Amara v. Dory

I previously mentioned my desire to do a comparison post of Amara (2019 Filly) and Dory (2020 Filly). They're full siblings, and very similar but also very different in a lot of ways.

Personality

Amara

Amara was extremely approachable from the get-go, but she went through a phase that lasted about 3 days where she was extremely aggressive anytime she was approached in the stall or when she was eating. I tried to ignore it at first, but finally at the advice of some experienced breeders I tuned her in and she was sweet as sugar from then on. As she aged, she didn't lose that curious, laid back and friendly personality. She was extremely easy to train, which made my job oh-so easy. She also got a TON of handling because Vida got re-bred so she made roughly 15 trips to town in the trailer, which resulted in her needing to lead and trailer impeccably well.

Dory

Dory had a very different start to life being accidentally born in a field with Vida gave us zero warning of impending foaling. She was pretty scared when I found her due to all the curious eyes and V trying to protect her from the herdmates, but quickly came out of her shell. She's quick to approach you now, but can still be a little leary if you march up to her and reach out to pet her right away. As soon as you touch her though, good luck getting her away from you. I spend more time reinforcing my personal space than anything with her, I think. Much like Amara, she is very friendly and curious, but is much more rambunctious and playful. She's almost a little too confident, and may find herself in trouble if she keeps it up! While Amara was super willing and easy to train, Dory has a much more "make me" attitude.

Type & Conformation

Amara

Amara is a Hunter Queen through and through. She had that very classic daisy-cutter movement, lower headset and more rectangular type of body. She was what I would consider 'level', but not built particularly uphill. She looked like a very traditional hunter type to me, and was a bit on the masucline side. Amara was a little less leggy than Dory, but her new owner tells me she string tested her to mature to 17H, so we shall see how that comes about! She's quite a 'solid girl' and had quite a lot of bone as a baby so she might be quite the tank! Overall she had a very 'rectangular' look to her in every aspect.

2 Months

3 Months

4.5 Months

5 Months

6 Months

Dory

Dory is much more of a sporty type than Amara was. She's built much more uphill and compact. She appears to have more articulation in her movement and a bit more of a 'natural motor' than Amara did, and it will be really interesting to see how this develops over time as she fills out. Dory has longer legs than Amara did, and appeared a little more refined than Amara in terms of bone and substance but she has really gotten quite solid. She also has a more sloped shoulder, bigger hip and shorter back.

2 weeks

1 Month

2 Months

3 Months

4.5 Months

Suitability

Amara

As mentioned, Amara was very much a Hunter type girl through and through, and is continuing to mature onto that trajectory. It is perfect, because that's exactly what her owner wanted!

Dory

Dory seems like she would gravitate much more towards the Dressage and/or Jumper rings just based on her type, but time will tell! I could also see her excelling in Eventing with her competitive, athletic nature.

Trainability

Amara

Amara, despite her few days of being pure Devil Spawn, was incredibly easy. She never put up a fight, and never gave me grief. She was game to try anything I asked of her, and made her training an absolute breeze.

Dory

Dory is much more of a spitfire than Amara was. She has a bit of a 'make me' streak, and seems to be very much a red headed mare. She's very smart and quick to learn, but just as quick to ask "but why?". She kind of reminds me of my Husky... lol!

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Dory is currently for sale and I have had a lot of interest after getting some more recent photos, but nothing is on paper yet. Hopefully she sells soon, as I prefer to sell my foals as weanlings. I chose not to re-breed Vida in 2020, but she's booked in to Prototype for 2021 (for a '22 foal) and I can't wait!