Golden Annie will catch your eye with her cute build and sweet demeanor! “Annie” is a 9-year-old mare who has the biggest heart and just wants to be loved on. She loves to stick her head out of her stall to see what’s going on and will lure you in with her big, kind eye. 

Annie goes out at night with our big mare group and is easily led in and out of the field. She is a natural leader because of her confidence and boldness, but she doesn't pick on the younger and less-confident mares in the group either. Annie loves turnout and could adapt to live in a 24/7 with a shelter option, but she is also easy to catch when it's time to come inside. She also stands extremely well for the vet and farrier, sometimes even falling asleep! Annie came to us with 15 starts and retired simply because she was no longer competitive. 

Annie has been adopted and returned multiple times for behavioral issues, but most recently she came back to us simply because of concerns due to COVID-19, and to no fault of her own. Because she is a very difficult mount, we are offering her up for adoption as a companion or broodmare only. For the right person with lots of time, patience and experience, riding might be an option, but since we know her very well now, we know that she is happiest when she is not being ridden, and she could be a dangerous mount for anyone less than an extremely advanced rider. Any approved adopter considering her for riding purposes will need to submit supplementary material for us to ensure that it will be a successful, lasting partnership.

While she is physically fit and healthy (as confirmed by veterinarians), she is unhappy being ridden so we don’t want to push her to do that when she is such a sweet, pleasure to handle on the ground! When she was working well under saddle, she showed tremendous athleticism, bravery and scope, with no soundness issues at all in her time with us, so we think she has what it takes to produce amazing sport horse prospects if she were to go on to be a broodmare!

She was found to have a granulosa thecal cell tumor in her left ovary, which was surgically removed on July 1, 2020, but unfortunately the tumor removal did not result in a change in attitude toward being ridden. Our vets have assured that the procedure does not affect her ability to be a broodmare.

Shipping Credit Information

If the adopter will be shipping the adopted horse via a commercial transportation company, the following steps should be taken:

1. The adopter sets up transportation with a commercial shipper for their newly adopted horse and pays the shipping bill in full. Adopter will contact the trainer at the facility where the horse is located and provide the pickup date and time, as well as the name of the transportation company.
2. Once the horse has been delivered to the adopter, the adopter needs to submit a copy of the original transportation bill within 10 days of receiving the adopted horse to accounting@horseadoption.com.
3. New Vocations will determine the mileage from the New Vocations facility where the horse was located to the horse’s new home based on Google Maps. New Vocations will mail a check to the adopter for $1.00/loaded mile (up to $500) or the cost of the commercial transportation bill, whichever is less.*

A commercial transportation/shipping company by this definition is any equine transportation company that has a USDOT number.

If the adopter will be picking up the adopted horse up themselves or will not be using a commercial transportation service, the following steps should be taken:

1. Arrange a pick-up date and time with the trainer at the facility where the horse is located.
2. Contact accounting@horseadoption.com and New Vocations will determine the mileage from the New Vocations facility where the horse was located to the horse’s new home based on Google Maps. New Vocations will mail a check to the adopter for $0.75/loaded mile within 10 days of the adopter picking up their adopted horse.*

*New Vocations will provide a shipping credit of up to $500.

ADOPTION FEE POLICY

New Vocations’ adoption fees are intentionally set lower than the cost of buying most Thoroughbreds or Standardbreds through a private seller. In today’s market, it’s not unusual for horses coming right off the track to be listed for sale at a price between $2,000 and $5,000. At New Vocations, we set a fee that will ultimately help each horse find a home quickly. The program’s facilities are always at full capacity, which means we cannot take in an additional horse until one is adopted. Adopters should be encouraged to know that by adopting a horse through New Vocations, they are actually helping two horses transition to careers outside of racing.

In general, our fees are set at $2,500, $1,000, $500 or waived:

• $2,500: This range is for horses that we consider to be the cream of the crop or “unicorn” horses. They are horses that have few or no limitations and great conformation, movement and size.
• $1,000: This range is for horses that are suitable for a competitive career up to a certain level (for example, cleared for 2’6” but not necessarily 3’). They may have been fully rehabbed from an injury but have been cleared by our veterinarians for most disciplines.
• $500: This range is for horses that are limited to a flat, trail or companion-type home. These horses are healthy and have been fully rehabbed and evaluated by a vet.
• Waived: This is for horses that have significant limitations for a riding career or are otherwise difficult to place. These horses are otherwise healthy and have been evaluated by a veterinarian.

Additionally, adopters get great value for their money: The majority of the horses have been in the program for a minimum of 60 days. During that time, horses are rehabilitated (if needed), socialized with other horses, fully evaluated, and in work with a professional trainer. New Vocations fully discloses each horse’s history and provides all available medical records, many of which include X-ray and ultrasounds.

While adoption fees are low, it should be noted that costs associated with ongoing care and additional training for each horse after adoption can be high. New Vocations hopes that by helping an adopter save money upfront, he or she will have more funds available to cover the continuing costs of properly caring for a horse.