Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Our dear friend and professional photographer, Marcie Lewis, captured these wonderful photos of our little family! Looking forward to all of the adventures that 2014 will bring!

Cheers!
The Ortons

With all of this unseasonably dry weather we've been having, it seemed like a perfect time to introduce Eva to a larger turn-out. We started by slowly making her living arrangements larger and then included a few hours a day in a small turnout. She is SO friendly and kind to all of the horses and absolutely does not make a fuss over the fence, that we could turn her out next to even the most obnoxious horse on the farm without worry.

My good friend has also recently bought a horse from Golden Gate Fields, and this cool mare seemed like she might be a perfect turn-out buddy for Eva. After living next to each other in the barn, we turned them out and they became instant friends and seem to genuinely enjoy each others company. Eva likes to play after she gets a good roll, but they keep the lid on and after kicking up their heels a bit, they simply wander around, relaxing in the sun. 

Eva has been living the country life for almost three weeks and words cannot express how impressed I am with this mare! She is such a high-quality horse and I truly feel fortunate to have her on the team.

Overall, she has been making the adjustment to her new non-racing life well and has quite a hearty appetite now, although still prefers to consume most of her calories at night, so she gets an extra flake of hay in the PM.

 She has developed a taste for cookies and rivals the ponies in her "begging tactics" to secure herself a goody from everyone who passes by. Currently, she is perfecting her "cute" face which seems to do the trick because no one can resist! 

I have started some lunging work with her rather than continuing with the ridden work since she seems a bit body sore and we're just taking our time anyway. By the second time on the lunge, she definitely had the aides down pat and is truly a pleasure to watch her strut her stuff. Boy can this girl MOVE! Our plan is to get some massage and chiropractic work done (she's a bit girthy and not the biggest fan of brushing yet!), and start bringing her along with the ponies on their trail rides! This will help develop those non-racing muscles and it'll be great for her mentally as well. She loves having a job and seems to be quite fond of all of the new activities!