November 27th 2009

AUCTIONS AUCTIONS AUCTIONS

ellie ross




What to do with so many horses becoming displaced?

There are many nice horses going through OLEX and other auctions. Just two weeks ago, I acquired two very very lovely, well bred, sound and sane Grey Thoroughbred mares. They are what so many people say they want. Over 16hh, moderate bone, nice build etc. There were others as well but simply put, I can not buy all of them.

The week before I acquired a 17hh, large boned TB gelding that was lacking groceries, to say the least. A monster size of a TB.
I am very happy to announce that this Big Red horse has moved on to his new home and would like to thank my friend S.K.B. for her generous offer to foster him for a few days and a bigger thank you to the person that can see the potential in this horse and happily took him home.

Just this week a lovely reining horses went through the ring. Sound, good body condition, appeared sane etc. Sold for 49 cents a pound.Do the math! He weight about 1150lbs...

Prices at OLEX are still low overall. Some horses unable to even fetch as little as 2 cents per pound. Several horses go through with no information. Its a hip tag and a weight. That is it.

It is understood that this is a meat sale. It is not marketed as a riding horse sale and that is clear, however, there are on average only two meat buyers and the balance of the people there are potential horse buyers. Doesn't the horse deserve a voice? A little blurb about its age, history, experience, anything? Its not the sale that is at fault, it is the owner of that animal. My grey mares came through with only their age and breed. The Big Red Gelding came thru with nothing at all. Just his weight.
All of these horses are broke to ride. All of them are sane. All of them have a history and if it was revealed, could have resulted in more people being interested in them. This is not limited to these three horses but to all the horses that continuously go through that ring that hold the potential to be some one's horse. I should note that this information sharing should not only be limited to the good history but the bad as well. I have endured injuries, as I'm sure many others have, 'taking chances' on these horses. We take the good with the bad but a little information would go a long way.

With so many auctions occurring and so many auctions under fire, one must remember this very important point - that auction is the horses opportunity to get bought for homes vs. heading to slaughter. Without those auctions, these horses would not gain any exposure and would essentially just disappear. Out of sight, out of mind. The Claremont Auction occurs every two weeks and while the setup is less than ideal in many horse owners' views, it is exposure and it is an opportunity. There were some off track TBs at the last sale hosted there. None were 'fresh' off the track from this season. Three had gone on to be polo ponies, another was a very well schooled mare that had been a well cared for, loved broodmare and the last had clearly been off the track long enough to get soft, grow a mane long enough to form a large collection of burrs. There was a lovely sporthorse type mare there, a very very attractive medium jumper pony, some registered APHA babies, QHs galore etc. The arena provides an opportunity to demonstrate the horses under saddle and the prices fluctuate. Some prices truly reflect the value of the horses while others were, in my opinion, a steal.

This Saturday is going to be one very packed schedule of horse auctions-

Some upcoming sales Saturday Nov 28th -

• Wainfleet Horse Auction hosted by Nelson Bilyea
  52119 Misener Road
  Wainfleet, ON L0S 1V0 Call for details (905) 899-1559
  

• Waterloo County Horse Sale
  Held at OLEX, but it is not an OLEX sale
  Info at http://www.waterloocountysales.com/about.htm
  This sale is mainly buggy horses and work horses geared towards the Mennonite and Amish Communities however there are often some nice ponies and riding horses as well. Tack sells first. The St.Jacobs Farmers Market is on next door so makes for a full day out.

• Canadian Thoroughbred Horse Society Sale
  Held at Woodbine
  Info - http://www.cthsont.com/mixedsale.php
  All Thoroughbreds of all ages and has had some great vendors present in the past.

Upcoming December 7th-
Appeared in the Acton Tanner

"Innkeepers Act Sale" It reads : I, Arthur McKenna will sell by Public Auction under the "Innkeepers Act", the property of Viviane Chagnon and Dominic Polsinelli of 136 Winges Rd #6, Woodbridge, Ont L4L 6C3
Notification and advertising have been completed as required by the "Innkeepers Act" by advertisement and registered mail sent to Viviane Chagnon and Dominic Polsinelli.
Public Auction to be held on the 7th day of December, 2009 at the hr of 11am at 14324 Fourth Line Acton Ont, L7J 2L8
Offered for Sale will be five horses known as Great Expectations (stallion), One Way Love colt (bay colt), One dark bay filly, One dark bay yearling filly, and One thoroughbred racehorse
Lien on the horses is approximately $10,000 calculated to the 7th day of Dec, 2009
Arthur McKenna (Innkeeper) Oct 20, 2009


Auctions can be quite intimidating to many that are not familiar with the process, bidding etc. Often people don't understand what the auctioneer is saying and then hesitate to bid when they don't even know what price they are coming in at. Please know, that I am always more than happy to assist anyone at any auction that I am attending, so please don't be shy.
Email - fielddogs @gmail .com (remove spaces)

Its for the horses...

Happy Thanksgiving to all our friends south of the border.