'I'll treasure him all my life' - beloved thoroughbred dies aged 39 and 188 days

Former racehorse Dead Solid Perfect, who this winter garnered attention as perhaps the oldest living thoroughbred in the United States, has died aged 39.

Longtime owner Bridget Eukers said that her horse, known as 'Rush' in his second career as an off-track thoroughbred, was in good health over the first half of 2022 before experiencing some setbacks.

He had a minor head injury from a fall this summer, had his longtime paddock mate, the 25-year-old Quarter Horse 'Cowboy' succumb to old age, and Rush battled a foot abscess earlier this autumn. But he had progressed, Eukers said, before proving unable to rise on Tuesday morning seemingly after a fall that left him awkwardly positioned, both in and out of his stall in a Connecticut horse stable. He was euthanised.

"I knew we were getting to the end of the road, but I was hoping we had a little bit more time," said Eukers.

Rush, foaled on May 4, 1983, lived to 39 years and 188 days — far beyond the average life of a thoroughbred of 25-28 years, according to various internet resources.

Though records are not kept for the oldest thoroughbred by The Jockey Club, due in part to the difficulties of needing death notifications from every thoroughbred horse owner, Rush is widely believed to have been an American record setter.

Prospect Point had been considered the US standard for the oldest thoroughbred on record, living to 38 years and 203 days before he died on September 23, 2016. There are reports of thoroughbreds in other countries living into their low 40s, including a couple of Japanese horses.

Other breeds typically live longer than thoroughbreds.

Bred by Preston Madden in Kentucky, Dead Solid Perfect was a dark bay or brown horse by Raise A Cup out of the Olden Times mare Kame Yen. He turned grey late in life, with Eukers speculating that he had a predisposition to going grey with one of the distant sires in his pedigree being Native Dancer, nicknamed the Gray Ghost.

He was a $60,000 yearling purchase by John Fort from Madden's consignment at the 1984 Keeneland September Yearling Sale and scored his lone victory for Fort's Peachtree Stable at The Meadowlands for trainer Robert Klesaris and jockey Julie Krone in December 1986. The last of his 16 starts came for owner-trainer Louis Gallina at Rockingham Park in January 1988.

Years later, Euker's parents purchased nine-year-old Rush for their then-teenage daughter. Together, they competed in equitation and hunter events, including the 1995 National Children's Medal Finals and the 1996 Connecticut Junior Medal Finals.

He retired from competition after a tendon injury the following year, Eukers said, though they continued to work in dressage and later, trail riding, until 2018, when he was 35.

In his most senior years, Rush was no longer ridden, but Eukers —wanting to maintain his flexibility and conditioning — continued to hand-walk him up and down a hill at the farm where she boarded him at Windsor Hunt Stables in Connecticut. He ate an organic diet of alfalfa pellets, barley and oats over the final decade of his life.

Eukers said she wanted to make sure Rush had companionship after Cowboy's death and worked out a free lease arrangement to board with a friend's horse, the 15-year-old mare Viv's Tiara, at Windsor Hunt Stables.

Dead Solid Perfect outside his barnCredit: Bloodhorse Staff

"When she got there I think she decided Rush was a little foal," recalled Eukers. "She would reach around the corner and kind of tickle his ears. She would treat him like he was a little guy. And Rush would look at her like, 'Hey lady, I'm 39'."

At such an advanced age, he would continue to delight his owner with behaviour more common from a younger horse.

"I had gotten him a new gate that was open all the way to the floor, and it has metal rungs on it," she said. "He discovered he could put his head down and run his ears along the metal bars, and you would kind of hear, 'Schwing. Schwing.' That got to be his favourite way of waking me up in the morning."

Eukers praised her veterinarian, Dr Michael Stewart, for his care of Rush, which dates back to 1999. She said he put some veterinarian obligations on hold on Tuesday morning to attend to Rush when he was unable to stand. Eukers, her mother, and Stewart worked for hours trying to assist him, but the horse had grown hot and was showing signs of exhaustion.

"He had half gotten up, half gotten down, half gotten up, half gotten down, and I just kind of looked over at Doc and said, 'You know what, if this is the end of the road, if that's where we're at, it's okay'," she said. "Doc thought about it for a little bit and said, 'I think we're out of moves here'."

She noted her horse's vibrant spirit.

"One thing I've learned in my years with the thoroughbreds is that you can ask too much of them," she said. "They will still try for you. They will still try their hearts out.

"I started to worry that I was asking too much of him. So at that point, we let him go. I talked to him, Mom talked to him, Doc talked to him. We kind of petted him, got him calm, and he drifted off very peacefully."

After 30 years with Rush, "right now there just feels that there is a tremendous hole," she said.

Eukers said his remains would be cremated, and she would retain those when they are delivered from Connecticut Horse Cremation.

Viv's Tiara will be returned to her owner, and Eukers, whose only horse was Rush, plans to take some time to assess her equine plans. She intends to volunteer with a Connecticut organisation called Angel Horses, which works to provide homes for senior horses and provides equine-assisted activities.

"I was very lucky to have him," Eukers said of Rush. "It really was a partnership and something that was special and unique that I will treasure for all of my life."

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