Laertes’ adopter says, “When I first heard about Laertes, Leandra told me his nickname at New Vocations was ‘Pork Chop.’ Now that I've had him for a year, I agree! 

“Laertes came to me as a rehab. He’d returned to New Vocations from a less-than-ideal situation and his feet were in terrible shape. I made it my mission to help this guy’s hooves and get him feeling and looking better. I found a farrier who geeks out on whole horse health/barefoot transitioning who helped me figure out how to balance his nutrition/mineral intake and now he is growing out lovely strong hoof with just good hay, hay pellets and a mineral balancer. He’s thriving with no shoes and we are seeing hints of dapples peeking out on his coat, too. He’s also getting some bodywork done to find the places he’s keeping tension. I’ve started to regularly longe him to offset that bit of fluff he’s carrying. He’s definitely a big, strong guy. 

“His personality is super laid back. Not much ruffles his feathers. He’s eager to engage with us at the fence or at his stall door and he’s been picking up quickly on positve reinforcement training! He is the boss with our Quarter Horse and, of the two, he’s the least likely to react to anything out of the ordinary going on. 

“I can’t say much about how he is under saddle and this is the main reason why I’m trying to find him a more fitting home. Here he simply has looked good in our pasture with our Quarter Horse. I had high hopes for all to fall into place with Laertes and I would be able to do more with him. Unfortunately we do not have an arena or trailer right now so I cannot take him to training and get the lessons I very much need; I had a bad riding accident years ago and still have not worked through that fear. On top of that, my daughter is starting to compete at her trainer’s barn, so I don’t see myself being able to do what I need to do with him for a long, long time. As much as I love seeing him out there, Laertes needs someone who will do something more with him.” 

Contact: Eileen
E-mail: jettamum@gmail.com
Horse Location: Alabama

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.