Liam’s Song, lovingly nicknamed Tyler, is a 2007, 16.1h registered Thoroughbred gelding seeking a home as a pleasure/trail horse. This war horse earned almost $240,000, with 36 starts over the five years of his racing career, before he was retired at the end of 2015. His owner has had him for the past four years and has provided him with amazing care. Due to financial restraints, his owner is now seeking a new home for her beloved Tyler with someone who will love and care for him as much as she has.
On the ground, Liam has wonderful manners and a very laid-back temperament. He stood quietly and patiently in the cross-ties as his owner groomed and picked out all four hooves. His owner even showed us how you can walk underneath his belly and Liam won’t move a muscle. He allowed us to touch him all over, pick up all four feet with ease, touch his ears, look in his mouth and lift his lip to read his tattoo. He made a couple grouchy faces when tacking up, but never followed through. He seems overall to be a really mellow, sweet guy.
Liam was ridden in the indoor for our assessment, with an all-purpose saddle and D-ring twisted snaffle bit. He stood quietly to be mounted and walked off calmly. Liam has recently recovered from a fetlock wound, which put him on 40 days of stall rest. Considering he is only about three weeks since coming back into work, and one week since getting the green light for a normal workload, we feel he went beautifully under saddle. He has a long, relaxed trot gait and smooth canter. He did refuse to pick up the left lead canter, but considering he is not back to peak conditioning, he did very well overall. His owner will continue to recondition him under saddle while he awaits his new home.
Liam has been used for all ages to learn how to groom and ride, equine yoga, and therapeutic exercises. He would be best suited for an advanced beginner handler and rider, but could also be handled and ridden by a beginner with supervision. His owner prefers that he not go to a lesson or therapeutic riding program, so he’d be best suited as a pleasure/trail horse for someone looking to just enjoy their time in the saddle on their trusty steed. His owner rides him out alone and in groups, and says that he will lead, follow or hang out in the middle with ease. He’s confident on the trail and LOVES water – so just make sure he doesn’t decide to take a dip with you on him! It was recently discovered that Liam has a few tiny bone fragments near his left front fetlock joint that was an incidental finding when he sustained the wound to his fetlock, mentioned previously. His owner claims he was never lame and would’ve never known about the fragments had they not x-rayed when he injured himself. So it doesn’t seem to cause him any issues and his vet recommended that they be left alone as a result.
This lovely guy is pretty much good for everything. He bathes, clips, ties, stalls and loads. He does crib, but his owner says it is controlled with a collar. Liam maintains his weight on grass, hay and ration balancer. He’s good in the herd, but also doesn’t mind if he’s left alone while another horse is ridden. He currently has shoes on all four due to being turned out on soft ground, but he may be able to have at least his back shoes pulled once he moves. Tyler is updated on farrier, teeth and deworming. He is due for vaccinations and Coggins, which his owner will be getting done soon. He would make an amazing riding horse for the casual trail/pleasure rider of just about any level. If you think he’d be a good fit for you, be sure to inquire about him today! We have a feeling this boy won’t last long.
