Goal setting for 'Nervious Nellies "

[denise42]

Or anyone for that matter...:)
I have been given the assingment of setting riding goals.
Starting with what I want to be able to do 2 yrs from now on a horse and working back ward to 3 months from now..So that I am addressing both long and short term goals..

Example 2 yrs from now:
I want to be ride most any reasonable horse at the W/T/C and not be dependent on mine..


1 yr from now:
I want to ride in a clinic with my horse.
riding with a trainer I do not know..and in front of people I do not know.
at the walk / trot and canter
expanding my comfort zone
I will ride in 3 shows during this show season.

6 months from now I want to be cantering out side of the school
I want to be in an open show ..walk ..trot and canter ..not worried about placing just getting out there and riding in a competative environment.
I want to take my horse camping 3 times this year and trail ride her at the walk / trot & canter.

3 months from now I want to be cantering both directions in the school and getting the correct leads..and to look good doing it..not hanging on for dear life. :p
She said that all goals have to work together and not contradict each other and should lead to the 2 yr goal
So anyone else been asked to do this by their insturctors..
Has it help ?

[Laetitia]

I've never been asked to commit to goals, let alone even been asked to set any. I think that is absolutely brilliant, and am quite sure that it will help enormously. Will really concentrate the mind and you can measure your progress with each goal attained.
I set myself mini goals - at the mo' it's walking out and getting back into the swing of things - having been off so long with this broken leg. I've got so unfit its more a heave into the saddle than a spring.
Keep a log of your goals and then you can look back at your achievements - wonderful idea. L

[bluejules]

I tried to put together a "hacking programme" as part of my plan to regain and build my confidence. I find that solo hacks are very good for building confidence and also building the bond with the horse, but at first I could hardly bear to think of going even the shortest distance on my own! S

So the "programme" started off with a very short (15 minute) hack, and then each one gets progressively more challenging/longer. I think there are 13 "steps" altogether and I although I am only up to number 5 it is working well.

I built in "treats", too - so that when I've done number 7 (which involves a short canter up the hill - aaarrrgggghhh!), I will reward myself with a new pair of boots (which I need anyway, I just like to build it in as an incentive!)

There are just two problems with this; the first is that, in retrospect, I don't think I necessarily got the hacks in the right order, so I ended up doing number 5 before number 4 because on the day it felt less challenging. The other snag is that if I'm not able to ride for a week or so I can't just pick up where I left off. So, thanks to a combination of working away and weather issues, I haven't ridden for about 10 days and feel that I have lost some of the confidence I'd built up - so I may have to go back to step 2 or 3.

You can probably tell I'm a big fan of target setting! But I do struggle with long term goals, mainly because I can't make up my mind whether they are realistic or not! So, for instance, I could say that my 3-year goal is to go drag hunting, but at the moment it just feels so completely unattainable it's hard to say whether or not I'll ever get close!

So I decided to stick to the short term targets for now and re-think everything when I've got to step 13 - watch this space....!

(Perhaps it will take me 3 years to reach step 13, but maybe that won't matter!)

[denise42]

Last night during my lesson I told my instructor that my 2 yr goal was to ride other horses other than mine at the walk trot canter..she said I am a good enough rider to do that now..( I am glad she thinks so ..but do I ? ) anyway I may have to revise my long term goal..
Last nights lesson got me closer to the long trotting goal..dang it is hard to post in a western saddle..the length of my stirrups made it hard to get my butt out of the saddle enough to learn how it should feel,,so my instructor shorten them by 2 holes now I feel like a jockey..but it worked...I was able to post ,,because I was able to get off my horses back and she inturn was better able to move out..
I have to leave stirrups at this length for my practice rides for now..I am not too happy about that ..but will do as I am told..that was another goal..:rolleyes: ..not to argue with teacher...:p