King Ajax, aka "Jimmy"

Jimmy, registered with the Jockey Club as "King Ajax" 🐎

Jimmy spent the first part of his life in the thoroughbred racing circuit. The records show he was raced 41 times but no doubt he did much more than that. At 20 years old he found himself, along with four other registered thoroughbreds, with a horse dealer in Alberta. Despite pleas from the rescue community, no one had shown immediate interest in them. Thankfully, after five days someone drove out to see them and bought them all, sparing them from the risk of going to slaughter.

Jimmy had endured a lot and it showed in his body. X-rays determined that the bones in his left front fetlock/pastern were luxated, which is extremely painful. It requires immediate veterinary intervention and even with that the prognosis is guarded. It wasn't clear how his lower leg was still being held together or when it would suffer a catastrophic collapse. He also had severe EOTRH and the only relief for that is tooth extraction.

The racing industry does offer support for horses when their racing careers are over through the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance. Their profile is important. Along with continued funding from its original partners Breeders’ Cup, The Jockey Club, and Keeneland Association, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance is supported by owners, trainers, breeders, racetracks, aftercare professionals, and other industry members. Since its inception in 2012, Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance has granted more than $40.74 million to accredited aftercare organizations.

But there are no organizations in Canada that are part of their program. Horses cross international borders all the time. That means that horses who raced in the USA and end up in Canada are not able to benefit from programs meant to support the aftercare of the very horses who made the racing industry so wealthy.

This is how once very valuable, prized horses fall through the cracks.

We are very grateful to Jimmy's rescuers and for giving him the Last Act of Kindness that he so desperately needed. Thanks to our supporters we were able to provide them with our Humane Euthanasia Grant.