London House is a spunky 5-year-old gelding who will catch your eye with his chestnut chrome and big white blaze! “London” as he is called in the barn, makes the most of whatever situation he is in. He can be a handful on the ground at times, but this has been a more recent development since he's been just rehabbing, not in work. London knows how to stand in the crossties and be patient while being handled, but just because he knows how to, does not mean he necessarily will have perfect manners all the time. He does best with a confident handler who can remind him of his manners every now and again.

London has been in any and all turnout situations, being turned out 24/7 and also in day turnout with other geldings. He is a bit lower on the pecking order, so keeping weight on him in a 24/7 turnout was a bit more challenging because other horses found that he was easy to push aside when it was feeding time. Now, he is back at in work at the training barn, and going out at night with 3 other geldings, and he has kept good weight.

Previously, London House had fractured his right front knee, and in surgical repair, a screw was placed to assist in healing. Since the repair, a fragment of bone had broken off, requiring a more recent surgery (Feb 2020) to remove the screw and clean up the knee joint. Some cartilage damage was observed by the surgeon during that procedure, indicating that he would be most suitable for a low-level career. 

London had started in work under saddle in our program, but we weren’t happy with his soundness levels, so further diagnostic work was done. Our vet believed he had deep digital tendinopathy in his left front leg, which is what he rehabbed for. Now, he is moving better than ever and we are happy to welcome him back into our training program, where we're working on building up his fitness again slowly, while continuing to monitor his soundness. London's athletic prognosis is still being assessed, but it seems that he will be a great low level prospect or pleasure mount!

Because we are making London available for an "early" adoption, since he's still doing fitness-building/ rehab rides, any interested adopter will need to be cognizant of the experience necessary to bring along a young horse that has had time off and is “green” to a new career path. While London has the personality that we believe would be appropriate for a more intermediate type rider down the road, he still needs someone who can continue to develop the skills necessary for a new vocation with him, whether that be under the close guidance of a trainer, or a more experienced rider as an adopter!

London House cam to New Vocations via the NYTHA Take the Lead Program. We're so grateful for their continued support!

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.