Horses look for a good home
By Mark Rosman
Mighty McVan is a 15-year-old gelding who is sound, healthy and easy to handle. He can pull a cart and is starting training under saddle. To inquire about adopting Mighty McVan or a horse like him, call the Standardbred Retirement Foundation at (732) 462-8773.
They are athletes who may be a bit past their prime, but they still have something to offer. All they need is a place to lay their heads at night and friends who will treat them right.
Oh, and some hay to make their day.
Why hay? Because these retired athletes are standardbred horses whose harness racing days are now behind them. What they want most now is a friend to take them in and make their "retirement" years golden.
Matching retired race horses with loving adoptive families is the goal of the Standardbred Retirement Founda-tion, Freehold.
Barbara Budd, placement coordinator for the foundation, said the organization seeks to match a horse’s abilities with an adopting family or individual.
"When a horse comes to us we get its veterinary record and have it checked by a vet," Budd said. "Sometimes a horse has an injury that has to heal before it can be adopted."
A horse is then rated according to its abilities and then matched with an owner who will not ask the animal to do something it is not capable of doing.
For example, Budd said, some of the retired horses are companions only they can never be ridden, or in some cases even walked. Some horses may be walked, while others may be capable of pulling a light cart, or ridden by a child or an adult.
In any case, the foundation maintains contact with the adoptive owner for the rest of the horse’s life, requiring vaccinations in the spring and fall in addition to regular check-ups by a veterinarian.
"We adopt horses out all over the United States," Budd said. "People will come to see a horse and we ask them what their plans are for the horse. Fortunately, most of the horses do well with the people who adopt them."
For more information about adopting a horse, call the Standardbred Retire-ment Foundation at (732) 462-8773 or e-mail [email protected].

