May Horse and Tack Auction Dissapoints
|
|
My sister, who is a horse dealer, recently invited me to go to a horse auction. My mother, who repairs and sells tack also came along. Because the tack sale started before the horse auction, we started on the hour and a half drive quite early on a very damp, chilly morning. My husband told me before I left, that if I saw something that was a good price, to go ahead and buy it. My guess is he wasn't really thinking of something with four legs.
When we arrived, horses were still being unloaded from trailers, although most were already in the pens, wearing hip numbers. On the doors of many of the pens were signs with the horse’s name, age and some details of what the horse had done or about its pedigree. The good thing about this auction, is that there were no meat dealers present. Selling horses for slaughter is still legal in Canada, and some auctions are largely attended by dealers who buy up horses and truck them directly to the processing plants.
The tack sale was in progress when we arrived, but we perused the tables full of halters, buckets, harness hooks, boot brushes, leg wraps and every other imaginable horse related item you could think of. Trillium does need a new winter blanket, but of course, the very thing I was looking for was not there. As the auctioneer rattled on, I was tempted to buy a riding jacket that sold for $5. I was also tempted by some saddle storage bags—but they were much too small for my saddles.
I walked through the horse pens wondering, if I were looking for a horse, which would I be tempted by? There were many Quarter Horse types, mainly green broke, and only one horse, a large Clydesdale cross, really caught my eye. Some of the horses were under-weight, which considering last summer’s drought and subsequent hay shortage was sad, but not unexpected. There were many ponies, and my sister was tempted by some Miniature Horses and some cute little donkeys. She was a bit disappointed as nothing else really struck her as anything she wanted to take home and work with.
In a large area next to the auction ring, riders were showing off their horses. Most seemed to think sharp turns and badly executed sliding stops and rein backs would catch the buyer’s eye. It was a bit like a three-ring circus, with Mennonite boys firing around at the highest possible speed, barely in control, a large Percheron smartly trotting in front of a cart made of old car seats and someone else lungeing their horse in the middle of the chaos. Several guardian angels were on high alert and sprouting gray hairs, no doubt.
Outside the auction building was a lineup of horse-drawn vehicles. My mother, who is training a young Welsh pony, liked a yellow wheeled pony cart and an easy-entry cart. The bidding began, and the price of the easy-entry cart went beyond her budget. Before you knew it though, we were loading the pony cart onto the trailer. Good thing my sister didn't buy a horse!
We were a bit disheartened that we didn't head home with more ‘stuff’ or a new horse. However, we finished off our day with a warm treat at a coffee shop, and had a good day out despite the extreme cold and disappointment. |
|
|
Foxchase Farm
Auctions are so fun! A place near me has them the first and third Friday of every month. I got my mini, Toodles, from there almost 2 years ago.
Auctions are so fun! A place near me has them the first and third Friday of every month. I got my mini, Toodles, from there almost 2 years ago.
|
May 21, 2013
• 6,843 views
|
|
|
|
Copper711
I love auctions, exept for when horses are drugged, In poor Condition and when and if they are not sold They may go to the slaughter house for petfood. Not too good..
I love auctions, exept for when horses are drugged, In poor Condition and when and if they are not sold They may go to the slaughter house for petfood. Not too good..
|
Jun 4, 2013
• 6,364 views
|
|
|
|
|
More News by Winniefield Park
|
|
3P *Starring Ruth* has captured two spots on the leaderboard joining * Queen Of Hearts. Starring Ruth is a 17.1 hand Friesian mare out of the PythonPonyPalaces stable and was foaled September 7, 2023. She not only was #1 ranked ho ...
|
|
DNA testing can tell you a number of things about a horse’s risk of developing a hereditary disease, coat color, genetic markers for speed, temperament and gait and can give some insight into a horse’s breed. In this video, The Cl ...
|
|
Here is a story of how a passion for horses led one woman to a life of secrecy and dishonesty. Over twenty years she built a life of glamor and competitive success. But many people asked how she funded her extravagant lifestyle th ...
|
|
One of the world’s rarest breeds is the Suffolk Punch. Native to Britain, these stocky draft horses once had pride of place in agricultural work, hauling artillery, pulling public transportation vehicles like busses and towing bar ...
|
|
*V For Victory* is entrenched on the leaderboard and still holds the Best Streak with an 18,792 run and a jumpoff record of 29,444 - 19. But two mares have taken over the Top Rank and Highest Jump records. At 16, the 17-hand Crown ...
|
|
Get your daily dose of nature with this 49-minute video of wild horses travelling to a water hole in Sand Wash Basin, a BLM managed area in Colorado. The small herd drinks, grazes and swish's flies in the semi-arid desert environm ...
|
|
Halloween is just around the corner and it's time to consider costumes for you and your four-legged friends. A recent viral trend is dressing your pet as a ghost. Some sheets and paint are the basis of this costume, and you can se ...
|
|
Good riders do what they can to make their horse’s job easier. Especially when jumping, your position can help or hinder your horse as it adjusts its strides and balance between and over obstacles. Here’s a video with good suggest ...
|
|
|