Annie Annie Oakley went through New Vocations back in 2012 and has been living in Georgia for the past nine years with her older adopter. Unfortunately, due to her boarding barn being sold and her loving adopter's age, she returned to us to find a new home.

Annie has been ridden on trails and around her boarding barn property for years.  Upon coming to Hamilton, she has been exposed to a busy riding barn and taken things on like a champ! Don't let her age fool you as she has lots of life left for an 18-year-old horse. Annie is a sweet lady who walks, trots and paces under saddle.  Last weekend she participated in her first IEA english riding practice with two middle school riders and handled a croweded arena and a lot of activiity so well! She stood in a middle line up and waited her turn patiently to work practice the equitation patterns like a pro! 

Annie has been turned out with both mares and geldings. In her first home, she was best friends with an Appy mare! She is happy inside and outside. With her experience, she will be well-suited to life as a trail or show horse. She will need a rider confident enough to have a plan and follow through, but she is very willing.  Since she has been off the track so long, she gets a little impatient standing in cross ties, but it's nothing hard to manage. Once she is in the arena and moving foward she is happy to do her job and her pace is comfortable to ride. She is soft in the bridle and we have her in a simple snaffle bit. She is very responsive to leg and will easily move forward.  Annie has been loved for many years and she is ready to become a part of someone's family again! 

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.