Exceller Farm Sixth Annual Open House & Herrmann's Lipizzans in Poughquag, New York

Exceller Thoroughbred Farm in Poughquag is a part of the Akindale Rehabilitation and Land Conservation Fund of Pawling, sponsored by Akindale Farm owners John and Betty Hettinger.

The mission of Exceller Farm is to save Thoroughbred horses no longer able to compete on the racetrack, to rescue them from possible neglect, abuse or slaughter.

Exceller Farm manager Michele Oren has found new, adoptive homes for more than 400 of these magnificent Thoroughbreds. She and rider and assistant Sue Roth have trained the horses for second careers, or have begun the training that will be continued by the new owners.

Having been rescued after their careers are over at the track, these horses are as young as three to four years old, and ready to begin a new career in which they can be active into there 20’s and 30’s.

The second careers range from eventing to polo to polocrosse, which is lacrosse on horseback (www.polocrosse.net), to trail riding and pleasure, and to new careers in education centers for people with a wide range of physical and other challenges.

Michele Oren and rider/assistant Sue Roth are completely candid about the condition of the horses, and they are very strict about the condition of the homes where the horses will live.

“Once it is an Exceller horse, it is forever an Exceller horse,” Oren said this week. “The new owner can bring the horse back at any time for any reason. We tell the new owner exactly what we know about the horse, because if anything goes wrong, they can bring the horse back. We are completely open and up front about the horses we are adopting out. We also check out the owners carefully, to be certain that our horses will have outstanding homes and dedicated and loving care.”

PHOTO: Jennifer Friedly and Michele Oren with Nimble Wit. Friedly adopted Nimble Wit last week.

Oren said of Nimble Wit and new owner Jennifer Friedly, “Nimble Wit is being adopted today, they are taking him with them today. This owner will be doing anything from trail riding to hunter/jumper with Nimble Wit. Jennifer, the young woman that has adopted him, is a little green but she is not as green as she thinks she is. She has all the good basics of a very good rider. She needed a horse that she could gain confidence with. Nimble Wit is only six years old, but he has a very laid-back attitude. He will be a great horse for her to get her confidence.”

Jennifer Friedly, who adopted Nimble Wit on April 8, 2008, was excited and grateful for her experience at Exceller Farm:

“It has been an amazing experience. It has been wonderful. Michele and Sue have been great, and patient, and answered every question I have had. I have been up three times to ride him. I have had a lesson on him with Sue Roth, and she has just been great. Nimble Wit has been great. The whole experience has been wonderful.

“I will pleasure ride, trail ride, teach him a little bit more, do a little bit of dressage, but no showing, just enjoy him and have my kids on him. My kids have sat on him, and it has been great. My kids are three and five, and Nimble Wit has been wonderful with them around. My son was running through the ring, jumping over the jumps, and Nimble just sat there and hung out with them and with no issues at all. My three-year-old sat on him, took a couple of steps on him, and Nimble was great.

“I will probably do a little bit of jumping with Nimble. I haven’t done jumping in years, but I am hoping to do more as time goes on. Nimble Wit and I are going to learn together, that is the plan. He is totally sound, and he has been phenomenal. The vet was here for about two and a half hours with him. He did his flexion test with a rider on him and he was great, he did a terrific job. I was here for the whole time the vet was here with him, watched the whole checkup, learned a whole lot. The vet taught me a lot, and it was great. And Sue and Michele were here the whole time with the vet as well, so we all went through the checkup together.

“And if for some reason it doesn’t work out, I can bring him back to Exceller Farm. That is very comforting, and that really helps you make your decision. It is a huge decision to make, and that is a very helpful factor.”

PHOTO Sue Roth on Rusticate, described by Michele Oren: “Rusticate is nicknamed 'Rusty'. He is a four-year-old bay gelding. He is going very, very well under saddle. He has a lot of confidence. He especially likes going around on the farm. Water doesn’t bother him. He is pretty much unflappable. He will always be geared toward flat work, because he has some changes going on in his front ankles, mainly his right front. They have not caused any lameness whatsoever, just some calcification going on from the ramifications of racing. He has a great personality. He plays well with others. He is a really neat little horse, about fifteen hands, a very handsome horse, and he is just four years old.”

PHOTO Firehouse Charlie
Sue Roth on Firehouse Charlie, described by Michele Oren: “Firehouse Charlie is an eight-year-old bay with no white whatsoever. He is going very well under saddle. He is a little green, but for the experienced rider, he is an excellent horse. He is not at all over-anxious, he is just uneducated. So, as long as the rider knows what they are doing, they could bring him along quite easily. He is believed to be totally sound, so he can jump, he can play polo or polocrosse, ride trails, anything the rider can do.”

PHOTO Slew Too
Sue Roth on Slew Too, described by Michele Oren: “He is a beautiful dark bay gelding with a little star. He is totally sound, going very well under saddle. He is a six-year-old, and he is ready for adoption. He is believed to be totally sound, so he can jump, he can play polo or polocrosse, ride trails, pretty much anything the rider is prepared to do.”

PHOTO: Mike Kaufmann and Lois Stein of Green Chimneys Children’s Services of Brewster watched with Michele Oren as Sue Roth worked out three Thoroughbreds, and they will be taking Diatribe and Otan back to their campus for a trial with the children.

Kaufmann said of the horses they are looking for, “We have ten horses at Green Chimneys. We have a couple of older horses that have earned their retirement. What we are looking for is what we call babysitters, horses that work really well with beginner riders, and riders who have some special needs. Special needs is not so much physical disabilities, but the children that are at Green Chimneys have what we call psycho-social disabilities, leaning toward autism, for example, or depression or anxiety, reactive attachment disorders, a lot of conditions that keep them from being successful in school or in their families.”

Michele Oren describes Diatribe: “Diatribe is eight years old. He is just a really nice gelding that has a kind heart and he has a good soul. Physically at this point, he can only walk and trot, he is not able to canter. That could correct itself in time. But for what these people from Green Chimneys need, I think he will suit them very well. We believe he will be calm enough to work with people with challenges at Green Chimneys. We are hoping so. You never know until you put them in that environment, because you are asking a lot more than they have here, but that is what is so great about the program, is that if he doesn’t work out in their situation, they can bring him back and take another horse. We believe his issue is his right hock. We had Dr. Jagar from Millbrook Equine look at it, and we came to surmise that he maybe has a little arthritis in there that is bothering him.”

More than 400 Thoroughbreds have been adopted out of Exceller Farm in the past eight years.

Under the guidance of farm manager Michele Oren and rider/assistant Sue Roth, Thoroughbreds from as young as three and four years old are trained to perform all activities in the wide range of equestrian disciplines. The horses are remarkably intelligent and adaptable to many skills, depending on the overall health and soundness of the particular animal.

Many of the Thoroughbreds are totally sound and capable of everything from eventing to polo, from English to Western styles. Others are capable of being outstanding trail horses, and still others are of such gentle natures that they are serving a noble purpose as therapy at camps and schools for people with physical, emotional and mental challenges.

“The horses are all different, like any breed of animal,” Oren said. “Some are quiet and steady, some are hot tempered, and you just have to pick and choose according to what you want. Some people are looking for the quiet, gentle horse, and others for the hot-tempered horse. On the other side, I have just sent a four-year-old to be used for therapy at Story Book Farm, and you would think he was forty years old. We have many horses at the therapy farms for people with challenges.

“We have adopted out over 400 horses in our eight years here at Exceller Farm, and I am very excited about it. Our horses are actually playing polo and doing eventing and every sort of thing. Of course, we also have horses who are really pasture ornaments, and in every case, the owner will know everything we know about the horse before they decide on the adoption.

“For playing polo, we have a big client in New Jersey who takes quite a few horses, and we have another client in Vermont who takes horses for polo. In May, we have an outfit coming back for more horses for what they call polocrosse, and I think that is lacrosse on horseback.

“We also adopt out the Thoroughbreds as Western style horses. Rockeby Rocket is an example with Linda and Stan Chase in Millerton, and we just sent Distinct Rainbow to an owner in Michigan who will be riding Western style.”

The aptitude of the horse is determined by his health and his intelligence, but Thoroughbred owners are consistently impressed with their hearts. Having adopted several, Rosie Forte rides them at fox hunting and in cross country competition with obstacles.

As Forte says, “On the trails with them, we do walls, water, fallen logs, that sort of thing, and they just go right over everything. I like the Thoroughbreds because they are so versatile. They have tremendous heart. They will do anything for you. Whatever you put into them, they will give you back twice fold.”