This cute bay gelding was donated to The Exceller Fund by the Fingerlakes Track Adoption Program. When "Lovey" was a foal, he was the subject of an adorable collection of photos by Eclipse Award winning Barbara Livingston. His antics were the most amusing that she has seen that season. Lovey was initially adopted, but the adoption did not work out.

Lovey certainly lives up to his name as he is a lover.  He enjoys lots of love and of course cookies!  Lovey is being fostered in Bagdad, Kentucky where he is one of the favorites. He has a great personality and is very easy to handle.  Unfortunately, his vision has decreased significantly and he is nearly completely blind.  Because Lovey is familiar with his surroundings at his current foster he will remain there for the remainder of his days.  He would love to have a sponsor to call his own so he can enjoy his retirement in style!

 May 30, 2011 --

Today was a sad day for The Exceller Fund as we had to say good-bye to one of our beloved Thoroughbreds.  Love Me R Leave Me (fondly known as just "Lovey" to most) was euthanized on the morning of May 30th surrounded by the lush green grass of the farm in Kentucky that he has called home for over a year now. 

It became apparent that Lovey's vision was becoming impaired while he was in re-training in the fall of 2009 and he was sent back to the rehab and retirement farm for further evaluation.  Over the course of the last year his vision has worsened drastically.  While we do realize that many horses go onto have a great quality of life with this issue, Lovey had not shown signs of acclimating to the situation well.  It had become more apparent these last few months that he had been living a life full of fear and anxiety; often being left behind by his companions and galloping wildly about in search of them, even when he was with only one other horse in a small paddock. 

We found it in his best interest to ensure his last days with us were full of green grass, affection and peace rather than wait for the inevitable emergency call to come in and are confident this was the best decision we could make for him.