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Post by meganmarch on Feb 8, 2009 20:59:41 GMT -5
Good Evening- Here are some more pics of Sasha. We've been working with a trainer for about four weeks now. We've been doing a lot of linking up to get her to be comfortable with leading and stopping. She's doing quite well in paying attention to me and my body language instead of other things going on around the barn. One of my lessons is right during feeding time, so it's good practice for her to pay attention while the sound of grain dropping & horses nickering for food is going on. We also started with lunging with my long lead rope. Sasha had her feet done for the 2nd time last week (first was in December). Here are some pics of her "new feet:" Here she is trying to reach an itch in her stall (she is shedding like crazy): Hanging out in our paddock (check out her pretty dapples): And last, "I guess you can take my picture..." Once we get her started under saddle, I'll include links to video. Enjoy! M
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Post by coconut on Feb 8, 2009 21:48:33 GMT -5
Ah Sasha's getting prettier & prettier! I have to come visit you two soon!
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Post by mswan on Feb 9, 2009 12:07:44 GMT -5
Thanks Megan for the update! Kitty asked me how Sasha was doing this weekend. She looks great!
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Post by meganmarch on Feb 9, 2009 12:51:05 GMT -5
Thanks, I know she'd love visitors. She's a social butterfly for sure! Her face is really turning white. I love watching her transformation. I did a weight tape of her last week when I wormed her and she was up to 875 lbs. She's also 14 hands.
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Post by coconut on Feb 9, 2009 17:56:41 GMT -5
I am a novice about color issues (and probably many other issues too ) but I heard once that Grey's start dark, go lighter as they age and then darken again in their older years. Does anyone know if that's true...if so, it will be interesteting to see if Sasha goes *white* eventually, like Coconut. Coconut does not have the dark grey blend though, her fleabitten spots are chestnut, but I've seen ones w/grey too. Coconut's skin is definately black underneath. I would assume she started out as a chestnut filly and faded out. Will she get more chestnut color as she ages?
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Post by mytwoponies on Feb 9, 2009 19:15:19 GMT -5
Grey horses can actually be born ANY base color and it's a gene (G, GG or Gg) that causes them to loose the color by replacing white hairs. The color does not come back.
I have known of chestnut & palomino pinto's that turned all white by the age of 5-10 (one of their parents were grey). They started graying out as yearlings. So pinto no more!! Bummer huh? Lesson learned- don't breed a pinto with a grey if you want anyone to see it.
With Arabians, they are born darker either chestnut or a mousy looking black or brown (with lighter hairs around their eyes) and they eventually turn all white or flea bitten. All Arabians have black skin.
Sasha looks like the silver grey, with dapples & dark mane & tail. These arab's are generally born the mousy color and turn all white and they are a lot slower to graying. It's the rapid turn-to-white horses with some chestnut in their coat that turn fleabitten.
Sasha is Egyptian blood no doubt. Those lines have a lot of fleabitten vs. dapple/silver grey's.
So she will just have to wait and see!!
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Post by meganmarch on Feb 9, 2009 21:09:37 GMT -5
My first Arabian was a flea-bitten grey with a dappled rear. I got him when he was 7. The pictures I have of him when he was 3 show he was a mouse brown (his sire was chesnut, dam was grey). On the other hand, I had a friend who had a horse with Egyptian lines that looked like Sasha. Even at 7, she was still not completely white. Sasha has one or two "flea bites" on her face, but I'm wondering if she'll be dappled all over. I haven't seen what her dam looks like, so I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure her sire is Snowlion RSI--they share a star (see: www.nilemuse.com/Dynasty/snowlion.html) as well as some other characteristics according to Dynasty Arabians. I'm excited to see how she turns out! M
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Post by trillium on Feb 10, 2009 8:21:02 GMT -5
My arabian that I have had since birth was born a chestnut. His color changed from chestnut to a rose grey. He is now a silver grey at 7 years old. But the flea bites that are now appearing are his base color of chestnut. So if you look at the flea bites. They are the color they were at birth.
The one thing to be aware of with a grey, and this applies to all greys, is the risk of melanoma. Ameer had his first one removed when he was only two. It was just a small smooth wart like bump by his chestnut on his front leg. One day it got bumped and would not quit bleeding. I had the vet out to have a look and was horrified to find out it was a cancer at his young age. He had another removed by his sheath two years later. I go over his body all the time to make sure they are not there. Greys get melanomas easily because of the contant changeing of the pigmentation of their hair. Though they ususally do not start to get them until they are older.
Ameer is a dappled grey, but his father whom I also own is white. But he is getting chestnut flea bites all over. He is 23 now.
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Post by meganmarch on Mar 27, 2009 23:00:23 GMT -5
Good Evening, all! I have some new pics to share of Sasha. Instead of working with the trainer twice a week, we changed to five times a week (M-F) this month. She's really come far since we changed the amount of time she is being worked. I think we'll be trying the saddle next week! She'll definitely start with lunging in her bridle to get her used to the bit. She's also doing very well with cross-tying (she gets cross-tied when her blanket is taken on & off and she stands with both cross-ties on very quietly). I can brush her in them, but with only one attached as she tends to move around a bit. However, she's able to stand quietly for longer periods of time, which is great. Here she is at the start of her lesson (we like to free lunge her and get her to link up, which she does pretty quickly now). Notice how white her face is getting! Here she is cantering on the lunge line (she is great with walk/trot and mostly good with cantering on the lunge). It was pure luck that my husband caught her on the stride with all feet off the ground: Another of Sasha cantering on the lunge: Sasha lunging with the circingle on: Another of Sasha with the circingle on the lunge: Sasha trotting on the lunge: More to come (including saddle pictures)! Megan
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Post by cat67 on Mar 27, 2009 23:49:42 GMT -5
That's great that her training is coming along so well! Lots of sessions really do make a difference with the young ones - that's why it's hard for most people to get progress made if they're busy working and with their lives and can only get to it once or twice a week. Looks like a great facility, too!
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Post by schwung on Mar 28, 2009 19:32:54 GMT -5
Great pictures Megan!! I am so pleased to see her doing so well!
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Post by meganmarch on Mar 28, 2009 22:44:38 GMT -5
I'm so happy to share her progress! We bought a video camera today, so I'll be able to take some live shots of her being worked. She really is an awesome horse and loves to learn. She also loves all of her other horse friends in the barn, too. She's such a social butterfly!
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Post by meganmarch on Apr 4, 2009 0:53:14 GMT -5
Good Evening! So far so good with the saddle! Today is day three (I missed her first time with it as I was at work). Unfortunately I forgot the video camera, but I'll remember for Monday's lesson. She did very well at our lesson tonight--Amber lunged her under saddle, putting the stirrups down to see how she'd react with those hanging down. She also put the bridle on her (with the saddle) to see how she would do with both. She didn't seem to feel overwhelmed with all of the new stuff, but it could be because she'd done it the last few days separately so it really wasn't that new. I'll try to get some video and post next week so you can see how she's coming along. She's extremely smart and learning in leaps & bounds. M
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Post by meganmarch on Apr 7, 2009 21:34:07 GMT -5
Finally, video posting! Here she is being lunged under saddle yesterday. Enjoy! M
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Post by schwung on Apr 7, 2009 22:59:39 GMT -5
She looks great Megan! What's with the tail? It looks really short, and I know she's an arab but she's really carrying it high - is that just in reaction to the saddle do you think? She looks like her back is a little hunched, although she's tolerating it really well.
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