When we discovered Beauty she was tied to a wire fence on a feedlot in Louisiana. The patches of gray hairs framing the edges of her delicate face showed her seniority. She had been sorted for slaughter and soon to load for shipment to Mexico.
At the time, she was known only by the sticker glued to her rump - ‘850 C’. This was most likely the lot number assigned to her at a regional livestock auction where she had been purchased by a horse meat broker.
Somehow amid the depravity of her surroundings and despite her bewilderment she found the fortitude to plead with her eyes for someone to help her. What memory gave her hope? And who was she searching for? She was old, frail, and gaunt, and the world she served had turned its back on her. Her jet black coat reminded us of Black Beauty, so we called her BEAUTY and set about to save her life.
On January 30, 2021 our loving community raised the funds to bring Beauty home. She would require quarantine and physical rehabilitation to restore her health. She arrived skeletal but for her very enlarged heavily calcified and frozen right ankle. Her rounded belly and extended udder indicated that she had given birth several times or more. The harsh hands that she encountered on her journey had left her head shy and terrified to be haltered.
Beauty’s lip tattoo was too mottled to manually research. DNA testing confirmed her real identity as BANK SHOT, born on January 4, 1998 from a Frank Stronach string of Thoroughbreds in Florida. As a two-year-old she sold for $75,000 in a Training Sale in Ocala. She raced only as a five-year-old making her debut at Santa Anita on January 17, 2003. In that year, she raced 16 times while making her way across the country. Her career ended on October 23rd in a $2,500 claiming race in Charles Town, West Virginia.
Bank Shot’s chain of custody went cold when she left the racetrack. Given the injuries to her ankle it is unlikely that she was used as a riding horse. Her shape is that of a mare used for breeding, but we cannot find any record of foals from Bank Shot. She may have been used as a surrogate, or reciprocal mare to carry polo horses, or that of another breed. She is petite, has beautiful movement, and an exceptionally gorgeous face. She is tiny enough that she may have been used to produce show ponies. Some things like her history post-racing along with how she landed in the slaughter pipeline, we will likely never know.
With her coat as black as coal and the glint of hope she carries in her countenance, she will always be our BEAUTY. At the age of 26, Beauty is the equivalent of a 75-year-old human. Having seen much and traveled far, Beauty’s presence at Unbridled is sacrosanct. She is one of our golden girls, and a beloved friend to Joy and River Barrow.
Beauty loves to be groomed and she enjoys finely shredded carrots and moistened soft treats. Her teeth are few so her feeding must be carefully tended to. Please join us on January 4, 2025 to virtually celebrate the milestone of 27 with our beloved Beauty.
Beauty is lovingly sponsored by Mark Sullivan. She is forever home iin Sanctuary at Unbridled.
Registered Name: Bank Shot
Born in Florida on January 4, 1998
Sired by Demaloot Demashoot Out of Aerosa by Private Account