Okay, we all know there is no such thing as a "free" horse. Oh you can get one that doesn’t cost you any money to start with, but it’s all uphill from there. And for most of us, that’s okay. We spend the money because we want the horse(s).

I have been contacting horse folks across the country, and they are telling me that while there are plenty of the "free" horses around that aren’t finding homes, there is still a demand for a good, well-broke horse of just about any discipline or breed. In fact, a dressage trainer friend of mine in Missouri said the horse business there is pretty strong, and that’s for a decent lower-end dressage horse, not some fancy, high-class ride.

A wise rescue group owner once told me, "We are raising horses faster than we are raising trainers." I believe that is the problem today. The people who can afford to keep horses don’t want a "project" animal or a young or unbroke horse. Been there. Done that. Got the bruises.

We run a lot of Adoptable Horses in our electronic newsletters as a free service, and we have the free Thoroughbred Adoption Service and Standardbred Adoption Service. Quite a few of those horses are noted as suitable for "intermediate or advanced riders