Auction Report – Florida
Aug 28 2007
From a reader. This one is of PARTICULAR note to those who think Haflinger crosses are the new hot thing!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I went to the horse sale this past Saturday and it was HORRIBLE.
Here is what the horses where going for:
**NOTE: A known kill buyer was there. He bought the majority of the horses. I don’t know for sure if he is hauling them to the slaughter house but he has in the past*****
13 yr old reg. arabian mare/ kid broke very calm nice mare sold for $200.00
7 yr old grade gelding/ green broke lead through the ring sold for $200.00 (kill buyer)
4 yr old reg mare/ green broke grand daugther of Seattle Slew $225.00 (kill buyer)
2 yr old Haflinger/Paint cross stud barely halter broke. $200.00 (kill buyer)
2 yr old Haflinger/Paint cross stud barely halter broke. $175.00 (kill buyer)
1 yr old Haflinger filly barely halter broke. $75.00 (kill buyer)
3 yr old Haflinger colt barely halter broke $100.00 (kill buyer)
6 yr old Belgian mare / doesn’t ride , drives only $200.00 (kill buyer)
5 yr old reg. mini mare/ supposed to ride and drive $100.00
4 yr old paint gelding reg. , started, very nice gelding bid up to $500 NO SALE wanted $1500.00
8 yr old spotted donkey jack, rides and drives bid up to $550 NO SALE wanted $750.00
9 yr old reg. paint mare/ anyone can ride, very laid back problem with eye? $400.00
8 yr old reg. arabian mare/ kinda hot rode fair not a beginners horse $175.00
Needless to say it was a very depressing day. There were several really nice horses but the owners refused to sell for those crappy prices.
80 comments to “Auction Report – Florida”
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How much would the kill buyer get for those horses?
Depends on the going rate…
I was told this winter that they are getting $200 for a normal sized, normal weight horse. I’m not sure exactly what it is right now. The killer I talked to this winter takes them home and just pumps alfalfa into them for a month to jack up their weights, then ships them. With the price of hay, I suspect that is becoming harder to do and still make money.
The last one we rescued from a sale, this summer, was quite large and the killer went to $220 for him. We got him for just over that. Totally sound, green broke, nice manners, good horse.
I don’t know what the killer price is right now.
All the Haflinger/Paints were very very stocky. They were all about 13.2 to 14.1 but they were massive.
I personally don’t know if he still sends horses to the slaughter house, but I know he used to.
What annoys me at every sale I’ve ever been to is the people who will bring a horse, have no clue with the auction market is going to bring and waste everyone’s time trying to get $1500 or more, AT AN AUCTION! What makes them think their horse is going to bring $1500 when everyone else is bringing $200 or less? Pipe Dreams if you ask me. GO HOME and advertise and market your horse.
I’m not saying that I haven’t seen horses sell for over 1500 at a sale, they do when the market is good, but the market is crap now.
what the killers get for them probably depends on where they are taking them. I just read an article from a florida paper that says the prices (paid by the slaughterhouses) are pretty high right now, but I’m not sure what that means.
From old sites I’ve found, it would not be unusual for a slaughterhouse to pay 50-60 cents per pound for a horse in decent condition, which is still a fair amount more than it costs the KBs to buy them, especially in the current economic environment.
No clue what MX is paying, but it has to be worth it or they wouldn’t be taking so many there.
What is sad is the sellers honestly think Suzie Creemcheese is at every sale, willing to take their unbroke unregistered (and usually unvetted) back yard bred nothing horse and turn it into a dream pet…and that never happens…
Glad I didn’t go, even though I wanted to. I would have ended up with both of those Haflinger X’s and I really have no more room for any charity cases. It saddens me to no end.
How about the Tacoma Wa. breeder who breeds Belgians and ships them live to Asia for consumption? Ironically enough, I turned on the TV this morning and was watching All In The Family. Gloria was cooking horsemeat for the family. Meathead didn’t want to eat it, because eating horse wasn’t right, and it was illegal to sell horsemeat in NYC for consumption. Gloria told him that she got the meat in NJ. It was an underlying theme throughout the entire show.
Last summer nice, well-broke riding horses were going for $350 – $1,000 at the auction. A few were no-saled. Some ass clown brought a team of Belgians (sisters) and tried to pass them off as late teens and some farmer jumped in the ring, looked at their teeth (what was left of them) and yelled out these nags are at least 30. I felt so sorry for them. They obviously had been used up and were being disposed of. It was a sad day. I can’t go back.
Someone ought to email that auction report to the twit in Idaho, my goodness…those prices are better than some I have read about online recently.
We have no auctions here. There is no means to dispose of the unwanted, the aged, the lame, the diseased, crazy, etc.
I can’t even go to the dog pound and look at the dogs who are heart broken that their pack has deserted them. A horse auction would be horrid.
I thought the slaughter plants were all closed. If they are shipping them to Canada, how could they make money?
At the Pacific Livestock Auction in Chandler, AZ a yearling anybreed horse can go for $60 in the non Holiday season. Closer to Christmas time when everyone is buying a horse for little Susie or Tommy, they will go up to around $200 or maybe $400 if they are ‘pretty’ (spotted).
They recently did a story on the one news channel and spoke to the killer buyers. The reporter asked the KB if he discloses who he is – or where the horses go – to the sellers. His reply- I am not required to. They aren’t.
Last winter a load of mini’s (16) were shipped in from out of state (LA or MO I believe) to run through the auction. I can’t imagine any one of them selling for enough to cover the cost of shipping, or even a couple of them for that matter.
The last time we went to the auction, the phrase of the day was smooth mouthed. Every horse that went through was smooth mouthed. We had a few guesses as to what they were talking about, but still aren’t sure.
There was a nice looking navicular candidate bucksin gelding that was pretty and well put together from the knees up, that actually went for a decent price $750.
Several years ago I took a used saddle to sell and almost brought back a grade paint draft cross mare. (Loooonnnggg before they were the flavor of the month breed) She was big, kind eyed chestnut with all the chrome- 4 high whites and a big blaze. She looked a little ribby but also pudgy in the belly. I figured she was either wormy or in foal, or possibly both.
In line for my money I found out more about her. “Killer Bob” (aptly named for many reasons) was talking to his wife and mentioned farmer X’s draft cross mare had sold for about $200 (I think).
Not only was she in foal- and ready to pop in about 3-4 months- she had heartworms! NICE! You can’t afford a $10 wormer so you breed her on top of everything. Way to go.
Intelligence amongst most back-yard Florida horse owners, I’ve found, is a rare commodity. SO much I can’t say on this.
-the original WTF
Well, remember, the gas price isn’t so bad when you are cramming 40 on a double decker. They aren’t hauling them like we do.
I saw 20 crammed into a 10 horse stock trailer at the Enumclaw auction in Washington. The killers always stood in the corner of the ring. The saddest thing I saw was a little blind filly who’s buddy was a big Appaloosa who was as wild as a March hare. Our group bought the filly for $25. and had to seperate her from her appy, it was so sad. She cried for him for hours. Then the killers ran that poor appie down the concrete aisle and crammed him in their undersized trailer. I will never forget it. The young girl I was with was crying, and I thought it was a great lesson for her.
Fugly-I know what you mean about them nickering at you and bringing them home. My last rescue was a 5y/o OTTB who raced as a 3y/o. She was headed to the auction and certainly to the killers when I bought her sight unseen for $250. Not even a peek!
She never won a race, but still made over $5K on the track before injuring her knee. She is well bred and I do have her papers, and she is the sweetest horse in the world.
I Have ridden her once, and she did great. If she is a pasture pet for the rest of her life, so be it. I bought her with the intent to ‘flip her’ and 3 years later she is still here. She has never been on the market- not one day – or ever will be.
4thehorses-
If all the BYB’s and ignorant people in the horse world had to go to the auction and witness this stuff firsthand, knowing where the horses end up, they may think twice about breeding anything.
Sad that the young girl was bawling, but yes it is a good lesson for her. Maybe a little harsh, but still good. She will always remember how cruel the world really is and how bad people can be.
tj said…
We have no auctions here. There is no means to dispose of the unwanted, the aged, the lame, the diseased, crazy,…..
Donate to the mushers, feed a starving husky. Only problem would be finding a musher that’s not to lazy to render a horse…..don’t even get me started on these mushers up here…….grrrr
You know, I am almost to point of being pro slaughter with the following conditions. There must be a regulated slaughter house in every state. They must be built for horses exclusively, and the workers must be trained to handle horses in a HUMANE manner. I think the cruelest part of slaughter is transport and feedlot. If people don’t stop breeding (nice or fugly), and vets don’t stop prolonging every life, I just don’t know what is going to happen.
Horse snob are you in Alaska? I have a friend up there in Palmer. These bad mushers wouldn’t possibly run their dogs in the annual “I killed a dog” would they?
WTF:
I really want to defend my state Florida, but you are right. Florida is really HUGE in terms of horses. People usually only think of us as a tourist state but we are also very large in agriculture. The amount of TB’s discarded and dumped in auction barns is unreal. I pick them up all the time to rehab and rehome. There was a very nice one at the sale Saturday and she went for $200.00 w/ no papers. There are neglect cases on the news almost every day now. I try to do my part and report every case I see but our county sucks at animal abuse/neglect cases. They just piss me off to no end. It is better to buy the horse and rehome it than report them. All that does is give them more money to fund the abuse.
Very very sad.
Cutnjump – Actually the girl who was crying was actually guilty of poor living conditions for her horses. Our rescue group met at her house one night and we looked at her horses. It was raining and both were standing out in the rain as their shed was disgusting and leaking. They were both underweight, and one actually died not too much later. This girl was wealthy and could have afforded much better housing for her horses. That night, she was voted in as VP of the rescue, I quit a few days later after telling the pres that I did not like how this girl kept her horses.
CutNJump:
In cattle, “smooth mouthed” means they are old and have very few, if any, teeth left. Thus, the “smooth” gums.
I would assume it’s the same for horses.
I am still pro-slaughter in this country. There is not enough willing people or resources to take care of all of the unwanted horses.
It is a political issue – in a perfect world – all of the horses would be loved and cared for like the TWO at my house – both geldings. There is no hay shortage at my house, we have decent fencing, and they are current on all health vaccinations! But that is not the reality of the horse market.
Check out this recent story in the latest Western Horseman:
http://westernhorseman.com/stories/08012007/_ca_20070801001.shtml
Bring on the firestorm!
I’m anti-slaughter but pro-euthanasia. I agree that there is no way to solve the current problem without killing horses (or letting them starve to death). I just prefer a shot from a vet (or a shot in the head) to the torture of transport and the slaughterhouse.
Christ. I’m going to be doing an auction article fairly soon on my blog, http://tiltingatpuppymills.blogspot.com
or use this: http://tinyurl.com/yw48dk
ugh.
Farmer’s wife – yes I intend to be at nationals this year. I wouldn’t miss it for the world! In fact it’s only August and I already can’t wait. I also can’t wait to see the fairgrounds I have heard that they look great! I know that they are pouring a lot of money into them.
rodeomom:
No firestorm here, its just that the argument that closing slaughter plants leads to abandonments and cruelty loses water fast when you realize most rescues have been bursting at the seams for YEARS while slaughter was legal…..
Legalized slaughter has never given folks who didn’t give a damn about their animals a way to get rid of them. They abused, ignored, neglected or bred them into oblivion regardless.
The only real impact? Yes, prices are dropping. There are going to be several really, really bad years IMHO while the marketplace sorts itself out. Lots & lots of BYB’s are going to go under…. and with luck it’ll be the bad ones. Their horses are already in trouble and altho I hate their possible end, “rescuing” them by donating (like the Araloosa beggers wanted) or buying them up (recent posts by those who can’t stand the suffering) just enables the breeders.
Save what you can, pray for the rest and wait for the supply & demand to even out….
Slaughter or no slaughter – that is not the issue, horse breeders have produced a glut of horses, as developers continue to build on agricultural and rural lands, horses are being built out, kids want to sit on their collective asses and play video games, and the few horse crazy girls are not going to buy the enormous amounts of horses (who are now living to 35) the breeders are laying down.
horse snob, heid-ey ho!
What constantly amazes me is that the local prices on horses has NOT dropped to reflect the extremely high cost of hay and other horse needs. I have long wished for a horse auction to be held monthly, and those that remain, be processed-I bet you can guess where, and yep, for sled dogs.
I mean really, $3700 for a barely green broke draft cross?? The same thing that brings $200 to the KB in the Lower 48 where hay is affordable? Gimme a break!
4thehorses
you have it in ‘one’.
From another perspective; until the inhumanity to man ceases to be a problem, the animals don’t stand a chance. If you have society which condones any sort of abuse (ie child abuse, spousal abuse) then animal abuse comes way down the priority food chain.
I am not against horse slaughter as such, but then in my country we have very strict welfare laws and codes of practice (which are enforced) covering the transport of all animals heading to the freezing works (abbatoir). I tell everybody who ask me what ‘there horse is worth’ that when push comes to shove, any horse, cattle beast (whatever), is only ‘worth’ the carcass price, and as such that is the ‘income’ you should budget upon receiving, from selling any animal. Makes people stop and think (well some anyway). Spend $1K on a stud fee, keep the mare for a year etc, etc, and the residual value is $1/kilo for the resultant horse. All the horse meat here is destined for overseas markets, although there is a small pet food market also. The biggest supply for the meat market is slow Standardbreds followed by OTTBs followed by the townie BYBs. We do not have ‘horse farms’ like you have in the States (thankfully).
WTF said…
Intelligence amongst most back-yard Florida horse owners, I’ve found, is a rare commodity. SO much I can’t say on this.
-the original WTF
Welcome back!!
What kills me is the pro-slaughter argument is that we need it to get rid of old, sick, lame or crazy horses. The majority of the horses going into the kill pen at the auctions are not old, sick, lame or crazy. They’re BYB overstock or asswads too lazy to market their horses and try to find them a decent home. There are pregnant mares, yearlings, weanlings, nice broke riding horses, you name it, going to slaughter. It’s sickening.
CutNJump said…
These bad mushers wouldn’t possibly run their dogs in the annual “I killed a dog” would they?
nail on the head
Just came home from the winner of the ‘fugly farmer of the month (ontario edition)’
60 + draft and draft crosses of random bloodlines…garbage and shit every where and OF COURSE they also had a puppy mill…sounded like hundreds of dogs in there….couldn’t bear to look. Looks like the asshole is going to get an offer on the unbearably sweet tb/clyde cross I went to look at…can’t stand to leave him there…at least perhaps he’ll buy hay for the other horses with my money!
4thehorses-
There’s a rescue like that here, that has lost money, donations, volunteers, etc. because of bad management. They even ask for donations on the wish list page for rent money and the amount to buy the property they are renting to turn it into a permanent palace for themselves while they are also setting up a place up north in a cooler climate.
They hold meetings at the local strip club where the owners and dancers donate to the rescue. How’s that for wholesome family entertainment? Oooops! I forgot thy also had a function where they had nude people on display- bodyart they called it. YUP! they have their 501(c)3 status so they must be legit. Right? Right?
Horse snob- would you happen to know Anutie Em?
CutNJump said…
Horse snob- would you happen to know Anutie Em?
Doesn’t ring a bell.
T.J., how about you?
Hmm, doesn’t ring a bell with me either, but it’s probably someone one of us knows of, or about
The joys of living in a small horse community, eh?
Where I felt I was tilting at windmills on my own, until I found FUGLY.
ALL HAIL FUGLY!!!
Tj & Horse Snob- Auntie Em has dogs and is wiping them up in the ring with hers. Another friend of ours has horses and her daughter shows. I think she has hunters.
AE showed me the farm that boasts of McCoy bred Arabs, when I was up there several years back- ’99.
Didn’t know there were such a thing- could only think of my 1975 Arabian Horse Times and a picture of a stallion named The Real McCoy. Are all their horses his offspring perhaps?
tj said…
Where I felt I was tilting at windmills on my own, until I found FUGLY.
ALL HAIL FUGLY!!!
Here, here, all hail FHOD!
They walk amongst us. Circle the wagons.
Just curious, where in FL was this auction?
We definitely had our share of idiot horse owners/breeders where I grew up in SW Fl. One guy down the street from where I boarded my horses had a QH stallion… HYPP N/H, or course. People don’t often associate FL with backwards hicks with a million unfixed animals and trashy properties, but there’s plenty of them around. When my trainer bought her farm, it was such a mess… there was a fricken’ broken-down school bus sitting in the middle of what became the back pasture. She cleaned it up pretty nice eventually but it took a lot of work. I like the part of the state where I live now a lot better… some of the biggest horse shows in the country are here so there’s more nicely manicured pastures with well-cared for and well-bred horses than hicks with wormy horses and cluttered pastures.
When I was trying unsuccessfully to sell my mare a few years ago, one of my parents suggested sending her to auction. I said absolutely NO way; she was a grade with minimal training, that wouldn’t have turned out well at all.
Re: McCoy Arabians http://www.wiwfarm.com/FADJUR_AND_FERZON.html
Yes, the McCoys did also breed The Real McCoy, but since he was a known SCID carrier, I would doubt that they are doing a lot of linebreeding/inbreeding of The Real McCoy without testing.
Here is another nitwit for you:
(from news:rec.equestrian)
SCTC EQUINE CENTER
I dont check here very often so if you have any great suggestions for
me, please email me privately at munch…@webtv.net
I am getting ready to go into foreclosure if I dont sell some of my
stock and need to know the best places to advertise them, best free with
pictures if possible, I know of agdirect, horsetopia, horseville,
dreamhorse, equine.com but where else would you , if you had all around
type horses
Some are jumping prospects, some barrel prospects and some just nice
baby sitter types.
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated if you could email me privately at
munch…@webtv.net
Also have lots of tack for sale
God bless you for trying to help
Lisa
boarding-training-lessons-sales
Individulaized Attention
I’m another person that is for horses being used for food. What I AM against is the inhumane way they are treated on the way to the slaughterhouse. Euthanasia, by a vet, is a nice term, but if these people can’t afford a $5 bale of grass hay, they’re not gonna pay a couple hundred to a vet to put the horse down. And then what do you do with the carcass? In our area there have been reports of horses being “found” on the road, and no one claims them! These people don’t want to send them to the killers so they put them out on the road like the puppies they hadn’t intended to raise, and dump them at some farmer’s gate thinking we’ll “take care of litle fido and friends.” This being said, I personally have kept my horses until they had to be put down (by a vet) for humane reasons, and then hired a backhoe to bury them on the place. But I’m also lucky to live on acreage, and have more of a heart for my own animals. Big pockets? Not a chance. I work at Wal Mart and NOT in upper management. Again, this being said I also cannot take in YOUR unwanted dogs, horses, or whatever else you think the farm “needs.” If all else fails, a bullet to the brain is a very humane, and fairly cheap form of euthanasia. And I believe the meat wagon will pick up and can use these animals for at least dog food. JMHO
The funny thing is, a potential mechanism already exists that could, if tinkered with, allow us to bring an end to most of the cruelty and fugliness that we rant about on these pages.
It’s called the NAIS, and if you’re a horseman and haven’t heard about it yet, shame on you!
As part of the country’s efforts to avoid disease striking the “national herd”, the feds are implementing a plan to attach unique identifying numbers to all livestock and the premises where they live or are handled. If this plan is successfully implemented and applied to equines (although most horse owners oppose it), then every horse owner/breeder/trainer/establishment would have to get a Premises Registration Number under NAIS, as would every horse owned/living thereon. Yes, it smacks of Big Brother having every horse and every facility registered and tracked and I don’t want it either BUT, if standards requiring humane treatment of all animals were mandated, I’ll bet a lot of us would support the NAIS. Wouldn’t it be ironic if enforcement of NAIS policy and registration was the tool which finally allowed equines to escape the misery of BYB, ignorant fucks who starve their horses and keep them in dangerous conditions and their tortured treatment at the hands of the killer-buyers?
We could mandate that all Registered Premises comply with set standards ensuring the safe and humane treatment of the equines registered there. Slaughterhouses, training barns, gaited horse shows, BYB, etc. would have to be Registered Premises and would therefore be open to inspection, sanctioned if they failed to meet the standards or even closed down and their stock seized. Wouldn’t that be wonderful!? I would GLADLY register my horse and even report to the government where I took him any time I left my Registered Premises if I knew there were government inspectors (hell, I’d volunteer) with the authority to inspect slaughterhouses, training barns or any premises where horses were kept, and the legal power to shut them down if they didn’t meet basic standards of safe, humane treatment and conditions. Actually having slaughterhouses to which our equines were safely and humanely transported, held and killed would become an acceptable solution for society and, hopefully, for many owners as well.
Why don’t we take a poll on that question? All in favor of lobbying our representatives to amend the NAIS legislation to include “safe and humane treatment and conditions” as a requirement for obtaining NAIS Registration, raise your hands.
Diane- I found the W-I-W site long before, while looking for and at tack, for my only Arab mare. (You can never have too many saddles, pads, bridles halters, and everything else right?
Lost track of it for too long, and was looking for it again no to long ago. Couldn’t for the life of me find it. Thanks! I’m gonna get in trouble for sure…
phoo said…
Here is another nitwit for you:
(from news:rec.equestrian)
SCTC EQUINE CENTER
I dont check here very often so if you have any great suggestions for
me, please email me privately at munch…@webtv.net
I am getting ready to go into foreclosure if I dont sell some of my
stock and need to know the best places to advertise them, best free with
pictures if possible, I know of agdirect, horsetopia, horseville,
dreamhorse, equine.com but where else would you , if you had all around
type horses
Some are jumping prospects, some barrel prospects and some just nice
baby sitter types.
Any help would be GREATLY appreciated if you could email me privately at
munch…@webtv.net
Also have lots of tack for sale
God bless you for trying to help
Lisa
boarding-training-lessons-sales
Individulaized Attention
That one is already a certified nitwit on several yahoo groups…to the point that people can’t carry on an intelligent conversation with her. It’s pretty bad. And she has an attitude.
RidesforPleasure has bought the NAIS mandate, hook, line and sinker. You caught yourself something worse than an Irish Lord.
I REFUSE to become a “stakeholder” in the National Herd. I REFUSE to report every movement on and off my property by EVERY horse on EVERY occasion. I REFUSE to have my premises in a national datebase (and we all know how safe those are, don’t we?) I REFUSE to force my vet and other equine professionals to act as the “King’s Agents” for the USDA, which cannot manage itself out of a wet paperbag. I REFUSE to tag my horse(s) and I REFUSE to buy their chips and scanners and computor programs and etc!
We get to pay FOR IT ALL, while agribiz gets a PASS for herd IDs! Eff that!! Not you and me and anyone else who has a chicken or a rabbit or a pony or anything at all….where is the RISK?
Right with Agribiz!!!
(Sorry, can you tell this one of my PET PEEVES???)
FHOTD said
From a reader. This one is of PARTICULAR note to those who think Haflinger crosses are the new hot thing!
I have no opinion on Haflinger crosses, hot or not hot, someone on a previous thread asked if anyone had heard of Haflinger/Paint crosses and I said I had heard of Haflinger/Quarter crosses because a friend of mine has a pair of them. They were bought, trained, and are being used for a specific purpose. He paid $1000 a piece for them a year and a year and a half ago at an auction. They were completely untrained. He and sister trained them for their act and they are very well taken cared for.
BTW Labor Day Weekend the pair will be performing in Las Vegas.
I myself see no reason to cross breed Haflingers and he didn’t go looking for that particular breed, they mere fit his criteria for a chariot horse. The other team are registered Morgans.
SUVALLEY said, “I REFUSE to become a “stakeholder” in the National Herd. I REFUSE to report every movement on and off my property by EVERY horse on EVERY occasion. I REFUSE to have my premises in a national datebase (and we all know how safe those are, don’t we?) I REFUSE to force my vet and other equine professionals to act as the “King’s Agents” for the USDA, which cannot manage itself out of a wet paperbag. I REFUSE to tag my horse(s) and I REFUSE to buy their chips and scanners and computor programs and etc!”
You got that right! No freedom loving American would ever fall for this crap. All of these so-called gov’t programs, in the guise of “protecting us”, are baloney. And it’s going to get worse, because the dumb ones will fall for it, all in the name of “national security”. Bull$hit.
Ridesforpleasure said “Slaughterhouses, training barns, gaited horse shows, BYB, etc. would have to be Registered Premises and would therefore be open to inspection, sanctioned if they failed to meet the standards or even closed down and their stock seized. Wouldn’t that be wonderful!?”
Seized and then what?? The government (USDA) already has done such a great job of cleaning up the abuses at gaited horse shows, right? [yes, that was sarcasm] Now we’re going to get them to take on the whole shooting match? What will they do with the seized horses? How will they enforce humane treatment? Who’s paying for it? Some big unanswered questions… I’ll not be signing up for NAIS anytime soon.
These reports are so utterly depressing to me. I don’t have a horse right now though have been leaning more and more toward starting a journey toward another horse… but with 3 kids and having to board up to 30 minutes away, its not totally practical… yet. If I could fundraise to buy myself land I’d start the best rescue, lol.. .(I’m sure all rescues start out saying that) but I don’t know how you go to an auction and not buy them all… its like when I go to animal control just to “look.” Yah right, how can you pass up those cute, needy poochies and kitties… Well we have to sometimes I suppose, but if people were more responsible they wouldn’t be there.
On the whole NAIS thing we pretty much have everything in place already- the livestock board, livestock inspectors, State Dept of Ag.
Arizona used to have hauling cards/certificate of ownership. They were yellow and had a drawing of the horse, pony, mule, burro on it and a description, reg #, etc. A transfer was $5 so very reasonably priced.
They are now *Optional* and at the POE coming in from California you are supposed to stop, but there’s a sign on the door saying we aren’t open right now and don’t know when we will be. We don’t have the funding to pay someone’s salary to sit here and monitor the horses coming in or through our state.
Why should we pay someone to track horses going to shows when we can’t even pay for someone to monitor horses at our state borders?
That is pretty disconcerting to watch that and even hear of it. Unfortuantely a need be done with the overwhelming numbers of horses.
Good website to find horse auctions in VA by chance?
like FHD, i am fiercely anti-slaughter, but pro-euthanasia. it if has to die – hell if it MIGHT die (other than the obvious natural ways – it does so in MY hands, on MY conditions. under my vets ministration, right in front of my eyes, preferably in my arms – this is how i sleep at night.
and even then ill cry like a big girl.
FORTHEFUTURE—- Can I get an AMEN?!
NAIS, is CRAP. It has NOTHING TO DO WITH NATIONAL SECURITY (you know, follow the trail of the “mad cow” back to her farmer) The HUGE FEEDLOTS get to register HUNDREDS of animals UNDER ONE NAIS number… WOW that is going to be helpful.. Wave good bye to the small farmer and rancher, this WILL be the final nail in their proverbial coffin(s)
I have been looking at some of the haflingers on line. Thought I would wait a little longer and see where auctions are at here.
I have tried finding them on line here in Minnesota.
There are so many cross breds out there its unbelievable.
I used to breed horses but stopped quite a few years ago. Started to feel quilty about bringing more into the world.( Used to breed Aztecas and 1/2 Andalusians.)
Now that I am older and no stallion and only 2 horses and little smarter I prefer not to have a stallion again. (I love stallions but to much work to take care of and more attention than the mare or gelding.And don’t need to breed.)
I really enjoy this sight and have encouraged alot of people to read it.
My worst auction story:
Had a nice kids gelding, placed well, great trail horse, good huntin horse. I was about 10 and ready to move up. This horse didn’t like to show much and we showed every weekend, sometimes 2 or more shows.
Sold him to some city folk just moved out for girlie in 4-H. They just loved horsies. They’d bought a “gentlemans farm”, herd of cattle, now a horse. Seen horse a bit, looking worse, told them how to keep him up. After year, no cattle, no horse seen. Barn still full of hay, pastures overgrown – figured they sold horse with cattle.
Friend going through sale barn. Horse in loose pen whinnied at him. This horse had a unique whinny and scar, the only way he could tell it was my horse. Took forever for the poor thing to make it over for a scratch & pat. Guy decides he’ll take the horse, goes to ring, no horse. Poor thing died in the pen w/o making the ring.
If these low-life BF’d sons/slues of a sypha slue would have gotten rid of him instead of just quit feeding him… I’d rather he’d gone to a KB years before than suffer like he did.
Oh yeah – the B(*@$ is head of her local PETA division now. If she’s to lazy/stupid to care for an animal, everyone must be. DUH!!!
Fugly is fugly no matter the breed. IMHO if you own them feed them, otherwise give them a good home or dignified death. I have no problem with them being slaughtered,IF they are handled and transported properly. Much better than being mistreated or starved by fools. First post after seeing this site for a couple of days. Lots of good comments and some uninformed ones too. IMHO.
I can no longer go to horse auctions. The last auction I went to was Pacific Livestock Auction back in 94. I repurchased a buckskin mare I bred. It took me months to find her after she had been abandoned at a boarding facility. Her attitude had changed due to the atmosphere she was in. When I first saw her I ran up to her and jumped on the corral rail. She came at me with mouth wide open. When she recognized me she stopped and nickered. The owner of that auction saw me comin. I paid $900 bucks for that horse. I didn’t care, I knew she was safe once again. While there I saw some gorgeous horses. The man I talked to about them said most of them went to Maybelline. I said huh? He told me they buy up the Arabians and use the hair for their makeup brushes and such. Needless to say I don’t buy Maybelline products in any form. I am anti slaughter/pro euthanasia myself but I wonder whats going to happen to all the unwanted horses when all the slaughter houses are shut down in this country. There are crueler fates in other countries. Mexico would be one of them. I can’t even imagine how horses are treated at the processing plants there and frankly, I don’t want to either.
>It’s called the NAIS, and if you’re a horseman and haven’t heard about it yet, shame on you!<
I’ve heard of it and am doing everything I can to get it repealed here in Texas. I ride mounted patrol for a living, I own 3 horses, and haul one of them to work with me each and every day that I work. On days I don’t work, I may be hauling 2 or all 3 to an SCA event to joust or play other horseback games. This NAIS would want me to inform them every time I haul a horse away from the stables. They want me to register the premises, (which I don’t own)and tag my horses, at my own expense. I don’t think so. Search for web sites dealing with the issue of horses being included in this, and having to register each duck, chicken or goose. This is a nightmare in the making for any small livestock owner, and really dosn’t do what the writers of the plan say it can do.
wtfh? – i think youve been misled. for starters, maybelline are owned by l’oreal, so they dont produce any of their own products. secondly, natural bristle cosmetic brushes are extremely high quality and costly – again, not maybelline. thirdly, though a number of different animal hairs are sourced for brushes (pony, badger, squirrel, sable, goat etc.) the hair is generally sourced in china and processed in japan or europe – highly unlikely anyone would be buying horses in america to ship to china for their hair.
http://www.a-squirrel.com/
makeup-sable-goat-hair.html#Pony-Hair
wow-horses are going for the same out here in Oklahoma. CHEAP.
I am pro-slaughter ONLY if the unwanted horses can be transported and cared for properly. Also a different humane method of putting them down needs to be instilled instead of the ‘shooting bolt’ method-that is just wrong.
Many horses are now being shipped to Mexico where I am sure the slaughterhouse conditions are FAR worse than any in the USA ever were.
New breeding program (found online)
Grade Haflinger mares x Gypsy stud!
Please discuss.
“different humane method of putting them down needs to be instilled instead of the ‘shooting bolt’ method-that is just wrong.”
I don’t think I know what “shooting bolt” is…is that the pneumatic gun that is meant to crush the skull at the “temple”? Maybe we just call it something else?
If anyone is interested, here is some information that I have learned about horse slaughter in Canada. If you are squeamish about it, you may not want to read. Now, this is based on limited exposure, but it may be interesting to you if you’ve never stood on a kill floor.
We have a slaughterhouse in the family, we don’t do horses, because we don’t ship overseas…in fact, only “horse approved” slaughterhouses do horses…and they ship almost exclusively to the United States and France.
At any rate, pigs are shocked by what is essentially a taser on a stick…and according to the family member, they’ve never had one live through it. We don’t do birds, but cows and wild game are as follows.
Cows are shot, with a shell, by a MARKSMAN. Sometimes the cow isn’t killed instantly, and it’s pretty horrifying…but it doesn’t usually live long enough to load a second shot. Horses are USUALLY done this way, according to the family member. They don’t use the pneumatic gun because it is unsuccessful too often…and it requires that the shooter get very close to the animal, which panics them further. It is unsafe and inefficient. If it WORKS, it’s about as humane as a gun, but it is kind of a stupid option. The head of EVERY SINGLE cow, big game animal or sheep is sent to the Federal Lab for testing, and the meat inspector is on the floor for EVERY KILL to ensure that nothing sick gets buthchered and to ensure that the kills are humane.
My family refuses to purchase animals that are sick or underweight…and no killer we know would…it’s a waste of time and space. Every single animal killed at slaughter is a difficult, time consuming process. Even if they get a load off a HUGE truck, the ones that sneak in that are low quality are just euthanised (shot) before they even hit the chute and sent to render. Slaughterhouses typically don’t feed-up skinny animals.
I was able to take a farrier course and we were given cadaver feet to practice on. Straight from the slaughterhouse. It was rare to find a “normal” foot…club feet, HORRIBLE founder, evidence of navicular…the horses hitting that slaughterhouse were NOT good riding horses, for the most part.
Once again, limited experience, but that’s how slaughterhouses in THIS part of Canada work.
I have two Haflingers (both registered) and think it’s a great breed just the way it is. There isn’t anything wrong with a Haflinger cross, but for Pete’s Sake…why do it!
And now that “spots” are all the rage, some nitwit has started his own breed registry – the North American Spotted Haflinger registry! Why, you may ask? Well, to put it in his own words…”By crossing a reg. APHA homozygous stallion with a reg. Haflinger mare, the resulting foal was the answer that had so illuded me for the past ten years. Putting a new breed of horse and registry together has been my destiny. It is with great pride that I offer to you the Horse for all Seasons the Horse for all Reasons.”
http://www.nash2006.com/frame.htm
I’ll take my little golden ponies anytime over one with spots!!!
FHOTD – I love your blog and hope that with time, more people will begin to see that we don’t need to breed a mare just because she’s a mare. Seeing some of the resulting foals from these BYB’s just make me want to cry.
redhorse:
I just checked out that website. Wow.
One: Learn how to spell “fillies.”
Two: Exactly WHAT rodeo event would these horses excel in (as noted on the homepage statement). Maybe as saddle broncs? No…too tall for that. Too chunky to be quick rope horses or doggin’ horses. Maybe the queen can ride one when she carries her flag. No, wait – I doubt any respectable rodeo queen would want to ride something with that extreme level of fug. Sigh.
I’m pleased to see that there are thinking people here that recognize NAIS as pure BULLSHIT.
Yeah, give the government some more control of my life, you fool!
The .gov can stay the hell out of my business and my pocketbook. They are all for control of other peoples possessions.
NAIS, my ass…
This is long, but is a news update from a group working against the NAIS. Go to the links and read up on it. It will scare you…
Help Spread the Word About NAIS!
Despite the public outcry against NAIS, many people still do not know about it, or know only part of the story. Help us to change that, by educating the people in your area!! Download flyers and handouts at http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/take-action. Put copies out at your local feed store, auction barn, farmers market, co-op, and anywhere else people gather!
To educate the public, FARFA also hosts public meetings about NAIS and attends agriculture-related events to speak and distribute materials. Check out the list of upcoming events at http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/upcoming-meetings. If you see an event in your area, please come and bring a friend. Tell your friends and neighbors about the event, and help us reach as many people as possible!!
If you would like to arrange a meeting in your area, or have a speaker address your organization, contact us at info@farmandranchfreedom.org or 866-687-6452.
Right now, I’m in Kansas City, Missouri, gathering information at the annual Animal ID Info Expo. The industry and government players are getting together to talk about where NAIS is now and how to move it forward. Your state veterinarian is probably here, using your tax dollars to attend. Next week’s email will have some of the highlights, and FARFA members will get the full story in their next newsletter.
September Events
Below are the events currently scheduled for September. See http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/upcoming-meetings for more, including events in Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.
September 6-7: Rapid City, SD. Speaking appearance and booth at the South Dakota Stockgrowers annual convention. For more information, go to http://www.southdakotastockgrowers.org/june%2007%20tentative_agenda.htm
September 11: Columbus, TX. Public meeting on the National Animal ID System, hosted by FARFA. The meeting will be from 7-9pm at the EMS Building, 305 Radio Lane, Columbus, TX 78934. For more information, contact Bob Raborn, rraborn@earthlink.net. Help spread the word by sharing this flyer: http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/files/Meeting-Columbus-9.11.07-v.2.pdf
September 20-21: Waco, TX. Farm & Food Leaders’ Training conference. FARFA is one of the co-sponsors for this two-day event on agricultural policy that is bringing people together from state and national organizations to hear from experts concerning policies and issues that affect our land and our food supply. For more information, go to http://www.tofga.org.
September 24: Mt. Pleasant, TX. The Republican Women of Northeast Texas is hosting a talk about the National Animal ID System. The club will meet at 6 pm at Applebee’s, 2300 Greenhill Avenue, Mt. Pleasant, TX 75455, for dinner and a business meeting. The talk on the NAIS will begin around 6:45.
Support Our Work
If you are not already a member, please consider joining FARFA. Membership starts at just $10! Your membership dues and donations enable us to go to events and distribute materials to educate people about the threats to independent agriculture.
Please help us to continue this important work. Visit our membership page: http://farmandranchfreedom.org/content/join-farfa
Working together, we can make our voices heard!
Sincerely,
Judith McGeary
Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance
http://www.farmandranchfreedom.org
866-687-6452
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Umm, wow!
Do you get a chip put in your own head too? So they can track how often you feed and water?
I really don’t think all of them are that fugly. But I also don’t see the need to cross paints and Haflingers. It looks like they might be popular among the Amish or Mennonites.
BTW speaking of that I went to Horse Progress Days one year, which is basically a marketing tool for horse drawn machinery, and was horrified by the fact that the local population came early in the morning driving their horses and buggies and then tied lines of horses still harnessed and attached to the buggies and left them all day standing in the hot sun with no shelter, no chance of moving, and no food or water. Then the family would pile in the buggy at night and drive home. Just like they would have parked a car and left it.
lifelike001 said…
wtfh? – i think youve been misled. for starters, maybelline are owned by l’oreal, so they dont produce any of their own products. secondly, natural bristle cosmetic brushes are extremely high quality and costly – again, not maybelline. thirdly, though a number of different animal hairs are sourced for brushes (pony, badger, squirrel, sable, goat etc.) the hair is generally sourced in china and processed in japan or europe – highly unlikely anyone would be buying horses in america to ship to china for their hair.
This was back in 94 that this man said that to me. That company also got lanolin from these horses supposedly. I’ll use that word because what that man said to me wasn’t documented so it could very well be bullshit. lol I would feel much better if it was. Thank you for bringing the info to my attention though.
I’d personally like to see a blog done on what restrictions a non-”official” regular ordinary person who owns horses can actually legally place on a horse when they go to buy, sell, or give it away.
“Free horse”… I can understand going to check out the new digs, and maybe a time period afterward of checking up on it, but some of these horses become boomerang horses. When does sanity end and control-freak sapheaded old git begin?
PS- Thanks. You know what I mean.
heheh sounds like he was a good ole fashioned shit talker – lanolin comes from sheep
to kay
“It looks like they might be popular among the Amish or Mennonites.”
The Amish are known to NOT want anything flashy, as it is a sign of pride which is sinful. Almost all of their horses are just plain sorrell.
The Amish also seem to prefer Standardbreds for carriage horses, as they want to get there quickly.
Mennonites drive cars.
Yes I know, but it does look like the Mennonites are doing some of the breeding. I say that from looking at the owners, plus the fact that the Amish don’t want to be photographed and the Mennonites don’t seem to mind it.
We have several Mennonite families living in our area and you are correct they do drive cars.