The Green Horseman

“Waste your money and you’re only out of money, but waste your time and you’ve lost a part of your life.”

-Michael LeBoeuf

Last week I told you about my plans for 2025.

Two weeks ago, I recapped the busy 2024 I had in Looking Back at One Year Past.

As you must realize I am quite proud of my time management skills. I work full time but also run my woodworking business. I occasionally practice photography, write here on The Green Horseman, and I enjoy planning events. I have animals at home (dog, 3 cats, chickens, and 2 horses) to care for plus horses at the boarding farm (Of course there’s Stanley, who I work, and Tiger is being leased); my board agreement requires that I do chores once a week (about 1.5 hours…8 stalls and feeding). In addition, I find time to do self-care (find downtime, doctors’ appointments, chiro, exercise, massage), travel (usually horse things), go on dates, and have friends and family time.

My schedule is tight there’s no doubt about it; but I am very precise about my calendar and stay flexible. Flexibility…it’s probably one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned. I used to be rigid and minor deviances in my plans would send me through a loop.

But I digress…

For managing my life my best tool is my Google Calendar. I manage everything on that calendar…down to my shopping list for lumber and groceries.

I have another useful tool that helps me with my equestrian endeavors. It allows me to track progress and details all in one place.

In 2023 I published a 2024 Equestrian Journal (Published and Ready!)

I made the journal to help myself, but I found a lot of people enjoyed it for themselves too.

As I worked my way through my 2024 journal I noted improvements I wanted to make in the next year. So, I decided to publish a new one (Newly Published!).

I want to give you an inside look at what this journal has to offer.

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In the first pages you have space to fill out important information about you, your horse, and their main caregivers.

I have also added some references as a quick on-hand guide for checking a horse’s vitals. These are always important to know or have available in case of emergency. Following those pages are spots to perform occasional wellness checks. If you get yourself on a regular schedule you can gather up enough data to get your horse’s individual baseline. Some illnesses are characterized by “low grade fever.” That low grade might fall within “normal” if your horse’s baseline is on the lower side. I can tell you whenever I check Stanley’s temperature, he’s typically around 99.4-99.8.

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The next few sections help track important aspects of your horses life, but are less frequent…so I’ve given them a separate place for organization.

• Health History: This is a section you can use to carry over any past history going into this new book. For example, I will be noting Stanley’s previous veterinary evaluations (his illness in 2023, the kick to the hock, the ulcer treatment, the x-rays of the neck and hind feet)
• Veterinary Log: This is to report the CURRENT vet reports (separate from routine care). With any luck you won’t use this section too much, but it is here when you need it.
• Farrier Log: This is to help track your farrier visits and note any changes or particular things to remember.
• Chiropractic Log: I changed this section a bit this year. After noticing our routine visits resulted in some similarities, I made each chiropractic adjustment area on a chart so you can visually see the similarities (or differences) between visits.
• Dentist Log: You probably only need this section 1-2x per year but it’s nice to take notes of any findings…even if it’s only normal wear.
• Vaccinations: This is great to note exactly what you used to vaccinate and even the lot #. If your vet does the vaccines you can also note that.
• Deworming: This section allows you to track the type of dewormer, lot number (just in case) and if you did a fecal beforehand.
• Feeding Regimen:
• Tack Tracker: This is a very basic spot but if you share a horse

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Once you’re through the introductory note keeping sections you’re into the monthly calendar. I opted to make this a DIY dates calendar…though I think I’ll be creating a date specific version again next time for anyone who doesn’t want to write it all down.

The benefit here is that you can start mid-year or a month in with no issues or wasted space.

Along with each month you also get a 30-day habit tracker. Pick a simple habit or activity and challenge yourself to do it for 30 days. Maybe you need to push yourself to drink enough water? Or groom your horse every day? Or do some squats? Plank? I chose to do my 15min Pilates every day for January. You can change it up each month or stick with the same.

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You get 18 months of planning. I treat the monthly section as “The Big Picture”

The weekly section is where the details are.

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Every 3 months I’ve placed an Upcoming Events section. This is for you to fill out any potential shows or clinics you’d LIKE to attend. This will help you plan out your month and training.

Next I have added GOALS….you get to use this space to set a goal…short or long term doesn’t matter. Then you brainstorm small steps to achieve that goal and troubleshoot the potential challenges you’ll face. I place the goals section every 3 months so you can check back in with yourself and decide if any changes need to be made.

Once you arrive at the weekly section you’re into the nitty gritty.

At the top of each page you have 2 countdowns. Big event or clinic coming up? Go to that week ahead and count backward. This section is for those milestone events to help guide your training rides in preparation for those milestone events.

I am a sucker for motivational quotes, so each week gives you a new quote to think about.

Under each day you’re able to write about your training rides or activities. In the space on the right side of the page you can elaborate on those rides. Reflections on what went well and what you did that worked.

These weekly sections are split into 3 month segments for a total of 18 months.

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At the back of the journal I’ve given you 50 pages of clinic notes. Bring your journal to events and take notes using these pages.

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This journal is/was incredibly useful for me in 2024. This new version promises to be even better. I’m excited for what 2025 brings in our journey.

If you are interested in getting your own journal, they are available on Amazon at: https://a.co/d/iBX27rR

If you are a barn owner, team member, group member and looking to obtain more than 5 copies, please reach out to me directly to arrange better pricing.

ADDED bonus: I’d be happy to work with you to put a custom cover on your set of journals…and I can narrow it down to 1 year instead if you wish. You can use the form below to tell me what you’re looking for!