But before I get to the happy ending, let me fill you in on the incredibly sad beginning.
We found the auction house by 12:30 and the horse auction was not supposed to start until 2ish. The pens were already packed by the time we arrived. Every pen had horses and most pens they were packed in like sardines with barely room to swish their tails. When one would get antsy and kick, everyone started kicking and panicking in that pen. It's a wonder that none of them came out with broken legs. But there were a few that came into the sale ring with fresh blood running down their legs. None of my inside pictures came out, but Anne took some and will be sending them on. You might also want to check out Maggie's mounted archery blog over there on the left -- she will probably be posting about the auction as well. She was taking a ton of pictures with her camera phone and I hear they turned out great.
We only saw about a dozen horses that were ribby and thin. There were a few more with bulging and bloody abscesses or obvious lameness. There were numerous draft horses and not one of them sold for over $200. We only spotted a few Thoroughbreds and Standardbreds off the track. Sadly enough, most of the horses there seemed to either be from a breeding operation or beloved pets from someone's back yard. The fat, shiny, obviously well cared for horses. The horses that were registered, had show points, or had safely carted around some kid in 4-H for years without complaint. I didn't think to count the horses as they went through the sale ring, but I'm guessing there were at least 150 horses there.
We never did make it to the "back" barn where the sign on the door says "Auction Staff Only". This is where they keep the horses that don't go through the sale ring. They just get quietly loaded on to meat trucks once the public is gone.
Maggie kept track of how much each horse sold for, and I believe she marked if they went to the meat buyers or a private buyer. I sat in the sale ring the whole time and my best guess is that maybe 15 horses went to private buyers. Maybe. There were only three or four No Sales. Not one horse sold for more that $400. Most horses went for between $200-$300. All but one or two of the draft horses sold for under $150. One young sound and healthy draft sold for $30. I'm still kicking myself for not bidding on that one. He was terrified of the sale ring and had to be whipped through the doors. The auctioneer was passing horses through so quickly that most only stayed in the sale ring for 5-10 seconds. He also paid no attention to the private buyers in the bleachers. All the meat buyers hang out against the wall in the sale ring, right in front of the podium where the auctioneer is located. He kept his eyes on them for every horse. If you were in the bleachers and wanted to bid you had to holler out and wave your arm to get attention. Which is pretty pathetic since the bleachers were packed. So many people there, but hardly anyone bid.
The auction house owner was also in the sale ring. He held a long pole and pushed the horses out the other side with it. If a horse didn't want to turn in the right direction to leave, he'd hit the horse. Nose, head, legs, didn't matter. They were all big dollar signs to him, not living creatures who feel pain or fear. Quite a few of his own horses also went through the ring. You could tell which ones were his as he'd tell the auctioneer what dollar amount to start the bidding with. Or he'd announce to the crowd that this or that particular horse was free, like with two small foals that we had seen in a pen by themselves before the sale started. The foals were obviously too young to be off the teat. They were thin and deformed from various injuries that hadn't been cared for. The colt was in decent shape, but the filly was a mess from head to toe. Both were docile and quiet, just awaiting their fate. The auction owner offered to pay someone $20 to take the two of them. Two women across the way from us offered to take them. We were all relieved when the meat buyers didn't take them.
Later when we were about to leave the auction, the two women that had taken the foals came up to us and asked us if we had room in the trailer and could haul the foals to the nearest vet hospital. They actually worked for another rescue and were taking the foals to the vet to see if they could be saved or should just be put out of their misery. Sure! We had the room. To make sure they'd be ok and not slip under the divider while riding, I rode in the back with them. This also allowed me time to cry alone for all the healthy and once loved horses that were being whipped onto the meat trucks as we were leaving. And more than one of my tears were shed for this sweet little filly who didn't deserve to be in so much pain. These pics were taken at the vet hospital.
There were just too many things wrong with the filly. Right knee, left front ankle, right hip, deformed hind legs... she would never live a comfortable and pain free life. She was put to sleep.
The colt was in much better shape, and only had a problem with the left front. Other than the leg just being bowed out at the knee, his shoulder seemed displaced although he was fairly sound. The vet said he may be young enough to still be useful as a light-riding trail horse once he's grown and healed. He went home with the other rescue and they promised to keep me updated on his status.
Now for the happy ending. :)
Earlier in the week Anne had told me that her next horse would be one that she absolutely fell head over heels for. When we were out in the pens looking over horses she kept asking me what I thought about this one mare that she had found. At first I didn't notice the intense look on Anne's face. I thought it was a simple: hey, she's cute, what do you think? It wasn't that simple. It was infatuation. It was head over heels love for Anne and once we took a better look at the mare, Anne ran up to the office to register as a buyer. The sweet and beautiful 6yo TB mare came home with us for 250 bucks. The only other bidder was one of the meat buyers and he was nice enough to stop bidding once Anne jumped in.
The mare was wearing a purple and pink nylon halter with the name SADIE embroidered across the nose. Her mane had been recently pulled, her tail was trimmed like it had been braided, she had a neatly trimmed bridle path, and her feet were clean and trimmed. She's an incredibly sweet mare that was calm and collected amidst the chaos of her pen. All things pointed to this mare being a beloved show pony recently. Why was she there? Did the girl that loved her and spent so much time on her go away to college and lose interest? Did the family fall on hard times and decide they couldn't take care of her any more? Why would someone not stay at the auction and No Sale her if the meat buyers were the only ones to bid? Did they even try to sell her privately first?
The answer came to us at the vet hospital. On the walk from the auction house to the trailer I noticed Sadie was hesitant to roll her toe over on the left hind. I thought maybe she had an abscess and would be ok. So when we got to the hospital I suggested to Anne that she get the vet to take a look at Sadie and just make sure an abscess was all that was wrong. 30 minutes and a couple of x-rays later, the vet discovered some swelling and arthritis in her right stifle. Now we know why the "beloved" show horse was at the livestock auction. Can't show her anymore? Then she's no use to me. Get rid of her and get me another show horse. Wah.
Sadie was a disposable commodity.
The vet thinks that after some stall rest and bute Sadie will be ready for some light trail riding. Since that's what Anne wants to do, the two should be a perfect fit.
When we got her home last night it was very late and dark. We put her up in the barn with some hay and water, said goodnight, and tried to get some sleep without auction nightmares. Anne came over this morning to help clean up all the loose hay in the barn and build a temporary stall for Sadie. Most the herd has made their introductions and Indy and Willow took the most friendly interest in Sadie. She already looks like she's doing better today and we should be able to turn her out with the herd in a couple of weeks.
So that's our happy ending. We may have come home with just one, but at least we were able to help save two more. Maggie will be kicking herself for awhile for not bidding on this big gorgeous grey TB that she saw float down the aisle and I'll be beating myself up over that terrified young Belgian. But there will be more to save later once we have better fence and more room.
And by the way... Appybutt was back this morning. He hadn't broken through the fence, but was working on it when I found him. Glenn had to take him back this morning and tie him up Drunken Neighbor's truck since she wouldn't come to the door. After yesterday I was in no mood to deal with that idiot and be thrown in jail for assault. If this keeps up I'll force the issue lawfully and bring him over here for training, manners, and future adoption to a home that might actually notice when he's gone.
