If you’re dreaming of the stars, then Star Dreamer might be the horse for you!

We think “Stella” has a bright future ahead of her, having come into our program with no known issues, and having shown a great deal of potential already! She is nothing but polite in the barn, with great ground manners and no stall vices. She stands quietly in the crossties and doesn’t mind clippers, grooming or blanketing. Overall, she is quite brave in new situations, though sometimes she likes to have a minute to take it all in, and in those situations an advanced rider/ handler is best to guide her.

Stella is very sweet, and loves to be loved on as well! She’s a fan of cookies and sweets, and can be fairly easily motivated by food. Overall, she is eager to please, and a happy, easy-keeping kind of gal! She is on a night turnout schedule with a couple other mares, and she is pretty trustworthy to stay out of trouble! She is not dominant-- rather, she prefers to be a mid-pack member.

Under saddle she is making progress but is still early in her retraining. She can be heavy in the mouth, which translates to heavy action through the rider’s hands at times. She can get fussy at times, and still needs to work on fitness, but she shows balance and fluid, comfortable movement, which suggests that she might be a nice hunter (show or field!), or even enjoy a trail/ pleasure career, though she hasn’t been hacked out around the property yet! She would do best with at least an advanced intermediate with a trainer or advanced rider, at least for the time being, until she gets more experience.

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.