Stephanie is a passionate and caring animal advocate, and she knew that when the time came to add a new hooved member to her family, she wanted to adopt. Not only did she want to adopt, she wanted to adopt a retired racehorse.

Extensive online searches led Stephanie to one of the ASPCA’s Right Horse Partners, Win Place Home, who specializes in transitioning retiring racehorses into new careers and homes. Stephanie browsed their website and found a few horses she thought would be a good fit. Her new equine would need to not only be a fit for her, but also have a calm enough personality for her kids to enjoy.

Stephanie and her father packed their car and made the road trip to Win, Place, Home in Lancaster, CA. When they arrived, Stephanie hoped to meet a horse she had picked from the website. She was surprised when another, less trained, horse immediately caught her eye.

“Olive, who we’ve now renamed Precious, wasn’t even on my radar when we were heading there. As we were making our way through the barn and meeting horses, Olive caught my eye,” recalls Stephanie. “I still can’t quite put my finger on what it was, but I felt like I HAD to have her.”

In general, a calmer more experienced horse is usually a better fit for children. As children learn to work with horses, an experienced horse is often beneficial to building their confidence and love for the animal. The horse Stephanie originally had in mind had significantly more experience and training than Precious, but still, something told Stephanie that Precious was the one.

“The horse we had originally gone there to meet was more “ready” than Precious. And I liked the other horse a lot, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that Precious was the right one for my family,” explains Stephanie as she reflects on her choice. “She was just so sweet and mellow and curious. I remember walking into her paddock and petting her and I was already asking them if I could adopt her right now.”

With the support of the trainers and matchmakers at Win Place Home, Stephanie completed the adoption and brought her new friend home. Stephanie’s intuition was right, and it immediately became clear that she’d adopted the perfect horse for her family. Precious loves her kids and has brought immense joy to the family.

“She has been amazing from the moment she got here. She loves everyone and is so funny and curious. She constantly has me laughing,” Stephanie says. “She’s the sweetest horse with my kids—she loves getting attention from them and I still can’t find anything that she’s afraid of.”

Stephanie trusted her intuition, and with the help and guidance of our expert Right Horse Adoption Partners, she found the #RightHorse for her family.

“She’s brought so much happiness to my family. I’m grateful every day that she’s part of our family and I can’t wait to see what the future store for us,” Stephanie enthuses about her new four-legged family member.

Feeling inspired and ready to adopt a horse of your own? Visit myrighthorse.org to browse hundreds of adoptable horses nationwide by breed, gender or discipline.