Off Track Thoroughbred in Tallahassee

Michelle & Archer

Tallahassee event horse. Off track Thoroughbred. Western outfit, white western boots.

Michelle bought Archer just over a year ago, and now he is an off track Thoroughbred in Tallahassee. Archer came to Michelle straight off the track and she has done all of his retraining herself. It definitely takes a lot of patience and determination to retrain an OTTB for a different job. Archer has come a long way since he first came to Michelle. She has been retraining him to become an event horse, and he definitely has the speed for it! In addition to retraining under saddle, Archer has become a really sweet boy on the ground. He stood perfectly for our photoshoot even though it was his first time at Coventry Farms. Archer came right off the trailer to start his photoshoot. This is actually his very first photoshoot too! Photoshoots can be difficult for horses since it is a lot of standing still, but Archer handled it like a champ.

One of the exciting parts about photographing horses is following along with their journey. As a photographer there are certain events that make people want a photoshoot. These reasons can be buying a new horse, accomplishing milestones with a horse, or having an older horse (along with various other reasons). It is always exciting when I get to photograph a new horse. I love following along with their progress, and it is even better when we get to photograph together again a year or two later. It is always fun to compare the photos to see how much the horse has grown in maturity, and physically. Sometimes we forget just how quickly things change, or how far we have come. Photos make that growth a little more evident for us to see. That is just one of the many reasons why photographing your horse is important.

Horse and Rider

Michelle and Archer

@paintedoakphotos