2013 Horse Goals for a soon to be newbie.

Let's start with a little introduction:
My name is Trina and I live in Ohio. I do not currently, nor have I ever owned horses. I became interested in them when I was around 14 years old, I am now 18, and since then my interest has grown to what some might call an obsession. I fully intend to own and run a boarding/ training stable as my career. I graduated high school last year and plan to attend the University of Findlay as an Equestrian Studies and Equine Business Management major when I can afford the tuition.


My reason for creating this journal is so I can have a more permanent way to write out my goals and also to possibly have other people to talk to about them and give me some support. And also a little accountability.

My horse goals for 2013 are:

By April 30th:
I will have visited a local (ish, the closest one is seven hours away) Curly horse farm with my dad to see if he has an allergic reaction to them.

For those of you who don't know, the Bashkir Curly horse is a breed of horse with a curly hair coat that (it is thought, though I don't believe it's actually been proven yet) is without the protein that causes an allergic reaction in allergy sufferers who are sensitive to horses. So, basically, many people who have mild to sever allergic reactions to horses, such as my dad, don't react to this breed. He has always liked horses, and my mom had them when she was younger and misses it. I, as you know, love horses. Once I discovered this breed in a magazine, and did a little research, I told my parents about them and they're both on board for testing the theory. If my dad doesn't react to them, this is the breed I will be getting once all my other goals fall into place. If he does react, we've decided I will still be able to have a horse, but with very strict rules about keeping horse hair in the house to an absolute minimum.

By June 30th:
Finish our barn to home two horses comfortably.
Our barn is actually a very large garage. I'm thinking it will take about $1,500 to redo the lower end of it to house horses, maybe more, but not much.

By August 15th:
Have all stable supplies, or at least have it all ordered.
(Pitch forks, wheelbarrow, leadropes, buckets ect.)

By November 1st:
By this day I want to either have a horse (or two, as my dad also wants one), be in the process of purchasing them or at least be in the position to do so. I know I won't automatically find the horse for me just because I have the money, but by this day I want to at least be able to.

I know this is a long process, and there's a lot more involved than just the four goals I've stated. I do have a job and am doing my best to save every cent I possibly can, but if anyone has any tips for saving, or keeping these goals in mind when I'm tempted, I'd be more than happy to listen.

Also, I'm going to start taking lessons very soon, I just have to find the right stable to go to.

So, does anyone have any advice?

Well, the only thing I have to say is, you have a realistic short-long term goal... I think you can do it, best of luck to you!!

Thank you! I'm going to need a good measure of luck to make this happen.

I will check back and see how things are going. Your determination is impressive.

Thank you again. I'll do my best to keep you all posted. Right now I'm just trying to focus on scheduling a time to visit a breeding farm with my family to see if my dad has a reaction to these horses. The difficult part is being able to work around everyone's work schedules, but I'll figure something out.

Well, I talked with my dad and we decided we would visit the breeding farm during the last week of April (right when my deadline is). We're going Thursday, getting a hotel and going to the farm on Friday morning. We have to get a hotel because it's such a long drive. And I have to wait until April because I have to save the money for a hotel, my dad has to give enough notice at work and because I also have to have the money for gas. I'm not complaining though. As long as it's done by the 30th, I'll be happy.

Made my fist deposit into my savings account today. It's not much, just $65, but hey, it's $65 more than I had yesterday :)

I've started looking into riding stables to take lessons at. The first one I called isn't doing lessons right now, but the owner said he planned on starting again in the spring. I'm not having much luck finding information on other stables though. I'll just have to keep looking!

You don't say your geographical area,so that limits us w/our answers. Are you looking at the notice boards at feed/tack stores? If you put up your own notice,maybe someone w/a Curly lives closer & you can find out how your Dad reacts to them. Any $$ saved can go in the horse fund & your days off can be saved for other reasons.

Thank you Cacowgirl, I hadn't really thought of that, sadly, haha. I'll definetly check into it the next time I'm at the tack shop. I live in Ashtabula county Ohio, which is the northeastern corner of the State, right on lake Erie :)