Choosing a Rescue Horse

The Decision to Adopt a Friend for life

    

First ride on Auggie!

    

By July of 2022, I had made the decision to find a project horse for myself. I couldn't afford to buy a finished product at the current going rate, so I figured it was time to challenge myself again. All the fond memories of summer camp at the farm as a kid came flooding back; the crazy horses we rode and all fun we had. I felt that it was time to get back in the saddle and give it another go. 

    I thought about going back to New Holland auctions to find something cheap, like a newer version of Tony, but I figured it might be prudent to go through a reputable rescue organization this time around. I scoured the internet for horse rescues within a 2-hour radius of my home and began the tedious process of filling out applications. There were multiple Thoroughbred rescues in the area, including Turning for Home and After the Races, and most of them required all the same type of information in multiple different ways.

    During my internet search, I came across a rescue group that I had never heard of before. Located in Aireville, Pennsylvania, Omega Horse rescue took in all types of horses with various backgrounds and abilities. They mostly pulled horses and ponies out of New Holland and then rehabilitated them, but occasionally they had horses from better circumstances. I noticed about three horses on their website that appealed to me, but my first choice was a 17 hand Registered Standardbred gelding by the name of "Villager."

    I completed the application for Omega late one night, figuring that it would be weeks before I heard from anyone about it, but less than 48 hours later I received a call from a volunteer with the organization. I spent about half an hour discussing my experience with horses and my goals for a new one. At the end of the interview, she asked me if I could send photos of the barn, fences, stalls and the other horses I currently owned as part of the application process. Meanwhile, they would interview character references and the veterinarian while they made their decision. I was blown away at the level of detail they required to approve an adoption and I figured I might not make the cut right away. 

    One of my references was a longtime client of mine. Jim was a wealthy landowner that had been a client since I was only about 7 years old. He had no children of his own, but his niece was about my age and had gone to the same riding camp as me when we were kids. As a result, Jim was like an honorary uncle to me, and we often talked about our interests in art and music. I was lucky enough to have someone like Jim encouraging me throughout my life, and I knew I could count on him to give me a positive review. 

    Jim and I looked through the Omega website and watched the attached videos of different horses. After looking through all the possible candidates, Jim took a moment to think and then cleared his throat. 

        "Now, I don't know anything about horses, so take what you will from my opinion, but I like the big brown one," he said pointing to the picture of Villager at the bottom of the page.

        "Yeah like him too, he's a big boy," I agreed. Just a plain old bay Standardbred, but there was something about his picture that grabbed the attention of both of us. I couldn't explain it, but I just had to know more about him. Having never owned or trained a Standardbred before, this would be unchartered waters for me. I decided that, should I be approved, Villager would be the one I wanted to see first.

     It was only a couple days before I received an email stating that Omega had approved my application and that I could contact the barn manager to set up a visit with my selected horse. I was shocked that I had been approved to fast when the other rescues hadn't even finished reviewing my applications yet. Everything seemed to be happening fairly fast and I almost wasn't ready for it, but I went forward with it anyway.