“New year, new you,” you think optimistically as you skip down to the yard. It’s time for a fresh start. You’re going to put all those bad habits behind you, and with the help of a few New Year’s resolutions, you and your horse will be like a well-oiled winning machine in 2018. Oh yeah! Except… It’s not quite as easy as that, is it? Here are a few resolutions that you might find trickier to keep than you think…

1. Stop treating your car like a mobile tack room

You’ve skipped the straw out of your boot (how did it even get in there?), removed the long-lost jodhpur boot from under the passenger seat, and tracked down the source of the strange smell — although you don’t want to go into that here. Your car is immaculate and you intend to keep that way. And so you will — until you suddenly run out of hay and have to make an emergency trip to the country supplies store to wedge as many bales as you can into the boot, or you’re running late after a muddy ride, and lob your filthy boots and chaps into the back of the car. And so it begins….

2. Clean your tack daily

Weekly. OK, monthly. Let’s be realistic here.

3. Try some new hacking routes

What a lovely idea! Until you find yourself having to get off 15 times to open gates, or being chased through a field by some irate llamas, and remember why, exactly, you always stick to your tried-and-trusted routes.

4. Stop blowing all your wages in online horsey emporiums

Guilty of whiling away time at work — ahem, your precious downtime — browsing horsey websites? Us too. And you know how it is, without really registering what you’re doing, you’ve added a new jacket, or yet another set of brushing boots in a really funky shade of blue, to your basket. And checked out, and paid for them. Just think how much more healthy your bank balance will be when you beat this addiction! You can do it… Until you see the new range of matching saddlecloths and bandages, or those gorgeous competition breeches, at your favourite online store. Nobody can resist this amount of temptation. Blame the Devil when you succumb.

5. Join a gym to improve your rider fitness

You put so much effort into keeping your horse fit, sometimes your own fitness goes by the wayside. You know you could improve your riding by getting stronger and more flexible… Only problem with that is, if you’ve only got one precious hour to exercise, what are you going to do, head to the gym — or ride? Go figure!

Continued below…

Roll up your sleeves: the jobs you need to do before the end of January

We don’t mean to nag, but there are a few chores that, in an ideal world, you’ll have done before

8 things your trainer will never tell you, but you really need to know

If you want to establish the best possible relationship with your trainer, here are some useful tips to help

*January sale* Enjoy 6 issues of Horse & Hound for just £6

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6. Give up wine/smoking/chocolate so you can afford a new saddle

Ha ha ha! Good luck with that!

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Has your dog given him/her self a job?  Waking you up in the morning?  Guarding the house?  Waiting for the mailman?  Lording over the toys…?

They all pick a job, however unjoblike it may appear.

To me, dogs, as they mature, are compelled to claim their talent.  The duties come with honest earnest.  It is THEM.  It is what they do.

They never questions whether they are good at it.  They never doubt or suffer fits of insecurity.  They are what they are and they do their chosen profession to the best of their ability.

But most of all, they are satisfied with themselves.

VIVEY.

Vivey helps me feed.  Or, at least that what she thinks she does.  And, in her mind, she does an excellent job.  In fact, it is a travesty and an unnecessary risk for me to go out and feed without her.

Now, she doesn’t help me feed at all.  What she does is zoom around while I’m feeding.  But to her, she is doing something very valid.  She checks in every few zooms and continues this for the entire feeding schedule.

She’s good at it.  It suits her.  She picked well.  And, she accomplishes her goal every day.

Oh, and she babysits.  She’s awesome at it.

ME.

I’m not like Vivey.  I don’t pick one thing – whatever it is… eating, sleeping, watching Project Runway, arranging shoes, straightening hangers, dusting …  – and feel satisfied all day that I’ve done a great job.  Ever.

Why isn’t that one great job –  enough.

Because when the job is enough, and you are enough, the smile and the joy radiates.

Like dogs.  They radiate joy.

And so should we.  Be happy with the you that is you.  Find the joy in every moment- like your dog finds joy in every moment.  Dogs don’t even think about what they aren’t.  They just are.

FOR 2020, I ASPIRE TO BE MORE LIKE MY DOG.

My Vivey (Hubby calls her “Putin”) doing her babysitting job.  She does it very well.    (Introducing Natty Bumppo – our little boy pup!  McNab/Lab and German Short Haired Pointers.  He’s 10 weeks old.)

The post My dog thinks she has jobs – and she’s so happy with her performance. My New Year’s Resolution… to be more like my dog. appeared first on Horse and Man.

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