For nearly six months, Riley Chenoweth-Hafner patiently waited for her new friend to realize she was his friend, that he had no reason to feel threatened or that she was there to steal his food.

“It took me about four months of just sitting with Rocky and letting him get used to me to get him going in a positive direction,” said the 17-year-old from Manahawkin. “He needed that one home, where he realized he was loved and respected, but he needed time to realize I wasn’t a threat to him.”

A thoroughbred whose previous experience had been racing at Monmouth Park, Rocky eventually ended up with a rescue…