If Jess I Am were a drink, we would say he’s a pumpkin spice latte! Not only is he orange and with a bigger build (much like a pumpkin), he has a spicy personality to match! 

"Jess" is a seasoned 7-year-old gelding with 23 starts under his belt. While he is a bit spicier, he loves to be groomed and has great manners on the crossties. He also stands like a gentleman for the farrier, as well as for bathing or clipping (even around his face!).

He has been returned to us for studdish behavior and some naughty behavior under saddle (e.g. balking or not moving forward), but as long as he is not turned out with (or close to) mares, we have found it to be little to no issue (if he is near the ladies, he can get preoccupied trying to get their attention by pacing the fenceline). He goes out with three other geldings at night and he fits into the middle of the pecking order. He can get a little bored in his stall and will make a muscial instrument out of his corner feeder (rubbing his teeth against the feeder bottom), but once it’s removed, he quietly eats his hay in his stall or sticks his head out to get some attention. 

Under saddle, Jess is a relatively quick learner and loves to have a job. He’s working on having a more balanced carriage-- both in lateral movement and front to back (in the most recent video, you can see his discomfort behind, especially at the canter, because he is due for a chiropractic adjustment!). When we asked one of his riders to describe him, she said, “he’s the type who doesn’t have more whoa than go, or more go than whoa. He just wants to do whatever is asked of him!” He hasn’t shown any naughty behavior under saddle, and has even been worked out in the ring while several other mares are being ridden (to test his studdish response!). He does sometimes test his rider to see how serious you are about working/ whether you're "worthy" of his respect/ attention, but once it’s been established that his rider is the boss, he can be a lovely mount who shows great potential. 

Jess has also started over ground poles and crossrails, to which he does not bat an eye but he also has shown us that it’s not much of a challenge for him! He did have a previous suspensory injury, but it has been fully rehabbed and has not presented any issues to him in training (thanks to the diligent rehab and reconditioning work by a adopter!).

We could see Jess excelling in any discipline and would do best with an advanced or intermediate level rider who is working with a trainer.

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 to accounting@horseadoption.com within 10 days of receiving the adopted horse.
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. 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 $500, $1,000 or $1,000 with a $1,500 donation.

• $2,500 donation: This range is for horses that we consider to be the cream of the crop or the unicorn horses. They are horses that have few or no limitations, have 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 3’). They may have been fully rehabbed from a race injury but have been cleared 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.

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.