Looking for a Driving Horse or Companion? Awinkandagrin is Looking for Someone to Love!

Awinkandagrin, known around the barn as "Wink" is the first horse everyone notices in the barn.  He is handsome, and elegant, and always looking for attention!  Wink raced an impressive 237 times and retired with no major soundness issues.  We were told he was jogged frequently by the owner and his children, and should make a nice driving horse for an adopter with driving experience.  On the ground, Wink is easy to handle, and has worked with in-hand-trail obstacles without hesitation, and did some free jumping as well. He has been an agreeable and friendly pasture companion for a variety of our other horses, and does well one-on-one or in groups.  He adores being outside, and goes looking for mud puddles to coat himself in as soon as he can. He would do very well in a situation with a lot of turnout. 

Unfortunately, Wink has not transitioned as well under saddle as we had hoped, and so we do not recommend him as a riding horse. 

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 $2,500:  

• $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.

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.