Letter from the Publisher (contributed by METS)
A MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION
Happy Trails Through METS By the Maryland Equine Transition Service staff
Understanding Here at METS, we’re all about
placing horses in their forever homes and we love to celebrate successful placements. Of the 162 horses that we’ve assessed to date, many place- ment stories are close to our hearts and a tall bay mare named Under- standing is one of them. It all started when Brittney Carow
traveled to a farm in Montgomery County to assess five Toroughbreds
who needed to be re-homed after their owner passed away. One of those five was Understanding; a leggy 8-year-old OTTB standing at 17h. Michelle Craig of West Wind Farms (Upperville, VA.) saw Under- standing listed on the Retired Racehorse Project Facebook page and immediately jumped at the chance to give the mare a home. Just four days after Understanding’s listing went live, she was on Michelle’s trailer heading to her new home. As luck would have it, on her way home with Understanding in tow, Michelle got stuck in rush hour traffic and didn’t have time to drop the mare off before picking up her daughter from school. Understanding didn’t seem phased at all and said hello to an en- tire kindergarten class. Since settling in at West Wind Farms, Understanding has been excel- ling in her training, trying everything from sidesaddle to fox hunting. In May of 2019, Craig took Understanding to her very first hunt trail ride and only had positive things to say about the sweet mare. “Everyone thought she was gorgeous! I had to keep saying, ‘Yes, she re-
ally is an OTTB,’ and got to tell a lot of people about METS,” Craig said. “Not a lot of people in Northern Virginia [had] heard of the program, but hopefully after seeing her out and knowing where she came from, more people around here will look it up!” By the beginning of December, Understanding was ready to partici- pate in her first real foxhunt. “It was fast, loud, sometimes chaotic out hunting,” said Craig. “I’m happy to report Understanding was perfect for her first foxhunt! She handled first field galloping by her in the woods, hounds around her hind legs, and stood at checks very well!” “She’s rare – we start a lot of hunt horses (OTTBs and others) and she
acted like she read a ‘How to Be a Good Hunt Horse’ manual and just did it so well. Most horses would have been rightfully overwhelmed by [the] hunt and she took it all in stride,” she continued. “We came home,
she got a bath, she took a nap. She’s just wonderful, and her ears and lower lips were happily flopping the whole time out.” We caught up with Craig this summer and she said, “Understanding is fabulous! She’s still probably one of the most special and fancy OTTBs we’ve ever seen in our barn, and she is SO kind, everyone who’s met her has fallen in love with her. She’s addicted to carrots too and requires basically a small bag a day, which she of course gets, no one can say no to her sweetness and floppy ears!” Understanding and her story are extremely special and METS is hon- ored to play a role in helping her find her forever home.
Spud Another one of our favorite stories is of a
sweet pasture pony named Spud. Horses like Spud often face uncertainty in their living situations as they age, especially if they are re- tired from active riding and their owners face economic hardship. Back in August of 2019, METS assessed a pair of geldings in Queen Anne’s County. Te owner’s daughter had moved out and the
geldings were enjoying being horses out in the field. It was becoming financially and physically more difficult for the owner to care for the two, so he called METS to help. One of the geldings, Lad’s Star, was registered with the Appaloosa Horse Club and had years of English pleasure, halter, hunter in-hand, Western, and 4H shows under his belt. Due to some chronic lameness in his later years, “Spud” was looking for a home mainly as a compan- ion. Companion horses can be more difficult to place than fully rideable horses, but METS was determined to find this guy his forever home. In October, METS supporters and volunteers Joni and Ray brought
Spud home. Spud had spent most of his life living outside with his buddy, Bon Bon, so the transition to a new herd was a little difficult for him. Instead of sending him back to his previous owner when things didn’t go smoothly, Joni and Ray didn’t give up and recognized that Spud was hav- ing trouble adjusting and worked with their barn owner to find the best living situation for him. With time, Spud was able to settle into his routine and make new friends and is loving his new home with Joni and Ray! Now, Joni says, “He is one happy, spoiled, pampered horse. He comes
trotting up to see my husband, which makes Ray’s day. I taught him to ‘smile’ with clicker training, which entertains both of us. He really is the cutest, sweetest horse!” Turns out an old horse can learn new tricks!
Join the METS Community
Follow us on Facebook: Join our community and engage with our posts. Share our Emails: These weekly emails are the biggest way that we share our growth, successes and needs. Make a Donation: METS wants to continue placing horses and your donations make that possible! Every dollar counts and we stretch them as far as we can. Become a Partner: Helping horses in Maryland is only possible with our amazing Partners who help with transportation, vet services and so much more. Do you have skills to share? Let us know!
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MDEQUINETRANSITION.ORG www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580 THE EQUIERY A MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | SEPTEMBER 2020 | 7
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