Amira is a 13yo (2011), 14.3-15hh, Chestnut Mustang Mare. She’s a stout quarter horse appendix type build, but I would limit her to carrying 180 pounds or less. She’s around 1000 lbs maybe a little less. She moves like a quarter horse. She’s been Anna’s main distance horse for 5 years.
Amira is solidly safe. Our 14 year old daughter trail rides her alone. She is not for a true beginner or someone timid. She has buttons and can be forward when traveling at speed with other horses. She can babysit someone at a walking trail ride, but if you’re trotting and cantering I would say advanced beginner for trot and intermediate for cantering and hunter pacing. Just in case she crow hops a little, you gotta be able to yank her head up. She does have a nice stop and one rein stop as well and will stand at a mounting block for you to get on.
The best fit for Amira is likely someone who wants to pleasure ride and trail ride, has an open boarding/stall situation and good turnout. She will need a blanket in the winter as she doesn’t grow a giant coat and gets cold preferring to stand out in the weather. She’s low man in the pasture and not mare-ish. None of that squeal and kick crap going on with this mare. Would be better if she doesn’t have lush green turnout as she would likely get fat.
We bought Amira in January of 2018. She was for sale locally and she was flat sided enough for Anna to be comfortable riding her with Anna’s hip issues. She was 7 and had potential. Amira was captured as a yearling from the Stone Cabin herd in Nevada, sold on a BLM internet auction bought by a woman in Rhode island as a 4 year old, and sent to Jeremy Reid for training in 2017 as a 6yo. We have owned Amira since Jan 2018 and have her BLM title.
Amira has been trail ridden extensively and competed in 25-30 mile Limited Distance rides in distance competition, completing 575 miles of competition. Historically during the riding season she averages 25 miles a week or so on trail. She rides WTC in the arena, backs up, turns on her haunches and forehand, leg yields and side passes. Our kids have jumped her (not recently) and she finds it exciting and gets rather forward. Our kids took her to pony club camp a few times and she did fine. We’ve played with some games type stuff and she’s fine with it, but not fast.
Anna wants to ride longer distances and the truth is that Amira would rather not. She’s a heavy muscled horse and struggles to pulse down fast in the hot and humid Northeast summers. She would rather do 15 and call it a day, than go out on a second loop. She just has no real drive to see what’s beyond the next bend in the road when there is perfectly good grass to eat in camp.
Amira trailers great, loads and backs off the trailer. She has traveled to rides as far away as 6 hours and always did fine in the trailer. She rides out alone or in a group. She prefers a smaller group and to not be last in line. She used to be really goosey about being last, when others came up on us, but is better now. She leads or rides in line just fine. Travels through water and over bridges. There have been times when she crow hops just a bit as you start the canter. She can spook at sudden things and if she does, it’s usually sideways and to the left.
In August 2023, Amira had an injury to her left hind tendon sheath after a ride at Pinetree (she was lame at the finish). The tendon was not involved, but there was a lot of swelling, fluid and fibrin in her tendon sheath. We ultra-sounded her twice and did prostride injections. She had the winter off to rest and recover. She has a small windpuff type bump remaining, but she is sound. This may require maintenance in the future. Anna had a hip replacement in December and didn’t start riding again until mid March. Amira didn’t show any increased swelling or lameness as we slowly increased her work load back to about 25 miles per week and 12-15 miles as a long ride.
Anna attempted a 25 mile competition with Amira in August 2024 and after 13 miles of fast trotting in a mix of road and sandy conditions, Amira’s tendon sheath was swollen and she was lame. Her lameness completely resolved with only wrapping her tendon for a couple of weeks. She is back to trail riding 6+ miles at a time one month later. We firmly believe Amira will be sound as a pleasure horse, even with trail rides up into the low-teens for mileage, but won’t return to fast-paced competitions.
As far as management, Amira is an easy keeper, she lives out with a run in stall available, has a netted hay hut and she eats a lb of ration balancer a day. When competing a lot, she gets Adequan once monthly for joint maintenance, we also feed some flax and magnesium. Amira does best with solid fencing. We have wire fencing with a top board in most places and electric up top. If it’s electric only, it had better be hot. We have had her walking through her electric corral when camping. She will definitely test it. When camping she has a metal corral with a strand of hot wire on the inside. She likes to eat so if she is in a dry lot and there is grass on the other side, electric only will not contain her. She could probably use a high tie, but we don’t have one. She straight ties to the trailer and cross ties in the aisle with no issue.
Amira does not like to be stalled. She is fine in a stall with a run out attached. She is fine stalled overnight in a fully closed stall if she can see others. She may try to go over top of a half door if the stall is closed off with three walls like most show stalls. We stall her during winter storms with no issue but she will churn up the stall and not drink well.
Amira wears 4 shoes when competing. Currently in Easyshoe Versas up front, a composite shoe, and laterally weighted eventers behind. She interfers behind if she wears normal shoes and scratches up her fetlocks. We have gone barefoot and booted her in the winters. If she was in normal shoes up front she would likely need rim pads as she has very little concavity. Her fronts tend to grow big and flat, pancake like, so frequent trimming/shoeing is key. She isn’t great for shoeing, not explosive or nervous or anything, but likes to rip her feet away when nailing. A tip for your farrier is a good idea.
So, if you’re still reading. And still interested in Amira, message me or send me a text/call at 860-886-3644. I haven’t set a firm price, but it is going to be in the mid 4s. The right fit is important to me. Happy to host meet and greets at the farm, we have trail access and a small grass/sand riding area.