I was sent this story:
CLICK image to read the original, detailed, story.
WHY REPOST?
I was sent this story…
As with many Thoroughbreds in the racing industry, life is hard. While reading this article, I was angry a few times…
But, that isn’t why I’m reposting it here.
I wanted to celebrate the good parts.
I was so relieved that:
A) Auction Horse Rescue found him and was able to step in and save him from a horrible fate…
B) The original breeder found out about the gelding’s plight and offered to give him a forever home out in a green pasture.
This now lucky gelding was truly aptly named: RETURN OF THE KING – he is going back to his original breeder. Sweet.
RETURN OF THE KING in his glory days…
THE STORY IN A NUTSHELL – Auction Horse Rescue
Megan Gaynes runs a rescue that wasn’t named in the article. I’ve surmised that her Rescue is Auction Horse Rescue... they do GREAT WORK – what I could not stomach – they go to the So Cal auctions, document the horses on FB, find potential homes and bid for these horses. Here is their FB page. If you need a horse for any reason, consider checking out their FB page and getting pre-registered so if you see a horse, you can get him/her: Auction Horse Rescue.
Anyway, it was at one of these So Cal auctions that Megan found a very sad TB gelding. He was sore, head down, obviously in pain.
Megan bid on the gelding herself. She knew he wouldn’t be going to anyone but the meat buyer.
After taking a photo of his tattoo and sending it to a friend, they realized that this poor gelding was once a successful racehorse. His name, RETURN OF THE KING.
They say he is very sweet and clearly was loved and knows human kindness. However, he had probably been used for horse tripping most recently.
But, that was just the tip of the iceberg on this story…
One of the reasons that RETURN OF THE KING was sold out of his racing career was because his owner and several members of his family were killed on Christmas eve, 2008. Horrible.
No one knows what happened to RETURN OF THE KING during the 6 years after that horrific night, but by looking at his Xrays and ankle injuries, they believe he was used in horse tripping. Horrible.
But, the good news is full circle… RETURN OF THE KING’s original breeder, James Keogh, heard about the gelding’s fate, and offered his home back to this deserving gelding.
THE BEST PART OF THE STORY, FOR ME…
This is the best part of the story for me… a quote from James Keogh (RETURN OF THE KING’s breeder):
“I brought him into this world, and I feel like I’m still responsible for him,” Keogh said.
I wish it was that way for all of them…
TO READ MORE DETAILS FROM THE ORIGINAL STORY, CLICK HERE.
Gaynes gives Return of the King a bath as he awaits his departure to greener pastures – in a good way.
MAMA TESS’ JEWELRY EXTRAVAGANZA #5 COMING ON WEDNESDAY!!
ONLY $155 LEFT to reach our goal for MG, our Bucket Fund horse for July! He’s doing better – a bit. They say life is coming back into his eyes! Click to learn his story or to donate!
i know what happened to him cause i had to see him get put down due to cancer throughout his body i remember the day i got him from the farm i am only 12 but i was truly honored to have him for the couple last months of his life he was the best i am happy that i got to make him happy tho i am still getting over his death.
Awesome! It is wonderful to hear a happy ending. I thought horse tripping was only in Mexico.