Unnamed 17’ Stopspendingmaria is breaking all mare stereotypes! Maria has been a barn favorite from the moment she arrived, but how could she not be with her big build and kind eye?! Not only is this girl easy on the eyes, but her personality is even better! Maria is truly a gentle giant with the sweetest disposition!

Since the day she stepped off the trailer, Maria has taken to all aspects of her new life with extreme ease. She immediately fit right into her turnout group and her training routine. She happily stands in the crossties while getting groomed and tacked, showing us all the patience in the world. One of her favorite things is to get her bath after being worked and will never turn down a peppermint! Maria has no stall vices, is easily led in and out and is patient during feeding time; clearly we can’t say enough about this sweet girl! 

Under saddle, Maria is working on building some hind end muscle and topline. She works extremely hard and just wants to please the rider. She reaches for contact on the bit and moves right off your leg. She’s not phased by much in the ring and will check out any new jump or pole without batting an eye.

She did sustain a right front tendon injury in 2019, but it has not presented any issue to her in her time in training with us, and she got a left hind cut that required surgery (to remove a sequestrum), which required her to take some time off from training and left some scar tissue as it healed, but she is ready to move forward now!

We could see her going on to be a great low level hunter, dressage or even trail mount! She would do best with an advanced intermediate rider working with a trainer just as easily as she could be an amazing prospect for a professional with low to mid level ambitions (with lots of time for her to mature!!). 

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 $2,500.

• $2,500: 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.