Deeds (He Is Indeed)

age: 12 years old
sex: gelding
breed: Thoroughbred
color: bay with star and three white socks
height: 16.2HH

Surrendered to SAFE by his owner in September 2007

Status: AVAILABLE

Located in SIlverdale, WA
Adoption Fee: $600

Deeds (He is Indeed) is an 12 year old Canadian-bred TB gelding, bay with three socks, 16.2h, who raced until he was 9. Deeds was purchased site unseen from a dealer in Oregon by his former owner in July as an eventing prospect. When he arrived he was lame, had horrible feet, and had signs of previous injuries that made it obvious that he was not going to work out as an eventer. The owner made the decision to have Deeds euthanized. The owner of the barn where Deeds was boarded did not feel that Deeds should be euthanized and that his lameness issues were resolving, so she contacted us. We agreed to take him in and at least have a vet evaluate his soundness. Deeds was evaluated by Dr. Hannah, and euthanasia will not be necessary. The many years of racing has indeed taken a toll on his legs, he has a large bony protrusion on his right front, and a thickened suspensory on his left front. However, he flexed well on both front legs. He did not flex well on his right hind and probably has some arthritis in there. On the lunge he moves mostly sound with an occasional head bob. His feet are also way out of balance and will take several months of corrective trimming to fix, and are likely part of the problem.

Overall Dr. Hannah felt that Deeds is suitable as a light riding horse (trails, low-level dressage, etc) with maintenance. He should be on a joint supplement at the least and would probably do best on Adequan/Legend shots or joint injections on the right hind/right front fetlock. The left front, which has the suspensory injury, should be monitored regularly for signs of heat/swelling and he will need to be rested/cold-hosed if any problems arise (while the suspensory is cold and non-reactive to pain at this time, suspensory injuries are prone to reinjury and there may be adhesions that come loose from time to time causing him temporary pain).

For someone that is willing to put the maintenance into him, Deeds is a fantastic quality horse, with beautiful, floating gaits. He is very sweet and loves attention. He is easy to handle (does have some issues getting in the trailer that needs work). He is high-strung under saddle and has not had much training since he raced so will need an experienced rider. He does pace in the stall and we were told he cribs although I have not seen any sign of cribbing. He is in good weight and appears to be an easy keeper for a TB. This is a VERY nice horse that deserves a special home. UTD on everything including teeth.

To view Deeds' pedigree and racing record, click here.

Foster home update (9/28/2007):
"I worked with Deeds today and I must say I LOVE this horse!! He is so sweet and willing and reminds me a lot of my Slam. I took him out and Allison and I put him in the crossties and brushed him and cleaned him up. He was a very good boy and stood quietly. Then I saddled him up (he was good, a little nervous but good) and bridled him and brought him into the arena. He was nervous and not paying much attention and wanted to run as soon as I put him on the circle so I made him walk and we just walked until he finally stopped jigging and got bored and relaxed. Then we did a bit of trotting and then I put the side reins on. He was good although wanting to brace against them and it took him a while to relax into him, which he finally did. After we did a little walk/trotting both directions I got on him. From the description from his previous owners I was expecting him to be wound up but he was as cool as a cucumber. The dogs were running around and barking and he was completely unfazed and totally listening to me. He goes naturally on the bit and while he doesn't understand bending around the leg he was willing and great. To the left he felt really good, his movement is stilted in front and takes some getting used to but he didn't feel off. To the right though you could feel he was off on that left hind. I am going to try and get him on a joint supplement and see if that helps him. He was so mellow though, totally relaxed and even a little lazy."

Contact Bonnie at bonnie@safehorses.org if you are interested in adopting Deeds.

To read an ongoing discussion about Deeds, please click HERE.

If you are interested in sponsoring Deeds, please click here to learn more about our sponsorship program.

Please read SAFE's adoption policies prior to submitting an adoption application for any SAFE horses listed on this site. SAFE Adoption Policies can be found HERE. SAFE has a strict no-breeding policy.