Royal is a beautiful 6-year-old Thoroughbred gelding. His pedigree includes the hall-of-fame racehorse Bold Ruler and one of the most successful sires of the 20th-century Northern Dancer. But Royal did not find much luck on the race track, with only one 3rd place finish in 5 starts.
It is not known what happened to Royal between the fall of 2015, when his race career ended and February of 2018, when he appeared at a livestock auction in terrible condition. The odds were not in his favor at the auction that day as he came out with a noticeable limp at the walk, but luck was on his side, and a rescue was at the auction that day and purchased Royal.
Upon examination, it was discovered that most of his teeth were badly broken, and some may need to be pulled. He was thin and in poor overall condition. Royal was quite lame on examination, and it was noted that he had bowed both front tendons, had damage to the sesamoid bones on his front left leg and had damaged a major ligament in his hip.
For a short period of time, things were looking up for Royal. He was gaining weight, and a group of people were providing him with the love and care that he needed. But after only a couple of months at the rescue, Royal found himself again in need of a new home. The rescue that saved him at the auction was closing its doors and would no longer be able to take care of him. Since Royal had some significant health concerns, they could not find anyone to adopt him.
When Redwings heard about Royal, we knew we needed to make room at the sanctuary for him. The board of directors quickly voted to accept him. After eight long hours in the trailer, Royal finally arrived at the sanctuary. Royal is now happily adopted.