Humans helping the horse? Or the horse helping humans?
Deltamax is a 2007 Florida-bred gelding who found himself in need of a home when his racing career did not pan out. He started and ended his racing days in California, racing six times, with his best finish a second. A representative of Southern California Thoroughbred Rescue found the gentle gelding and worked to bring him home to their farm. SCTR utilized some great aftercare networking to contact The Exceller Fund for help with securing and rehabbing their new charge, and he was soon on his way to being eligible for adoption.
“Maxwell” arrived at SCTR with very little post-race training and therefore did not attract much attention from potential buyers- that is until Bonnie M. of California discovered his online listing. Bonnie is a past president of The Exceller Fund and “was finally ready to get a horse of her own, fulfilling a lifelong dream of owning a horse.” She fell in love with Maxwell and with the help of an experienced trainer she took the gelding home. Bonnie’s skill level was on par with Maxwell’s, so the pair learned together from the ground up and now have formed a great bond and partnership.
Maxwell has done so well under Bonnie’s care attention that he now is used by her trainer, Dave D., in an equine-assisted therapy program for veterans. The gelding went through Dave’s training program for difficult-to-train horses and now is returning that assistance to the veterans who need similar help. “Maxwell is extremely responsive to the slightest changes in emotion,” says Dave, and “The vets and Maxwell are happy to help each other.”
Southern California Thoroughbred Rescue was founded in 2008 to help in transitioning Thoroughbreds from racing to new careers and homes. SCTR is located in Norco, CA and was accredited by the TAA in 2013. Read more about them at: http://www.sctbrescue.org/.
The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance (TAA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization who accredits and funds organizations that provide aftercare for Thoroughbreds. For more information on the TAA, visit: http://thoroughbredaftercare.org/.
