Early this week, I found some boat bumpers at Bomgaars that I thought would come in handy with a couple of horses that I'm working with now, one being Newt. Tuesday, he was introduced to those & they couldn't have served their purpose any better. Newt was pretty unsure about them, especially when they were positioned in his outside eye. As we progressed, he got more & more comfortable, eventually at ease with having one on each side while we pulled the sled around. They seemed to help him, as he only had one tense moment at the start of each of our rides this week, even with the dogs playing nearby as we rode in the pasture with my round pen. Because of the ground conditions, we kept everything at the walk. We did a lot of Flexing, Yielding the HQ, Bend at the Walk, & focused more on progressing his Vertical Flexion at the Standstill, Stop, & Back, which he's really beginning to get the hang of. Randy & I were both under the weather towards the end of the week, so Newt did have a few days off this week. But he saddled up with minimal pre-ride groundwork today & only had one little tense moment early in the ride.
Next week's plans are a bit up in the air. I hope after the snow blows through tomorrow, we can get a couple of rides in before the colder temps arrive. Otherwise, I'll do some trimming & introduce Newt to hobbles. Also, I didn't get a response to my last text message about extending Newt's time in training. As I mentioned, the other client horses here will be with me through about mid-March, especially with this week's weather & cold snap. Newt is welcome to stay until then or longer if need be so that we can ensure that he's where you need him to be & that you feel safe & confident with him once you go home.
Pending weather, I'm scheduled to come back on January 20th & 21st for trimming/lessons & our niece's baptism. I usually try to bring along a couple of client horses when I do lessons so that they can get additional exposure in a new environment. During cold weather, we're typically up in Bloomfield at the indoor. If you're interested, Newt is welcome to come along on this trip. The indoor arena will hold some new sights, sounds, & shadows that will be great for Newt to be exposed to.
- Lexy Nuesch
.Next week's update will be posted on Friday.
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