Training Update: Amira

Amira came to SAFE in November 2018. She was a little underweight and had not seen a vet or farrier in some time. She had a very bad case of thrush and a few spots of rain rot. After a few weeks of medical treatment, she was up to date with her farrier, vaccines, and dental care and ready to start work. We took things slowly, building muscle and strengthening her in preparation for riding. We worked her on the ground, assessing how she would be as a riding horse. After riding her, it was clear that she had done it before but needed some refreshing. Overall, she had very few troubles. She was slightly pushy, needed to learn to look to her handler for direction and a lot of work to calmly put on the bridle. In general, horses that come to SAFE have a lot more to overcome and the troubles that Amira had just needed a little time and patience.

Clearly finding this mare a home was not going to be too difficult. She was easy going but needed a bit of consistency to stay on the right path. Laura C. came to SAFE about a year ago interested in adopting. At the time, she was a beginner rider and we didn’t have anything that matched her needs. She came for a tour and we talked about things she could do in preparation for horse ownership. One of the smartest things she did was align herself with a trainer and support system for when she found the right horse. She took lessons over the year and in December she contacted SAFE ready to move forward towards adoption. Amira wasn’t ready to leave just yet, but Laura was patient while we restarted Amira and made sure she was sound and had no surprise troubles for Laura to deal with.

Laura and her trainer came to visit Amira early in the process and agreed she was worth waiting for and would come back in a few weeks to ride her. When the time came, they could see the changes she had made and the areas that still needed some strength and training. Laura had a great plan to start Amira at her trainer’s barn for 2–3 months, get more miles on her both in the arena and on the trail and then take her home in the early spring. So far, all reports from the trial period have been good and we are hopeful that this adoption will be finalized soon!

Amira is a very kind-hearted mare and now in the right hands she can blossom into a wonderful riding partner.