O/T: Cheap horses

At an auction today, six horses were auctioned off. All either Tennessee Walkers or Missouri Foxtrotters. All registered with papers to prove it. At least four of them well broke. None of them went for more than $300. I knew the horse market was poor, but I didn't realize how poor.

By the way, I bought a 7 y.o. MO Foxtrotter mare for my oldest daughter. She took lessons when she was younger and even had a pony for a while. Been very interested in getting a horse. Well, the price was right and we are flush with hay this year, so why not.... Besides, I told my daughter, if the horse didn't work out, we could always eat her and still be ahead! My daughter didn't appreciate the economics or the humor of that statement :>). Go figure!

Christopher

Around here at the auction barns a horse seller has to pay a fee up front to sell a horse.

A horse trader friend of mine hangs out at the auction barn and buys nice horses all the time when the sellers are unwilling to pay the fee and he picks up the horses anywhere from free to $200.

Around here, horses have been given away,,, can't afford to feed 'em.

There give away here in Tx. Local guy I know hauls to Mexico has to take what there paying aint wroth hauling back. Durn horse lovers anyway. There just another animal, cow, pig chicken. We eatem.

A lot of free horses around here. Been that way for years.

Until 3 years a go there were 3 horse slaughter plants operating in the US, two in Texas and one in Illinois, these plants processed for human comsumption and pet food. There was also a steady export trade of US slaughter horses to Mexico. Congress tried, and failed, to outright ban horse slaughter but they did ban transporting horses for slaughter so that closed the Mexican trade. The so called do gooders whom had been lobbying congress for years to ban slaughter then went to the federal court system and got the USDA inspectors removed from the slaughter plants, the plants had no choice but to close. The cruel result is horses starving to death all over the country and the total collaspe of horse prices.

Closed off Canada as well. Most of the value is export to Europe (especially France) and Japan for human consumption, not pet food. Plenty of misc meat by-products from other animals for that market!

Neighbor has a livestock hauling business. In this area people are starting to lock their horse trailers at the livestock sales. They are coming out and finding horses have been left in them.

Ive been looking for 2 horses and havent been able to find anything for less than 1200. When i do they are already gone. I'm looking more in the 300 to free ballpark. Both broke.

you can think rep. congresman ed whitfield first district in ky for the ban on killing horses for slaughter. he the one who got it all rolling. not sue why. i gues some one sent a race horse to the slaughter houes or something.

(quoted from post at 21:31:16 10/24/09) Ive been looking for 2 horses and havent been able to find anything for less than 1200. When i do they are already gone. I'm looking more in the 300 to free ballpark. Both broke.

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Where are you and what do you plan on doing with the horses (just riding)? What kind (breed) of horse are you looking for? We bought a Paint filly for 1200 and a friend bought a ridden Quarter Horse for 300. Depends on where you look.

About slaughtering, If you could control the idiots (thieves mostly), there should be at least one facility in each State. Would clean out a lot of broke/wore out animals, increase the value of the good ones, and generate some income (until someone decided to tax it real good). Also is a much more respectable way to cull an animal. Watched a horse put to sleep by a vet once and that will never happen at our place.


Dave

My wife quit breeding horses about 3 years ago, but still trying to sell them off as trail horses- she breakes and trains them. She's determined to get 3 grand apiece for them (registered Paso Finos), and its an uphill struggle, but she's sold 2 this year, and has another good prospect. Don't know how she does it- guess she could sell ice to the eskimos.

I'm just looking for a horse to ride around the place and help drive the cattle in.

Where are you? You can find good horses real reasonable, just depends on how far you want to go get it. I'd suggest you find a couple nice Foundation Bred (old lines and clear headed) Quarter Horses. May not find them for 300 bucks, but it's possible. You'll usually get what you pay for. A good horse is still a good horse regardless of the economy but you'll have folks using it as an excuse to get rid of a headache. If you're not a horse lover, you'll get more out of a Quad though.

Dave

Does ALPO still buy horses ?

Hope you are a horseman or prepared to spend the time to become one. Can you make an extended ride at a trot, canter, and gallop and stay in the saddle?

There are varying degrees of broke horses and they don't stay broke. An experienced rider's broke horse is not the same as a kid broke horse. I bought a paint mare that was claimed to have been ridden in the local parade by the kids. Gave off nice colts but not a horse that wanted to be ridden very well. Ended up at the sale barn with it.

You gotta make a horse respect you which means you have to know horses well and be able to ride well when they test you to see who is the dominant one. They need regular riding to stay broke.

Be prepared to spend a grand a year for shots, meds, wormers, feed, hoof trimming, etc. per healthy horse plus all the tack and then you will want a trailer. Then the horse training seminars and dvds or hiring a trainer. All the horse training in the world won't help if the rider is trained the same way using the same cues.

Then all the time working with them daily and moving feed around and then any barn repairs and fence fixing/building needed to keep one. Gotta work with them regularly so you can get them in and saddled and pick up their hooves for trimming.

Lots of good bargains out there but usually horses that are just barely green broke and not broke completely or properly. People have too many horses and the ones they get rid of are the ones not ridden in a while who have problems, head tossers, jumpy, won't maintain gait, hard to catch, and the list goes on.

Unless you know training, as a minimum I wouldn't want a horse that you can't walk out with rope and halter and catch with no fuss. Rub its nose, forehead, bend it ears around, touch all over, and then be able to pick up each hoof long enough to pick them clean. Trailer load without pushing pulling and working it. All this with no fuss. Then you have to get on without it moving, walk trot and canter on cue and stop or slow down on cue, turn on cue, all without fuss and hopefully without spurs. Otherwise the horse is a project.

Then you get it home and find out that the horse that was perfect over where you got it doesn't like being alone or at the new place and reverts back anyway.

Good luck.

Good God!!!! You must be dealing with some snooty horses, or are a trainer that needs work :roll:
Good advice I guess in some cases, but ALL horses aren't the same. No need in painting a bad picture for a guy.
Gotta have trust and respect for each other and the rest comes second (my experience anyway).

Dave

BC is exactly right on all issues.

My grandpa always had horses-he farmed with them into the 1990s, just because he wanted too! He would teach them to back a wagon, even at the auction house. He would drive to the amish areas of Missouri to sell them. His were usually the only ones that would back up in the ring, most others were spooked! Greg

bc is right on saying what a lot of people find out the hard way. And Dave2, I think that's the point of bc's post, i.e. that ALL horses aren't alike so expect the unexpected. Rides fine one day, is lame the next. Hoof issues, infections, abscesses, bites/cuts from halter tag in the paddock. Even if there are no health/injury issues, I see people dissapointed with their horses when it's not the horse's fault.

I don't think it's painting a bad picture. Just letting people know what they're in for. Our family took lessons and leased horses for 15 years before we bought one. So we knew what we were getting into. See a lot of people buy a horse for their kid who loses interest when they hit their teens and the horse then sits in a stall.

Good point. Guess we've just been lucky.

omahagreg, nice picture. I bet those horses were treated real well and were happy as can be even though they probably worked hard. It was probably very interesting as horses came and went and the herd dynamics changed. I see too many places with a single horse just standing in a pasture, looking lonely and bored.

You bet they were treated well! We would get frustrated, because they would not come for us, but the minute my Grandpa would shut the house door, they would come running for him! In this picture, the one on the left was his only saddle horse, and as such, she had to wait for the others to be done eating. Greg