New Year's Resolutions: 2025 Edition for Me, Nemo, and Goose

Posted on: January 08, 2025 by Ellen Brunelle

As each year draws to a close, I like to reflect on all the fun adventures I’ve had with both my horse Nemo and my dog Goose and make some goals and hopes for the coming year. I tend to be a pretty goal-oriented horse and dog lover and find it fun to use goals to track our progress throughout the year.

Goal for Nemo

I’d like to make sure to keep Nemo fit throughout the year. Nemo will turn 21 in May, and while he doesn’t know this, and doesn’t think he’s a day over 10, I want to make sure I’m keeping him conditioned and his joints active to help us have many more happy riding days together. For him, an exercise plan that includes tons of turnout (he’s so lucky and gets to romp around with a bunch of gelding buddies in a huge field), 2 days a week dedicated to some dressage work, and 1-2 other days dedicated to other kinds of riding. The other days could include riding out in a giant field, which is my favorite, as it allows us to get out of the ring, and do trot work up and downhills, or a nice trail ride to clear both of our heads.

Goal for Goose

Goose is my awesome little 7-year-old cattle dog. He is always up for an adventure. This past year, we worked on getting him very comfortable in my new home, and on walks in our new town. I think he loves all the extra wildlife we see every day. I had started working on getting him used to my kayak, with the hopes of taking him kayaking this past summer. We never quite got to get on the water, so I’m moving that goal to this year! He’s super comfy jumping in and out of the kayak, wearing his safety vest, and making sure to sit down quietly in it on land, so I’m super excited to test out adventures in the water. We plan on sticking to shallow water until he’s super seasoned on the kayak, and I think he’s going to love it.

Goal for Myself

Woman smiling while holding dark horse in halter with woods and sunrays in background

Like many people who are goal oriented, when a goal goes awry, or a plan changes, it tends to really bother me. This year, instead of being upset by that, I’m going to look at alternative goals. For example, if there’s a few days earlier in the year that are just too cold to ride, or in the summer that are just too hot, I’ll adjust my goal to spending time with Nemo giving him a good groom, or in the warmer weather, a nice bath and hand graze. I still end up leaving the farm smiling after the quality time with Nemo, and he’s happy for the time. With Goose, I have a feeling he and I both might get a little wet the first few times we kayak, so I’m going to break it up into little wins. Did he excitedly hop into the kayak? That’s great! And maybe the next time, did he seem content when I paddled around a little? Perfect!

It’s important to me to remember that it’s all about the journey, and the quality of time we are lucky enough to spend with our equine and canine friends, and that they don’t have goal lists. They just want to spend time with us as well. I’m excitedly looking forward to adventures with Nemo and Goose this year, and working toward these goals together!