2009 Thoroughbred mare
We welcomed Orchid into our training program in November 2018. This lovely dark bay, 16.2 h mare was pulled from a killpen last year, and is owned by the Santana Center Equine Rescue of Saunderstown, Rhode Island. Orchid is sound, but has some probable arthritis in her knees from racing days and will not be suitable for jumping. However, while at the Santana Center, Orchid showed herself to be very steady under saddle (walk, trot, and canter) in the ring. It would appear that she had some quality training at some point, and the folks at Santana feel that she would make a nice low-level dressage horse. We will be furthering her training over the winter, and look forward to learning more about this sweet mare.
UPDATE: After further evaluation and x-rays, we learned that Orchid unfortunately has fairly severe arthritic changes to both knees. Based upon this information, our vet recommended that Orchid not continue as a riding horse, and we were in complete agreement with that assessment. Happily for Orchid, the Santana Center was able to find her a home as a companion to another mare, and so she returned to her home rescue in mid-February. After a few weeks to relax and recuperate, Orchid will travel on to her new home in Pennsylvania next month. While we regret that Orchid could not continue in her training with us, we are pleased that everyone involved kept this sweet mare’s best interests and long-term health and happiness as the top priority. We wish lovely Orchid all of the best in her new life, and are glad to have been one stop along her journey.
