Smokey

Smokey is a 20-year-old Paint gelding who was rescued from Louisiana floodwaters in 2010. His owners were never identified, and in 2012 a friend of Pegasus took him in. Smokey proved to be too much horse for her, and so in September 2013, Pegasus accepted him into our training program. Smokey spent three months in training with Bruce Logan in Loving, Texas, and Bruce got along well with him. Smokey was adopted in December 2013. After almost four years, Smokey began to give his adopter trouble, sometimes bucking under saddle. She became afraid of him, and we requested that she return Smokey to us.

In October 2017, we welcomed Smokey back to the Pegasus ranch for evaluation. When our veterinarian was examining him, he discovered that Smokey had an extremely infected, rotten molar. The damage was extensive, requiring oral surgery. Dr. Rob Thoni successfully removed the bad tooth, but the bone deterioration was fairly extensive. The terrible pain Smokey had been enduring explained his behavior. He fully recovered from the surgery physically, but mentally, he still anticipates pain. As a result, we no longer consider him to be a safe riding horse. He is a lovely boy and will make someone a great companion horse.

Smokey is big, beautiful, sweet and kind, and he loves attention from people. He is quiet and passive with his pasture mates and gets along well with other horses. He loads easily and stands quietly for the farrier. Smokey's only issue is that he can be quite needle-phobic and challenging to medicate. He will need a skilled adopter with a patient veterinarian to help him out with those fears.