2024 RRP Thoroughbred Makeover Adoption Special!
Take $500 off your 2024 RRP Makeover prospect's adoption fee Oct. 9 - 22!

2024 RRP Thoroughbred Makeover Eligible

• Leading and Ground Manners - Level 2 - Steps is generally very well behaved to lead around the farm and has only needed a plain halter and lead rope. Sometimes, when leaving her girlfriends, she will need a little extra coaxing to walk with her handler. You may need to pause for a moment to encourage some patience.
• Grooming and Tacking - Level 2 - 3 - Steps can be impatient on the crossties and may need a few resets from her handler to stand squarely when she gets fidgety. Once she’s more settled in a program, this behavior improves, but it will take some more time before she can be unsupervised.
• Horse Care - Level 4 - Steps loves living out with her small group of mares. She is currently shod in front steel shoes with full wedge pads. If her workload increases she may need to return to heart bars for some additional heel support. For her comfort, Steps will need to stay shod on a regular schedule and may require daily Equioxx.
• Riding - Level 2 - Steps has learned how to lunge and has been very willing under saddle. She is working on rhythm in her trot work, but she is just getting back into a program after a period of rehab. This will improve with some more miles. She can sometimes get a little distracted, especially when she hears one of her pasture mates calling, but is quickly brought back on task with a circle or transition. Steps is currently walking and trotting under saddle.
• General Demeanor - Level 2 - 3 - Steps is a social butterfly who would love to find a person of her own. She can be a little herd-bound and would do best with an adopter that will keep her on task when she is expected to leave her pasture and go to work. This behavior can vary with her cycle and the pasture mates she’s with.
• Physical Capability - Level 1 - 2 - Steps has navicular syndrome that will need to be managed with a good farrier program as well as some anti-inflammatory medication when she is in work. She would be a suitable low-level flatwork-only partner, and can't wait to find someone to bond with.

 click for horse level information 

Interested in this horse? Already approved adopters may reach out to this horse's trainer at the "Email About This Horse" button above for further information. Still need to become approved? Learn about the process and start your questionnaire at newvocations.org/adopt. Approved applications are valid for 2 years.

ABOUT OUR ADOPTION FEES

New Vocations intentionally sets our horses’ adoption fees lower than the average cost of buying a Thoroughbreds or Standardbreds from a private seller (in today’s market, horses coming right off the track are often listed at $5,000 to $10,000!).

Our facilities are nearly always at max capacity, which means we can’t take in a new horse until one is adopted. Keeping our adoption fees low helps us find appropriate homes for horses quickly, thereby enabling us to assist even more horses transition off the track as stalls open up in our barns! In that way, when you adopt a horse through New Vocations, you’re actually helping two horses: your new family member and the one who takes his place in our program!

While our adoption fees are low, it’s important to remember that costs associated with the ongoing care and additional training for a horse (adopted or otherwise!) can be high. We hope that by helping adopters save money upfront, you’ll have more funds available to cover the costs of properly caring for and training a retired racehorse.

In general, our fees range around $3,500, $2,500, $1,000, and Under $1,000:

• $3,500: This range is for horses considered unlimited in their physical ability or those with exceptional qualities that would make them an upper- or high-level equine athlete.
  
  
• $2,000 - $2,500: This range is for horses we consider physically capable of a mid- to high-level second career. They have few or relatively minor limitations.
  
  
• $1,000 - $1,500: This range is for horses best-suited for a low- to mid-level career. They may have sustained an injury but have been fully treated and rehabbed. These horses have been examined by and cleared by our veterinarians for most disciplines, possibly up to a certain level (for example, suitable for a career jumping 2’0” but not suitable for a 3’6” career).
  
  
• Under $1,000: This range is for horses that could be harder to place in a perfect situation or those with more limited athletic potential (for example, possibly suitable for flat-work only) but are still capable of a successful second career. They have been evaluated by our veterinarians and are otherwise healthy.

Another perk of adopting from us? We do all we can to give you the most value for your adoption fee. Most adoptable horses have been in the program for a minimum of 60 days, during which they're rehabilitated (if needed), socialized with other horses, evaluated by trainers and veterinarians, and in regular training with a professional; on average, the monetary value of these services exceeds $5,000. Any medical records (often including X-ray and ultrasounds) and pertinent history we have on each horse is also available to interested and approved adopters.