Butter Bay Hanover is a 16.1-hand gelding by the pacing sire Captaintreacherous. Butter raced 149 times and retired early last year. He has been fun to transition as a riding horse. With a name like "Butter", it's no surprise that his favorite treats are Pop-Tarts, doughnuts, and anything sweet!

• Leading and Ground Manners - Level 1 - Butter has great ground manners and like most Standardbreds, is very comfortable standing in crossties. He is easy to work around.
• Grooming and Tacking - Level 1 - Butter is excellent for grooming and tacking. He is a perfect gentleman for the vet and farrier.
• Horse Care - Level 1 - Butter is currently barefoot and has been very comfortable this way. If you decide to trail ride with Butter on rocky terrain or have showing aspirations, he may appreciate some front shoes.
• Riding - Level 2 - Butter has been restarted under saddle and is a quick study! Our High School riders assisted in his training. You can see his progress in his videos! He is happy to walk forward but sometimes needs some encouragement to trot.
• General Demeanor - Level 2 - Butter is easygoing. He gets along well with other geldings in turnout and is also very kind and happy in his stall. 
• Physical Capability - Level 2 - Butter has easily transitioned into a riding horse and will trot and pace under saddle. He has been learning how to give to the bit. Butter retired from racing due to a front-suspensory strain, but has been sound since arriving at New Vocations. He will make a wonderful trail, driving, foxhunting, or all-around fun partner for one lucky adopter. We could also see this classy gelding becoming a nice 4-H horse with more training. His conformation, size, and temperament make him the whole package!

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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 Thoroughbred or Standardbred from a private seller (in today’s market, horses coming right off the track are often listed at $5,000 to $10,000!).

Our fees range from $0 (waived) to $3,500.

• Fees typically correspond with a horse’s Anticipated Physical Capability. So, horses that are found to be best suited for non-riding careers (our Pasture Potatoes) have waived fees, while the fees for horses assessed to be suitable for high-impact careers will be up to $3,500.

While our adoption fees are low, it’s important to remember that costs associated with ongoing care and additional training for a horse 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.

When you adopt a horse through New Vocations, you’re helping two horses; your new family member and the one who takes their place in our program. 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, enabling us to help even more horses transition off the track as stalls open up in our barns!

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've rehabilitated (if needed), socialized with other horses, been evaluated by trainers and veterinarians, and have been in regular training with a professional. On average, the monetary value of these services exceeds $5,000. Any medical records (often including X-rays and ultrasounds) and pertinent history we have on each horse are also available to interested and approved adopters.