Fall 2009

FALL 2009 SUMMARY
Ellie Ross

Well its been a while since I've updated the blog and I sincerely apologize.

The number of horses drastically plummeted at OLEX over the summer months as did the prices. For a while there it seemed that it wasn't worth the gas for people to ship their horses into the sale.
Some poor condition horses couldn't even sell for 2 cents a pound and were marked as ' no sale'. This gives the consignor the opportunity to take the horse back or have it culled at OLEX. Basically one must remember that it is a meat business. An underweight horse weighing 800lbs, that should weigh 1100lbs, takes up just as much room on the truck as the 1500lb horses so, its space that costs more than the payout at the plant. Essentially - it cost them more to ship the horse than they will get in meat.

The longstanding trend of Standardbreds being the most popular breed at the kill auction continues. Many look racing fit and several others look like they are coming off a breeding program. Many of these horses make great buggy horses for the Mennonite and Amish communities. It should be pointed out that once they are unable to perform their jobs as Buggy Horses, they more often than not, end up back at OLEX.



Current meat price, at OLEX, for the horses over 1000lbs, but are not draft type, is between 25-30cents a pound. Heavy horse prices have been hovering between 15-25 cents. Some horses are being sold by the pound, at either the discretion of the auctioneer or request of the consignor.



There have been large lots of horses coming into the kill auction containing feedlot horses from out west. These are horses that were born and raised solely for the purpose of slaughter. Most of these are not horses that can be safely handled.

There have also been large lots of horses coming up from the US that are predominantly Paint and QH youngsters. Mostly under the age of two. The body conditions vary from lot to lot. I have seen some very nice looking babies going through the sales and selling for as little as $23.00

I hear many stories about kill buyers at other auctions and if I had to compare, I would have to say that we should consider ourselves fortunate at the OLEX market. The main buyer consistently opts out of bidding on horses if a non-meat buyer commences bidding. In addition, any horses in his pen are available for negotiation with him immediately after the sale. Cooperation for which I am grateful for.

If you are on Twitter, I often 'Tweet' live from the sales. This past summer I tweeted live from OLEX, The Amish School Fundraiser Auction and even the Exotic animal auction. FOLLOW ME ON TWITTER .
For those of you that don't know what Twitter is - Click here for description.

We've had a very busy summer recovering and homing OTTBs mainly, from a variety of sources that include auctions, feedlots and direct from the Racetracks. I'm very happy to announce that at least 4 of these horses will be showing on the Trillium circuit next year!

Speaking of showing... I will be personally showing an OTTB at the Royal Winter Fair on Sat. Nov 14th. Please be sure to say hello to the Dark Bay Gelding 'Our Select' (affectionately known as Prince), that was so kindly arranged for me to have direct from the Racetrack.
You can't miss him with those 4 white socks and foal face! See photo -

At the request of several individuals, here is a repeat of the
News Video done by The Record's Matt McCarthy -

(not graphic)

If anyone is interested in acquiring an OTTB or would like assistance at an auction, please do not hesitate to contact me. I'm always happy to assist with bidding, selection etc. I know auctions can be most confusing and this prevents many from purchasing. Feel free to contact me -
fielddogs@ gmail .com (remove spaces)

Until next time....