I bought this mare from a polo lesson barn. They say she is 15 but looks older, might just be because she is so thin. I have tried to identify her through the jockey club but I can only make out L3550 (see pic). If anyone has any ideas on how to identify her, I am open to suggestions. I am just guessing she is a TB.
She’s young enough where you can just run DNA through the Jockey Club, and that’s likely your best bet for a definitive answer. The info is on this page:
“For horses born in 2001 or after that are not tattooed or for which tattoo research was unsuccessful, customers may submit a request to the Registry to DNA type the horse for comparison to the DNA types on file for registered Thoroughbreds. There is an $80 fee associated with a request to DNA type a horse. DNA typing is not available for unregistered horses.”
This tattoo is one digit short for a Thoroughbred, but it could be there and faded into nothing. L would be 2008, making her 15. Have you tried researching this tattoo? We’ll need color and markings to help you do that.
L35502 is a bay mare, Ms Shop Around
L35503 is a bay mare, Miss Mulligan
L35506 is a dark bay or brown mare, Rhode to Paradise
There is also L13550, grey mare, Miserable Beauty. The leading digit in this pic looks more like a 1 than an L to me.
Many polo horses are also imported, so this may not be a US based tattoo at all, which would make it more difficult.
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Could also be an AQHA tattoo. That is the only other registry I know that does lip tattoos.
A QH tattoo is 4 or 5 numbers followed by a letter, which doesn’t seem to be what this horse has.
Some polo ponies come from Argentina. The US Polo Association has a horse registry.
Is her left hind the only white on her legs? Not even a few white hairs elsewhere?
Do you have a pic of her face showing where her cowlicks are? Does her stripe extend to her lower lip?
And any more pictures of the tattoo itself?
Where abouts in the country are you, and what name did she come with? Sometimes the call name will reference the registered name, even if no one remembers where it really came from.
She just has the one cowlick a little to the left of center above eye level.
She only has the one white foot with white higher on the inside but still lower than ankle, no black spots.
She has a spot on her upper lip just below her left nostril, almost heart shaped.
she also has cowlicks on her neck. 1) left side throat 2) right side throat and top of neck near mane
I am in South Mississippi. She came from Silver Hill area in South Alabama but I have no idea where she started. I don’t even know her barn name as she was sold by a third party.
This is as close as I’ve been able to get, but much older than this pretty girl is supposed to be. Not impossible, I guess.
Chile’ File’, D13650
Large irregular star pointed to right and connected wide stripe, becoming bordered flesh colored on bridge of nose, ending below nostrils, into both nostrils. Left hind: pastern white, lower on outside, higher on inside in back. Median cowlick above eye level.
https://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=Horse&refno=5335754®istry=T
Any chance you can get a few more pics of the tattoo?
She looks very sweet! And very thoroughbred to my eye.
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I am no help on registration ideas other than what Simkie already suggested – for her purported age I’d forfeit the $80 for a DNA test. She looks like a TB to me.
She is beautiful. Thank you for giving her a soft landing - I hope the two of you enjoy many wonderful years together.
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I suspect there is a letter on the far left near where your hand is in each pic.
I played with the contrast of your tattoo photos and see “13650” very clearly with what looks like a partially obscured or faded letter between your thumb and the 1. The 6 is the digit I’m least certain about; the 1,3,5,0 are all pretty clear. I guess the 3 could be an 8, too.
I hope you find answers for your pretty girl!
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Maybe this horse? I am literally only confident about the 0 at the end from these photos.
Large irregular star and connected irregular stripe, narrowing on bridge of nose on top, widening on bridge of nose on bottom, slightly extending to left and becoming bordered flesh colored above nostrils, ending to left between nostrils, into left nostril. Left hind: ankle white, lower on outside in front, higher on inside. Cowlick to right above eye level
I think an important marking here is the stripe should be noted as “touching both nostrils” or “into both nostrils.” I wouldn’t consider any horse without that noted.
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