November Journal Entry
Please submit your entry by November 30th at 11:59 PM. Each journal should be at least 250 words and include honest, detailed updates about your horse’s progress this month. Think training victories, setbacks, weird moments, proud moments, and everything in between.
As always, include:
Conformation photos from all four sides
A 2–5 minute progress video showcasing what you’ve been working on this month
This month, I really want you to focus on patterns and trends you’re noticing.
What’s improving steadily?
What’s still sticky or frustrating?
What surprised you?
How is your relationship with your horse evolving as you settle into the program?
Remember: these journals are for you just as much as for the program. The more honest and detailed you are, the more you’ll be able to look back and clearly see how far your horse has come.
I also highly recommend keeping a running record of your journal entries, whether that’s in a notebook, a Notes app, Excel, or Google Docs. Not only will this help with your year-end reflection, but it gives you a personal training log that you can look back on long after this program ends.
I’ll be giving individualized feedback on every entry again this month and a few standout journals may be featured on our Homes for Horses social media pages.
Can’t wait to see your November updates! 💚🐴
This month with Kai was honestly such a fun and productive one, and I feel like we both gained a ton of confidence in each other and in our abilities. My main focus was working him from the ground up, and the first time I saddled him he acted super relaxed, so I knew the saddle wouldn’t be the issue—his manners and listening skills would be. I spent a lot of time on groundwork before ever getting on him, and since he wasn’t very comfortable lunging at first, that became our starting point. He picked it up quickly, and after doing 25 turns a day for about a week, he was doing so well by day seven. I also taught him to side pass from the ground so he’d understand it before doing it under saddle, and even though he struggled for almost two weeks, he can now do it confidently from the ground, and we’re slowly building that same skill while riding. When I had a week off school, I used the extra time to really lock in and ride him every day for about an hour and a half, mostly walking, trotting, doing patterns, and stretching him out, and he absolutely loved the attention. The biggest highlight was taking him on a trail ride on Thanksgiving, which was such a huge accomplishment for both of us, and I was seriously so proud of him. Overall, this month felt like a major step forward, and I’m really proud of the progress we made and excited for what’s coming next
Progress video!!
https://youtu.be/HAFk_J-s_RQ?si=7mIDsVPU_AGTPAob