Look at her now!
Amber is a 9 year old palomino paint who was rescued by Cheshire Farm Sanctuary from a slaughter pen in January. After coming to the sanctuary from quarantine, it soon became evident just how badly her previous owners had abused her. We believe someone beat her up pretty badly, and she has a dent in her forehead to prove it.
Clare, founder of CFS, emailed me mid-May and asked me if I would be interested in training this mare. I was just getting home from vacation and had two weeks before I went to New Jersey to be a nanny for my two cousins, so of course I agreed!
Amber has proven to be one of the finest students I've ever worked with. She loves to learn and puts her heart into everything I ask. She had no previous riding experience and spent her whole life as a broodmare. It still shocks me how such an amazing mind could be left to waste out in a field. Motivation has been a key part of her training so far (as she is a left-brained introvert) –I have to make things interesting and be provocative enough for her to want to offer desired behaviors to me. This is a perfect example of a horse you can't force to do anything; if pushed, she'll shut down and become defiant. I've found that the key is to approach everything like a game, and with a sense of humor. The result has been amazing -instead of the distrustful horse I first met, Amber now greets me with a positive look on her face, as if to say 'ooh, you're here!! What are we going to do today??'
She is truly an incredible horse, and I can't wait to see how she progresses. At the moment, she is pretty solid at the walk and trot, and we're working on our level 1/2 On Line and Freestyle savvys.
Amber learns to trust (and even enjoy!) humans
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