The herd · October 2020
Jasper
Mustang, SW Oregon
Jasper came to us in 2020 and is from the wild — kind of. He is a mustang, rounded up in 2015 at Beatys Butte, Oregon. He was about a year old, went through a training program for a couple of years, and was adopted out. His owner had a few bad accidents on him and decided she could no longer keep him. He landed here, and she loved that he would be able to help veterans, first responders, and helping professionals.
Jasper entered with a bang and still leaves his bang every day. He is such a wonderful and confident soul. The mustang difference is that nowhere in his DNA has he ever learned to rely on humans. He loves his people, loves his scratches, and enjoys the amenities of being domestic — and he also believes he should be in charge of humans, too. Jasper has been an amazing teacher in the importance of boundaries, finding safety in others, leadership, and trust. He requires presence and someone willing to state what they need and mean it, because he is happy to take the lead if someone won’t. He allows his presence to be felt by all and isn’t afraid to ask for what he wants and needs. He has continually taught people how to lean in and trust even when you don’t need anyone, how to set boundaries that are fluid and not walls, and how to ask for what they need.
Age
We aren’t sure exactly when Jasper was born. He was about a year old when he was rounded up, so we celebrate him on April 19, 2014.
Care
Jasper is considered an insulin-resistant or metabolic horse and consistently struggles with weight. He is constantly going through (and losing) feed masks that help him stay in a healthy range. He needs InsulinWise twice a day to help maintain his metabolic symptoms. He also really struggles with allergies and has mysterious itchy bumps we cannot find a solution for yet. We have eliminated many things that have not worked and continue to try.
Monthly care
- InsulinWise ($151.61), 2 scoops daily: $1,383 a year / $115 a month
- Hydroxyzine ($57) for allergies in summer, 2 scoops daily: $228 a year / $19 a month