During the 1970's I had a horse whom I had bred (not doing that again) and he raced at Buffalo/Batavia/Hinsdale and finally at Freehold, but just wasn't good enough to make a living for a non-trainer owner. I wanted to find a good home for him and hooked up with the Nassau County police department, as they had a mounted squad and he was physically sound. They trained him for a few months and on his very first assignment at the Nassau Colosseum he almost threw his rider through the windows when he spooked at being so close to large, raucous crowds.
Fortunately I was learning how to care for horses and drive with Lou Miller (and his "wife" Joanne) and Lou and Joanne wanted him for their "school" where they had "rescued" many horses. This horse was GREAT for them because he could both pace and trot with pretty good brushes for a quarter, so many future trainer/drivers learned with his "help." He lived there well into "old age" and I donated enough to cover his feed for his lifetime.
