Doneraile Lass (“Tully”) is a 2006 year old, 15.3hh, Ontario-bred, off the track thoroughbred mare with multiple careers behind her. She raced 26 times, but despite her impeccable pedigree, she was not a very good racehorse. She went on to the broodmare fields, but a torn cervix ended that career early. She was re-started under saddle by a competent trainer, and has a dressage/hunter foundation complete with leg yields and a lead change. Her most recent rider was a very experienced 13 year old girl. Tully joined our After the Track program for retired racehorses to find a safe forever.
Tully’s best match would be an older teen or adult rider who has a confident, quiet manner on the ground. She is not a “family” horse, but needs the consistency of the same handler to keep her in a routine and bond with her. Why? She has a lesson horse mentality – she will be pushy and obnoxious if her handler doesn’t know any better, but for one person with consistent ‘rules,’ she is a golden girl.
She is easy to ride and easy to jump. (video) She doesn’t refuse and actually seems to thrive on work. She’s fun to ride on the flat, she’s easy to cue, she has clean transitions and if you don’t know where the line is, she’ll pick a take off and get you to the other side. Would give tons of confidence to a middle aged re-rider re-learning English riding.
Tully is easy to catch in the field, lives outdoors 24/7, and is the bottom of the pecking order.
We feel that Tully would be best suited to someone who wants to show hunters or dressage, but enjoys having a horse that isn’t limited to arena work. She is not spooky and rides out well. We are accepting applications for Tully seeking her perfect-match forever human.
Now, here are the disclaimers to save us both time. If you want a unicorn, perfect horse, she’s not a match for you. Those who have ridden her adore her, but she comes with quirks that you’ll either work through, work around, or pass.
- She has a major issue with the farrier, whether that is due to past bad experience or total lack of ever learning to be shod without sedation. So yes, you need a farrier who carries Ace and she needs it before you shoe her. She only needs fronts, and only because she has an old coronet band injury to her left front – otherwise, she has lovely feet. If you were only going to flat her, you might even be able to get away with hoof boots after a transition period to barefoot.
- She knows she can undo safety snap ties – and she does – either by rearing up or sitting back. So, hard-tie only, or she ground ties well.
- Speaking of rearing up, she has an old injury not uncommon in ex-racehorses. At some point in her past, her withers were broken. This seems to be cosmetic only, as she does not show pain, sensitivity, or chiropractic issues here. That said, her only riders have been petite women – so we are going to stick with that trend and say she needs a rider of around 150 or less (at least for jumping), as we don’t want to create an issue that does not currently exist.
- Finally, Tully came to us blind in her right eye. That eye was removed on 10/31/2020 for her comfort.
So, if all of that doesn’t scare you off and you’re still interested in this super willing, easy to ride mare descended from greatness – submit an application to meet her. Her adoption fee is $1200 in consideration of all of the above.
We would consider a foster-to-adopt (think “lease purchase”) to ensure her the best match.
Things to know about our process:
- We adopt within 200 miles of zip code 37048, Cottontown TN, with a few exceptions.
- We require an in-person meeting to ensure an appropriate match between horse and rider.
- You must go through our approval process, including submitting references, prior to meeting the horse or ‘test rides’ – this is out of respect for everyone’s time including our volunteers and foster farms. Providing complete and accurate information helps us process your application faster.
- Horses are up to date on routine care including vaccinations and Coggins, and complementary therapies if we feel they are needed (IE massage, chiropractic, MagnaWave, acupuncture, etc.)
- PPE’s from adopter’s veterinarian are always welcome. We will work with you but do ask that vetting is done within 7 days of committing to adopt out of respect for everyone’s time.
- Our adoption agreement is a lifetime safety net with no breeding, no auction, no slaughter terms. We will always take back or assist with re-homing any Safe Harbor adoptee.