We just rescued an older horse not knowing really anything about him. He is pretty friendly, halter broke, will stand to be saddled, in good health but you can tell he isn’t young. He won’t let us check his teeth easily but when trying we saw he has a lip tattoo. We can make out 12814. There was definitely something (a letter?) in front of that but hard to tell what. He is a flea bitten gray gelding, about 16hh. Is anyone able to help or point me in the right direction?
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About how old is he (ballpark) and what area of the country did you purchase him? Does he have any visible white markings at all? (Wetting him down can help find them.)
Jockey Club offers free tattoo lookup here:
https://www.registry.jockeyclub.com/registry.cfm?page=tattooIdServicesAction
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If you can share pictures, both of the horse and tattoo, I bet we can help you sleuth it out.
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If you are 100 percent certain on the numbers, you have 3 possibilities foaled after 1997
Agreed that if you can post photos someone here will figure it out
Horse Name Outer Drive
Tattoo I12814
Year of Birth 2005
Dam Name Desert Girl
Color Gray or Roan
Sex Horse
Horse Name Tin Whistle
Tattoo Q12814
Year of Birth 2013
Dam Name Ali’s Magical Song
Color Gray or Roan
Sex Horse
Horse Name Grey Justice
Tattoo R12814
Year of Birth 2014
Dam Name Hurricane Justice
Color Gray or Roan
Sex Horse
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It will only upload one photo. I tried several shots I had of his tattoo and a few of his body. And it will not let me since I’m a new user. I just collaged some of the lip angles I have because he wouldn’t let me get one good shot. Lol He is definitely older so I think if I have the numbers right, he would be Outer Drive. What do y’all think?
I’m awful at aging them. I’m guessing 20-25ish? I got him in central texas.
In that picture he doesn’t look that old to me, just skinny.
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Outer Drive is a Kentucky bred who last raced in PA:
https://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=7425467®istry=T&rbt=TB
Horses can definitely move around after they race, but often stay sorta nearby.
Matching the markings would help confirm, though:
Large star and connected bordered flesh colored stripe, narrowing and ending between nostrils on bottom. Median cowlick at top of eye level.
Tin Whistle last ran in MD:
https://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=9509638®istry=T&rbt=TB
His markings:
Narrow curved star, open to left on bottom. Median cowlick at top of eye level.
And Grey Justice is a KY bred with no starts:
https://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=9700013®istry=T
Here are the markings:
Small star, center of forehead. Right hind: pastern irregularly white, lower on outside in front. Median cowlick above eye level.
Not sure that tattoo looks 20-25 ish, it’s still really dark and defined. Can you have someone help you to get some better pics of it?
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Just throwing this out there, don’t think it’s the case, but gray Standardbreds with also have 5 digit lip tattoos with a letter at the beginning.
Quarter horses have the letter at the end.
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What a great face💗!
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I’d call that cowlick above level and to the left (rather than median).
Can you wet him down and look for white markings?
He looks very sweet!
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I definitely will when I get a chance! Thank y’all for your help! I tried to upload a video of him but it wouldn’t let me. He looked really bad when we first met him and I wanted to show how he moved around. Now that he was getting more food where we got him from (he was only there for a month then we brought him home), he’s looking a lot better and I’m sure will continue. His teeth are really bad and I’ll have to have them done. He will fight everyone around if you try to touch his mouth. Hence the struggle with the lip tattoo. I was trying to see his teeth when I noticed the tat.
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poor old friend, i bet his mouth does need help When the vet sedates him you might try some images with different light to see if there is a letter front or back.
this might be a situation where the cowlicks are the deciders
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I’m not very good at this, but his teeth are so vertical. And it looks like galvayne’s groove is just starting at the top? My swag would be early teens?
Here’s a good resource:
Totally agree that getting better pics of his tattoo will be easiest when he’s sedated for his dental!
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I think we can rule out Standardbred. There are no grey Standardbred stallions or geldings with tattoo ?2814, unless he’s over 30 years old and I don’t think he looks that old. After 2003 the letter moved from the front of the tattoo to the second character, and also freezebrands really started becoming more common than tattoos.
The numbers look fairly clear here and I also don’t think those teeth look 20+. If the letter is as clear as the rest of the tattoo I think it’s just a matter of getting him to cooperate so you can see it.
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