In the October 2009 issue of Practical Horseman, there's a story on how to successfully adopt a horse. Have you ever chosen to adopt? Share your experiences with other readers!

I have adopted 3 horses. One, a Standardbred off the track, is my forever guy. He has the biggest heart of any horse I have ever known. He will always be with me. Rusty, a AQHA, is trained in reining, sound and could easily be sold as a show horse. Don't know how he ended up at an auction. He will also always be with me. The last, Lassen, a QH mare. She insisted on bucking everyone off. I didn't feel she was safe to have around my kids.  So, I found her a good home with a woman who was willing to deal with her issues. She also has a forever home. Or she will return to me.

Each horse has come with their own problems. Rusty is blind in one eye and a little insecure. Duke has some tendon issues that come and go. But I have friends that have horses they bought from private owners. They also have issues. Adoption is the only way I will ever get a horse. Rescue horses are given a bad rap. People think they are the throw aways. There are some wonderful horses out there just waiting for a home. My advice would be that you be experienced enough and willing to be able to handle the issues that they might have. Giving my boys a safe, forever home warms my heart. I know they are in good hands and will never be unwanted again.

I have rescued a handful of horses over my lifetime.

My current rescue is a registered Arabian who now 23-1/2 years old.  He was a head attached to a skeleton when I rescued him as 7 year old.

It also didn't take me long to find out he also had an injured vertebra, which meant I could never ride for the type of trail riding I used to do.  He ended up being a lesson horse for children 12 and under and if they weighed less than 100 pounds.

He is the absolute best babies and toddlers babysitter I have ever been privileged to feed hay to.  He is the passive leader in my herd of four and his little 13.3H self doesn't have a bit of problem putting the 16H, 3rd in line, TWH in his place if needed

Adopting is, indeed, a magnamonious effort.  However, as the previous posted commented all rescue horses can come with some underlying and/or unforeseen issues.   Those issues may need addressed  immediately or later in the horse's life.  Folks with little-to-no horse experience are often unprepared emotionally or financially to deal with those issues.

Anytime horse adoption is being considered, folks should try and learn as much as possible about the horse and then be prepared to "double that" once they get the horse home because there is always some issue that will crop up later that no one knew about.

I spend a LOT of money to keep my little Arab healthy - always have and will until the day it's his time to meet his ancestors.  Many folks are not able to devote a lot of time and money, so it's easy to get in over their heads when they are only trying to do the right thing

 I adopted a wild mustang in 2008 and he is FABULOUS!  Hey that actually could be a really interesting article for PH :)  Mustangs have become popular as children's eventing mounts over the past 10 years or so because they are so hardy and trustworthy.  There have also been several mustangs that have made it successfully all the way up the dressage levels (think J.B. Andrew)   I started a blogspot a while back on successful mustang (www.ourlandourhorses.blogspot.com) but there are even more success stories out there.