31 Days To Becoming A Better Rider – Day 2 Planning

31 Days To Becoming A Better Rider – Day 2 Planning

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” – Benjamin Franklin

This is my most favorite quote ever. No matter what we do, if we want to be successful we need to have a plan. And that is what day 2 is all about. Day 2  is a planning day. Don’t worry, we will be going out to see our horses. But first we need to come up with a plan of how we are going to make this happen. I find that if I have a plan with anything I am more successful.

Starting Our Plan

So for our plan, we will need to write down what we will be doing. I want you to print out a calendar, or find a calendar you can write on. Put a yellow highlighter, a red marker, and a pen with your calendar. Because we are going to fill out the calendar, and I want you to have the tools you need to complete the calendar!

By writing down what you will be doing each day, you are establishing a plan. It will make it easier if you have an idea of what you will be doing for the next 30 days. And to keep this simple, I will list out what you are going to list on each day of the calendar. You will only be writing down 30 days because you have already completed the first day. (Congratulations!)

So grab your pen, and in each square of your calendar, write down the following. Each number point is what you will write in each box.

31 Days of Challenges

1. Get your gear ready
2. Groundwork and grooming
3. Take your horse for a walk
4. 2 minute core exercise
5. Tacking up faster
6. Walking under saddle
7. Ride without stirrups
8. Improve your posture
9. Riding in 2-point
10. Trotting and balance
11. Trotting without stirrups
12. Keep your head up
13. Analyze horse feeding program
14. Pony pampering
15. Desensitizing your horse
16. Check in and reward yourself
17. It’s ok to canter
18. Getting your horse to go forward
19. Using and making ground poles
20. Ground pole exercises
21. Are you ready to jump?
22. Beginning jumping
23. Making a course ground poles and cross rails
24. Setting up a gymnastic
25. Riding bareback
26. Trail ride
27. Groundwork horsemanship pattern
28. How to use your aids
29. Keeping your riding interesting
30. Calm your nerves

You don’t have to use these examples, you can write down whatever you want to over the next 30 days. But the goal is to have something written down in every box of the calendar for the next 30 days.

Now that we have a plan, we need to decide how we are going to show our accomplishments. First, I want you to take your yellow highlighter, and highlight the words.

Getting Your Gear Ready

And we need to have a goal of something to do today. So for this first day, I want you to spend some time getting all of your gear ready. It doesn’t matter if you have a tack room at home, or if you have a tack locker or trunk. Organize your equipment so it is ready to be used when you ride.

For myself, I have a tack room connected to my barn, and I also have a little feed barn. I moved all the equipment I use for riding to my feed barn. This way, I am not going to multiple places in order to get ready to ride. Everything will be in one spot, and I will save time by having everything right in front of me when I am getting ready to tack up.

Depending on how much stuff you have, it could take you 15 minutes or an hour to get everything in one place. But it will be worth it when you go to ride.

Make More Storage

I added a few dollar store hooks to hold my tack. And I had a wall mount saddle rack that I hung up to keep my saddle close by too when I have it out in the barn.

I cleaned and organized my grooming boxes, making sure the tools that I use are easily accessible.

I had these furniture pieces in the back of my feed room that weren’t being used, so I put them into use! They may not be pretty, but they create a ton of storage for keeping all of my gear in one spot.

 

Set One Goal

You don’t have to do all 30 days, but set a small goal of something you want to be able to do each day, for the first week. Only write down the first week if you feel overwhelmed. Do it in multiple sittings.  Just by writing a simple goal like “I will organize my grooming box.” Or “I will ride for 15 minutes today.”  Will help to keep you focused, and motivated to be successful with your goal planning. Just a simple, and achievable goal of something you will do with your horse.

Plan on keeping your calendar in your view all the time. This way you will remind yourself of your plan, and what you need to do, every day.

 

Now I know you are chomping at the bit (pun intended) to get started and do something that will help you to be a better rider, that will include your horse. So go out to your barn, or your tack locker, and get it organized! This will make it a lot easier for you to stay motivated, and actually get out there and ride your horse.

And then once the day is over, you will cross it off with your red marker. This is empowering! And by the end of the 31 days, your calendar will be full of red x’s! If you set yourself up to succeed, you will. SO make sure to give yourself small achievable yet challenging goals each and every day.

Be sure to come back tomorrow, because we will be focusing on groundwork and grooming. I promise, it will be lots of fun!