Last Second Louie

When the post below began to get attention on the internet, many folks called for euthanasia. I don't think that is irresponsible at all, but I felt like this horse needs a different chance. Knowing that Miranda had been struggling with Louie before this post, I had offered to take him on if she was able to ship him up. When this post hit the internet, I made that offer more publicly in a comment. The amazing thing was that then a surprising number of people offered to contribute to his shipping if he would be able to come and have a chance here. And thanks to so many of you, that's exactly what happened. 

Here is Miranda's post that inspired all the support to get him to Stall 13:

LAST CALL for Last Second Louie. 10/1/26 post by Miranda Ford (then owner of Louie)
*super honest and transparent post*

I never wished I was incompetent before but here I am. 

If you ride horses you KNOW someone that loves these types. The complicated, quirky, semi-dangerous, a bit psycho, potential behavioral euthanasia cases. Or maybe you know the type that just wants a pasture ornament. 

Louie needs a new home STAT. I bought him in January to be my RRP horse and how did that go? Well we’re both banned from RRP because I was too transparent in what I was dealing with. I get it. My bad. It doesn’t help the mission of increasing demand for thoroughbreds when I show mine having a melt down and I’m throwing my hands up in the air in disbelief. He was sold to me for $2,000 and they said he was “good to be around” and I hate to accuse anyone of false advertising but that’s what it felt like. 

He loaded in my trailer and came home just fine. I gave him 6 weeks of let down time before I began restarting him. He knew absolutely nothing. No groundwork, no lunging, and when it came time to ride him I couldn’t even get him to move. He did learn that leg means go. He WANTS to learn and he WANTS to be good, but he’s incredibly expressive. In fact he is genetically predisposed to this behavior because he is sired by Malibu Moon and he has Storm Cat on the bottom. 

When I taught him how to lunge (without a round pen  I might add) he would rear, kick in my direction, and just put his frustration or excitement on full display. As I continued to train him and he began to understand, these behaviors decreased significantly. So once he gets it, the flamboyance and extraness goes away. But some people might try to punish him for being expressive and that is not the right choice for this horse. 

Louie did not have a good start in life. I have had several people that wish to remain anonymous describe him growing up over the years and his behaviors and how he was treated, very badly I might add. So he has a history of trauma and does not react well when he is under too much pressure. He has shown aggressive tendencies when challenged. You cannot call his bluff. So my solution has been to ensure he doesn’t cross that threshold. When he’s not under pressure he’s fine. He stands to be groomed, saddled, for the farrier, for the dentist, etc. 

But he’s a clown. He will paw in the crossties because he wants you to put the hose water in his mouth and he won’t stop until you do that. He nips and bites at people like they’re his pasture friends. Speaking of pasture friends, I found Louie learned the most about life when he was turned out with my horses. He learned boundaries, respect, pressure and release, and where he stood on the totem pole. I think he is just really uneducated and it’s hard for him as a 7 year old that only knew racing for his entire life. 

So why am I rehoming him? I typically love these horses as a challenge. But my heart horse died in a horrific pasture accident in august. It has taken all the steam out of my sails. I just can’t and don’t want to deal with him anymore. He’s not a horse you can turn your back on, he will run by and kick you. Luckily I wasn’t hurt when he did but I learned that much about him then. I don’t have the proper facilities to keep bringing him along. He’s been turned out to let down even more for the last several months just learning how to be a horse. I think he needs much more let down time. He needs patience and a quiet and consistent hand. Someone that won’t feel the need to dominate over him to get their point across because that’s a disaster waiting to happen. 

I know he is not a lost cause. I’ve seen his potential and I feel like he deserves that chance to turn his life around. He could truly be someone’s horse of a lifetime where there would be no limit to what you want to do with him. 

Yes I took him to the vet. He jogged sound and the only suggestion from the vet was maybe some hock injections when he gets into full work. But he regularly stands on his two hind legs so he appears to be fine there. He was nonreactive to palpation on his back while assessing for kissing spine. I scoped him for ulcers and he didn’t have any. Maybe there’s something more underlying that’s a simple fix but he’s generally sound. He is recovering from a hoof abscess because he pawed his shoe off and continued to paw at things. 

I would love to get back what I paid for him at the very least. But ultimately I want to see him go to a good home that can continue to develop him safely into a sport horse career. Or to be someone’s pasture ornament because he sure is beautiful and has that presence about him. His welfare is utmost important to me and if I can’t find him a suitable home he is at risk of behavioral euthanasia. I couldn’t live with myself if I sent him to the sale barn or auction and either he gets hurt or someone else does. 

I am willing to drive locally in Texas to deliver him somewhere. 

Last Second Louie is a 2019 gelding by MALIBU MOON out of a TALE OF THE CAT mare. He stands 17h tall, has good thick bone, excellent conformation, and impeccable breeding. He retired sound in January after 37 starts and winning nearly $80,000. 

Yes he has reared under saddle, nothing that ever unseated me or made me fall off. 

Yes he can nip and bite people but that’s becoming less of an issue. 

Yes he has kicked out at me in his paddock because he was excited about being turned out and ran past me and landed one. He was super dexterous about it and it was literally a love tap or I just got lucky. It was out of playfulness, not aggression. 

Yes he has a problem with small trailers and has some difficulty loading. I bought him a huge draft horse size trailer and I just haven’t tried to load him in it to see if that’s truly the issue. He’s big with a long neck so a 7ft trailer isn’t something he appreciates. 

If any of this resonates with you, let’s make something happen. He deserves it.