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From Candy Miner's owner: Maybelle acts more like a laid-back Quarter Horse than a 5-year-old OTTB.  She is very affectionate with her person and will willingly walk alongside me in her pasture and run up to me to visit, even when it's not time to come in.  She is easily led with a cotton lead rope.  She occasionally calls out to her friends and can get a little strong, but she corrects easily.  She stands well in the cross-ties, is a dream for the farrier and vet, and loves to try to groom me when I groom her.  She is an easy keeper and holds weight like a warmblood.  She can be moody and food-protective in her stall but never does anything naughty.  As a chestnut Thoroughbred her flanks and belly can be sensitive, but with the right tools, she loves a thorough grooming.  When she came to me from New Vocations, she was at the bottom of the pecking order in the herd.  She has since discovered her "power" and is at the top of the pecking order.  She can be a little bossy to submissive mares and does best with one or two buddies or by herself in a paddock next to friends.  

• Strengths:  Maybelle is laid-back and easygoing.  She is more of a push ride.  She is highly athletic and has an extremely floaty trot.  I have ridden her bareback in a rope halter all over the place and she is a dream.  She aims to please and is very intelligent.  She shows great promise for dressage or jumping.  She's only been over a few cross-rails, as my focus was flatwork and dressage, but she tucks her knees high, is very careful with rails, and seems to like jumping.  She also loves water and stomping in puddles. She always asks to drink from the watering hose when bathed. She only needs simple front steel shoes. She has beautiful self-carriage, especially at the trot.
• Areas for Improvement:  Maybelle is still young and can pull a quick move on you under saddle if you're not prepared.  Out of excitement, she will give the occasional buck or hop.  Our facility has a terrible set-up where the arena is in the middle of a huge field where horses who are turned out will take off running.  She has done a few half-rears when horses start galloping out of nowhere.  I think in a more suitable facility and with maturity, this would cease to be an issue.  
• Suitable home/rider:  Because she can be immature and unpredictable under saddle, she would be best suited for an adult amateur working with a trainer or an experienced rider.  She is never ill-willed, but she can be excitable.  She corrects easily and gets right back to work once gently corrected.  She would make someone an excellent competition horse.  I can truly see her going very far with the right owner and trainer.  I had truly hoped to compete in dressage or low-level eventing with her.  She is stocky enough that I could also see her excelling in western dressage.  
• Training:  I spent the better part of our first year focusing on groundwork, manners, riding bareback, and doing flatwork.  She has been in a consistent training program with my barn's trainer since January of this year.  We have focused on dressage.  

Contact: Meagan Franklin
Phone: (404) 406-4165
Email: mfranklin814@gmail.com
Location: Smyrna, GA

You must be an approved adopter with New Vocations to bring home a New Vocations Graduate.

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.