Amber - 2001 chestnut Arabian mare - PLACED!

[Sara]

My experience with Amber was that it had a lot to do with whether she was being turned out regularly or not. When I first met her this summer (at Jaime's) she was easy to halter, led politely, etc. No big deal. I was surprised when Jaime said she was difficult to catch and assumed that was an old problem. But, when things got soggy and the horses were spending most of the time in the paddocks- not being turned in and out daily, she immediately reverted to being hard to catch and totally standoffish.

So, it seems like it's "in there" but she's one who needs to be turned in and out consistently to be consistently good for it.

[schwung]

Amber is also slated to begin training next week. I have a feeling Amber will be a bit of a challenge, but we shall see!

[shekaberry]

I think with real consistency she'll come around quickly. Look at Annie; 8 weeks ago she couldn't cross tie, w/t/c under saddle, lunge or bridle and was still very scared of people she didn't know. Now Annie has a good, solid foundation to build on.

Since Amber isn't as reactive as Annie, she is just aloof and flighty, regular handling will probably bring her around quickly; not like Willow-quick, but I think she will surprise us. I hope.

I just have faith in those intelligent Ay-rabs!

[leahlady]

I like Amber. I think she will be GREAT!

[schwung]

Amber's first day of training was just a beauty day, since she had tangles in her mane and was just dirty. She got a bath, which was very scary for her but she was a good girl. She was able to tie her, which was surprising to me, since we never taught her and none of the other Elledge horses tied. She's working on her headshy-ness and just working on keeping things very calm and easy for her, since Amber is so sensitive and flighty.

[anita]

I was at Black Raven Saturday and stopped by to see the girls. They were eating breakfast, but Amber stuck out her head and seemed to like having my hand resting on the end of her nose. Her eyes got sleepy and we stayed like that for several minutes. Hope stuck her neck way out of the stall and loved having her face rubbed and her neck scratched. Jasmine would come up to the bars and sniff, but wasn’t sure about me.

[schwung]

Amber is doing well in training. She's still very nervous so is a bit behind Hope, but she is learning to cross-tie, has been clipped and bathed, had a rider on and walked. I brought up some extra feed for her last weekend because she was a bit on the thin side when I took her up there and she has not been eating all her hay so not gaining much, so I brought her some alfalfa pellets and beet pulp. She's had a lot of changes in the last few months and I think being a nervous horse that it has taxed her a bit, but I know the daily handling and repetition has been extremely beneficial for her, and she's coming around slowly but surely.

[schwung]

Amber's training has been put on hold as she is having some lameness issues on a front foot. We have determined it is not an abcess, probably a soft tissue injury but we are waiting for an ultrasound to confirm. For now she is just back to groundwork and handling but no exercise. Most likely if she has a soft tissue injury she will need to come back home to rest.

[schwung]

Amber had an ultrasound today with Dr. Crowder from Pilchuck and she did find a tear in her left front suspensory. So Amber is going to need to come home and have 3 months of stall rest before she can continue her training.

I am moving Amber's thread back to "In Rehabilitation".

[shekaberry]

Bummer. Plus side is she will be easy to catch in her stall!

[mswan]

How is Ms Amber doing?

[schwung]

Amber's doing ok on her stall rest. She's made a lot of progress as far as handleabilty and ease of catching - her biggest issue remains having her blanket taken on and off, which she still gets nervous about. She's tolerating her stall rest well and enjoys her walks without being too stupid. She needs to gain some weight still, she had lost some over the winter before she went into training and she got some of it back but still needs more. Her ribs are covered but she still looks too lean. Unfortunately she can't have much grain on stall rest and she has a limit to how much hay she eats before she turns it into bedding. But she's doing really well and is really quite a sweetheart.

[crimsonlight]

Here's a newer picture of Amber, taken 2 weeks ago after Allison and I got done braiding her mane. She danced around a little, but was fine after treats.

[mymercedes]

She's very pretty!

[crimsonlight]

She is. When I first went to Jamie's, Miss Amber was the horse I just fell in love with. I'll be out there tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get some more pictures!