Kerry Kid

As I mentioned last week, this world is so much smaller than you could ever imagine. This beautiful black horse, Kerry Kid, has come into my life three times now and this last time has been very bittersweet indeed.

Back in 2004 I saw this gorgeous black stallion, Impressive bred, for sale and inquired about him. At $3500, I just couldn't afford him, even though I absolutely adored him. He was older, but gorgeous, well-bred and broke to ride. I loved his style and his ability to produce nice all-round horses despite his halter-specific breeding.

I had to pass on him, though, and time went on. Of course I had Eddie and did not need another stallion, so I hardly gave Kerry Kid another thought until in 2006 he came up for sale again. This time there was something going on with his new owner. There were rumors of unregisterable foals, money owed, etc. I didn't know the details, but I inquired about Kerry Kid again, thinking that maybe if this horse that I knew was for sale again, I might be able to get him the second time around.

He wanted $3000 for him and I just couldn't come up with it. It was during the beginning of what would be a very rocky time in my life, so all in all it was good that the purchase/trade didn't work out. Unfortunately, though, it was also the beginning of a very rocky time for Kerry Kid as well.

A couple of weeks ago I was reading the Fugly Horse Blog, as I sometimes do, and like many people, saw the post of about the sad, unidentified rescue, a gorgeous black stallion saved from the Enumclaw auction in Washington for $50. I read the story and felt terrible for him, but so glad that someone had saved him. The picture (below) was included with the story but I didn't recognize him, of course. I've never even been to the Northwest.

But then a few days later I went back to the post, to see what other horses people had posted, and came across an updated photo of the rescued black stallion:

At this point, I was 99% sure that I knew this horse.

I posted that I suspected he was Kerry Kid. We tracked down the identifying marks--a single white star--and they matched. Then I went to the forums, the last place that I knew any information had been posted about Kerry Kid and his previous owner, and managed to discover that Kerry Kid had been shipped from Tennessee to Washington around 2006!

I contacted the lady in Washington who was very helpful (I had always heard wonderful things about her and she lived up to her kind reputation). She had given Kerry Kid away to a good family who bred Andalusian crosses and didn't need his papers (which she had never gotten because of the irresponsible previous owner). She assumed he was in good hands. Unfortunately this wasn't the case.

In the meantime, the rescued black stallion's owner tracked down the person who had dumped him at auction. Apparently he was basically someone who knew nothing about horses but was breeding unregistered horses on his place. He said his friend had given him the horse, and his friend said he'd try to get the papers, and he showed up at the lady's house (the one I mentioned above) right as she had gotten my email concerning Kerry Kid.

Yes, it was the same horse.

Kerry Kid is now gelded and recovering from abscesses and malnutrition. The lady in Washington and his current owner are in contact. His current owner might never get papers, but Kerry Kid is now 19 years old, a gelding and isn't quite ridable yet, but perhaps one day he can be a gorgeous light rider for her and I sincerely hope he gets to live out the rest of his days in her excellent care on her beautiful Washington farm. She really loves him, and at this point, after everything he's been through, that's exactly what he deserves: love.

For those of you that think that papers don't matter, please think again. This stallion was well-known and valuable until his papers were seperated from him. Then he ended up at a kill sale for $50. Papers don't guaranty safety, but it is no coincidence that Kerry Kid had a good life until his papers disappeared.

Chase, you're an angel. Thank you for all that you've done for him!!!!