68 SIDELINES MARCH 2012
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
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New Vocations –
Giving Racehorses A Fresh Start
By Lauren R. Giannini
In 1992, Dot Morgan founded the New Vocations
Racehorse Adoption Program to re-train and fnd new
“jobs” for Standardbreds and Thoroughbreds after their
careers in harness and on the fat came to a halt. The
program, a 501(c)3 public charity; which is dependent
on donations to fulfll its mission, was born out of the
need to help ex-racehorses - some were injured, some
too thin and most of them lacked the skills necessary to
swap careers. They needed a safe haven, rehabilitation
and continued education.
Since its inception, New Vocations has placed more
than 3,700 horses, with 423 adopted in 2011. The
program has expanded from its original venue near
Dayton to another facility in Marysville, also in Ohio,
plus locations in Lexington (KY), Manchester (MI),
Hummelstown (PA) and Monterey (TN). The horses
themselves come from about 40 tracks throughout the
country and thanks to the dedicated staff, are placed
into experienced, caring homes in 32 states. “In the
past 20 years I have seen people become a lot more
concerned with the welfare of horses. Most people
don’t realize what can happen to racehorses after their
careers end – my husband and I are trainers and we
weren’t aware of it,” says Dot. “I believed that there
were qualifed families out there who could take a horse
but couldn’t justify paying $3,000 to $4,000 for it. They
needed a liaison.”
Enter Dot and New Vocations
New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program
“believes in the talent and potential of the horses. It
endeavors to stand in the gap providing a transitional
haven and skilled hands, loving care and tough love,
a future of hope and a brighter tomorrow.” Dot wears
many hats and she’s singularly suited to lead this
unusual mission. Her husband of 40 years is ffth
generation trainer-driver Charles Morgan. They remain
active in Standardbred racing and Dot managed their
breeding and boarding farm, spending 14 years as a
director of the Ohio Harness Horsemen’s Association
and 10 years as a 4-H Advisor. “In the beginning
it was a lot easier to place the horses, because feed
was cheaper and there were less unwanted horses,”
explains Dot. ,“Now, however, with the high cost of
feed and a glut of unwanted horses, we have to put a
lot more resources into making the Standardbreds and
Thoroughbreds more appealing. We evaluate them for
health and soundness, put hours into schooling them
and screening adopters and monitoring the homes. Our
adoption fees have dropped steadily over the years and
range from about $700 max to an average of $200 per
horse. Fees are refundable within 60 days if the horse
does not work out or proves unsuitable.”
New Vocation’s philosophy is very different from
organizations such as the Thoroughbred Retirement
Foundation or Standardbred Retirement Foundation,
which boards ex-racehorses on farms where they live out their
days. Last year stories in the news talked about how TRF
took in so many horses that they flled participating farms to
capacity. They were overwhelmed and there simply wasn’t
room to retire any more ex-racehorses. At New Vocations,
however, Dot, her daughter Anna Ford and their volunteers
are committed to putting horses into homes where each one
receives attention and has a purpose.
Fresh Starts for Ex-Race Horses
“We feel that we’re serving the industry in the best way
possible,” explains Dot. “We have a full time person who
monitors the adoptions and approves the applications. We
follow up on all horses who are adopted for one year, investing
a lot of time, energy and cost; but we want to make sure that
these horses are safe and sane for their new owners and also
that the people are seeing to the horses’ health and well-being.
Allamerican Legacy, Standardbred, trained lightly at two, but
didn’t have the endurance to be a competitive racehorse. His
new jobs include being loaned by his adopter, Debbie Schiff,
president of the Standardbred Pleasure Horse Organization
of Ohio, to family, friends and SPHO members to trail ride and
to show: Al has won numerous year end awards in English
Pleasure & Equitation, Dressage, Halter and Showmanship. Al
won Grand Champion In Hand at the Standardbred Nationals,
shown here rosette and all with Lauren Glover
All Photos Courtesy of New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program