Wishing you a Happy New Year as we roll into 2024!
Following the Christmas storm, we spent a few days riding out through the snow, even making it back down to the creek while it was warmer on Friday, all while sprinkling our previous exercises into our rides. He was a bit nervous about the snow piles, so we made sure to check each one out. His lateral & vertical softness continues to improve. He's doing very well with his stop & back. Shoulder In/Out is coming along & I also introduced the start of a Turnaround. He's one of those horses that I opted to introduce both Shoulder In/Out & the Turnaround to before Sidepassing as some tend to do better with a bit of forward movement paired with the lateral work before I ask them to move off of my leg with no forward motion.
Next week, I'll continue to work on his turn around, introduce Sidepassing, & potentially the start of neck reining. Depending on how his Turnaround continues to progress & how the introduction of Sidepassing goes, I may also get him into a shanked bit at the end of the week. Right now, as long as we don't have any more major weather events, I'm estimating that Jasper should be ready to go home towards the end of January. There are a few more things I'd like to touch on/improve to meet your goals. I'd like to get a bit more softness in his head & neck, improve his shoulder control through sidepassing & the start of a turnaround/pivot, begin neck reining a bit, get a bit more experience riding outside, & introduce him to a shanked bit as he'll be happier with that in the long run than staying in a snaffle. I've got Sunday, January 28th, open for pickup if that works for you & your daughter. If there's another date that might work for a lesson before pickup day, I'd love to set something up for that, too! I'm currently planning my January lesson & trimming trip back to Pierce & Bloomfield for January 20/21, pending weather. Please let me know if you'd like Jasper to come along for that once more. This time, he'll likely be a demo horse during one of my lessons. - Lexy Nuesch
Next week's update will be posted on Saturday.
I do my best to get these updates posted in a timely manner, but it's not uncommon for me to be outside until after dark, depending on the weather, my schedule, & who gets worked when so updates will sometimes be posted quite late in the evening. Don't be alarmed if you don't see your update right away. In rare cases, I may have to push them until the next morning, but I'll reach out & let you know if so.
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