better overall alignment, and holding some of hr previous adjustments.  I'm hoping that her stiffness will continue to improve as we continue to work..
5. Walk Off Property.  Success! We've had several walks down the road during our "rehab" time these past two weeks.  Nothing under saddle yet, and no trailering off property, but at least we successfully walked away from the barn and saw scary new trees and things!

All in all, I am feeling good about our September.  Considering that Pia has been resting her left front since the 16th.. We really only had two weeks under saddle, and I'm confident that we'll pick back up where we left off.

So... On to October Goals:

1. Clean, smooth, regular transitions for WTC.  This is staying on the list.  Until I feel like 98% percent of our basic transitions are relaxed and calm, it will continue to be a priority.  An actual month of full work would go a long way toward accomplishing this..
2. Ride Bareback. This seems like a silly goal, but after my initial experiment with it, I want to make sure we do it, and do it often enough that it's one more relaxed nice way for the mare and I to interact without stressing out.
3. Continue with Body Work. Not much of a goal, but still a priority for the next month.  P seems to appreciate it, and last time it really helped unlock some of the "stuck" bits left over from her anesthesia and layup time.
4. Trailer Off Property.  As I type this, I realize this might be an unrealistic goal for the month since I'd like to do it on a weekend, and I've already booked every weekend aside from one lonely Sunday (waaah).  Regardless, I really want to ride someplace else before the year closes.  I mean, I adore our indoor ring and it's gorgeous, but so are the trails....
5. Pencil Out a Horsey Budget for 2011.  I made a "budget" right when I got P, but that was out the window after our first major weekend stay at the vet clinic...  Oh, then I moved to a pricey barn, oh and then I bought a saddle... It's been 6 months, it's time to slow the roll on buying fun things and come up with a plan that works and is sustainable..  Stair stepping down from a full training schedule might be part of that.. 

I feel a little conservative only having one actual training goal on the list this month, but I guess that's ok.  We aren't in any rush, and quite honestly, if we can get past some basic transitions, I think it will be easier to pick other, specific training issues and set a realistic time line for them.   Right now I'm just excited to escape from work and get out to the barn to see Miss Mareface.   It's been a whole five days!