It’s time for a little Canadian influence in our OTTB Tuesday!
Real Trouble is a 1998 British Columbia-bred gelding who raced exclusively at Hastings Racecourse in Vancouver. The hard-knocking chestnut made 14 starts, with one win. His race record is not the most impressive aspect to his racing career though. The gelding suffered a stroke during his four-year-old campaign which left him blind in his left eye, but he managed to rehab off that setback and find himself as a competitive racehorse again! After his racing career did come to a close, Real Trouble was discovered by and brought to New Stride Thoroughbred Adoption Society.
Now named “Scout,” the lovable gelding found his forever home with adopter Hilary D. of British Columbia. He went to live at a barn full draft horses and “Scout instantly fell in love with his new larger than life stablemates” says Hilary. She worked extensively to retrain Scout as a riding companion, being pleasantly surprised by his unflinching personality, with nothing spooking him, even on his blind side. Scout has enjoyed trail riding, swimming in the ocean, and learning dressage with his new riding partner. He enjoyed some time off while Hilary focused on being a mom, but now he is being used as a therapeutic riding horse. “He loves his new job and takes pride in his riders when they come for lessons on him.” Scout knows what it is like to have a setback and to overcome the odds to find a happy ending, and he is now sharing that experience with the people who come to find help with their own challenges.
New Stride Thoroughbred Adoption Society was founded in 2002 and is “dedicated to finding adoptive homes and alternative careers for Thoroughbred racehorses no longer able to compete.” New Stride is located in Abbotsford, British Columbia and they were accredited by the TAA in 2013. Visit their website for more information: http://www.newstride.com/.
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/.
