Belt Auction

Horse auction questions?

My friends and I are going to a horse auction this summer to rescue two horse.Don't worry we all ride hunter/jumper and show on the "a" circuit and know how to handle a horse with they get frisky so were basically all advanced riders. Anyway this is a first time rescuing horses from auctions and I have a few questions about auctions: 1. Will the ex-owner tell us how well the horse trailers? Should I expect a false answer? 2.Will we know if the horse has ever been under saddle or is well-broke? 3. What would be a good budget on a horse? 4. When we get the horse home, what do we feed it? (hay, equine senior, or strategy) 5.What supplies should we bring? ( halters, food, ect.) 6.When should we start introducing the horse to each other and turning them out into pasture? 7. Will we know the age of the horse and what would be an apporitate age to get the horse? Thanks and my freinds own a barn with 2 stalls.

Public Comments

1. Thats a great idea, and its neat that you are planning. Here's what I think: I would not expect even to be able to talk to the ex-owner, you might be able to, but don't expect to. After the sale, you might get honest answers, but who knows? To find out if the horse is broke, get to the sale early and try it out. Only you know what your budget is, but for a "rescue" I would stick to WELL under 1K, I would shoot for the 250$ range. When you get your horse home, I would stick to hay for a few days, then introduce your feed slowly. I would bring halters, leads, rope to help you load if necessary. I would bring my own riding equipment, since I am encouraging you to ride the horse before the sale, maybe a longe line if you can't ride. You probably want to quarentine the horse for up to a couple of weeks, then introduce the herd to the horse, not the horse to the whole heard at one time. The auctioneer will probably tell the approximate age of the horse, but while you are checking him out before the sale, look at his teeth. If I was looking for a rescue to turn for a profit (which is what I am guessing you are doing), I would look for a 4 to 8 year old. If you are truely looking to rescue, go with the oldest, they need you the worst. Thats all I can think of right now.
2. The only thing I could add to burdfour, Have a place to quarantine any horse you buy. Get the current Coggins and whatever health records are availible. Good luck <<+>> i see you mentioned quarantine, oops.
3. You're advanced riders. Are you advanced horsemen/women? There's a big difference. Buying at auction, there are NO guarantees. The horse may be doped; he may be on major pain killers; he may have behavioral issues; he may be unsound. If it's not a killer type auction, you can often speak to the sellers; whether they know anything or will tell the truth is another story. If it's a true rescue, where the horse will be slaughtered without your intervention, you probably won't be able to talk to anyone about the horse. Ex-racehorses are usually shipped by professional shippers, who won't know anything about the particular horse. PMU horses, no one really knows much about. Abuse/neglect cases... those are the worst. The owners aren't worth talking to. The budget will depend on the horse. If it's a run down, neglected starvation case, let whoever wants to bid over $250 take it - killers won't. If it's a hopping lame ex racehorse and you don't know how to evaluate the lameness, buy it for a companion price because it may never do more. It may, or course, just need 6 months off and become a world class eventer, but don't count on it! Expect whatever horse you get to need work, and not just feeding and riding. Expect to immediately vaccinate and worm it, and isolate it from other horses for a while. Get a vet out to evaluate soundness issues. If it's thin, get a horse dentist to come float the teeth. Its feet will probably need a quick visit from a farrier. Expect the horse to have behavioral issues, and be prepared to deal with them patiently but firmly. You will know the approximate age of the horse if and only if you know how to read teeth. I prefer the younger horses; their injuries, both to mind and body, will heal more quickly, and there is a better chance they'll be useful at some point. I like 3-8 year olds. Supplies to bring: 1. Someone who knows what they're doing at an auction 2. Someone with a hard heart who can look at the pathetic needy horses and not fall in love with the hopeless cases 3. Someone who can load an unwilling horse - once the hammer falls, it''s yours, whether you can get it home or not. 4. The phone # of a professional shipper in case you can't get the horse in the trailer 5. Halter. Lead rope with shank. Twitch if you know how to use it. Lunge whip (for encouraging it to walk straight into the trailer, not for whipping). Lunge line. Some sweet feed or other treats for tempting. 6. Don't worry about shipping boots or blanketing until you get them home and used to you. 7. Consider asking your vet for a tranquilizer in case it gets upset in the trailer. When you get it home, try to unload it somewhere it can't get loose - in a field is ideal. Then, you can either put it in a stall or in the field, whichever you wish, and let it be overnight at least to calm down and accustom itself to its new surroundings. Feed it good grass hay, fresh water, which you should have placed out for it before you left for the auction. Next day, evaluate its condition and needs, then select a food appropriately. BE GRADUAL with any feed other than grass hay. I would keep the two horses together. They'll need the company, and they've probably both been exposed to the same things anyway. Don't get me wrong, you can encounter wonderful, honest people at these auctions, and you may pick up a wonderful horse. I know I've done both. However... it's best to be prepared for the worst. Good Luck! and... have fun.
4. I like Zephania's answer. Here are some personal observations from two horse auctions in my state: In one, you will sometimes meet the previous owner, and they have a ring where horses can be tried out before the sale. At the other, you will probably not see an owner, and the horses are just in the various livestock pens before the sale. So, that answers your questions 1 & 2. In short, expect the worst and be happy for any pleasant surprises. Question 7: Between now and the auction, you and your friends should learn to tell how old a horse is by it's teeth. If the age is announced at the auction, it could quite possibly be a made up age. Learn to see for yourself. One horse I bought at an auction I wouldn't have bought if I didn't know about the teeth. He looked like an old, broken down 12 hand pony on it's last legs. On my second walk through, I took a look at his teeth and discovered he still had his baby teeth! I bought him, gave him food and wormer, and he turned into a very nice 14 hand pony. Question 7b: I prefer to get horses with unknown histories when they're very young. That way they haven't had too much time for someone to screw them up too badly, and they're easier to retrain. The three I've bought at auction were all under 1 year old. You and your friends should shoot for something a little older than that, since you probably have no experience with very young horses.
5. 1. Depending on the auction you may not be able to talk to the owner. Sometimes the horses are transported in and there at the auction on consignment. The owner could be 8 states away! (we were) If that is the case, you only know what the auction paper states. 2. Depending on the type of auction again. The fair ones will state if the horse is 'started', 'green', 'finish your way', or finished. Maybe even state how many months/years of training, if any. The questionable auctions may fib. "oh he's green" when really he's only had the saddle on twice and both times bucked off the rider. 3. Budget? What you want to spend and determine that number and do not go over it, no matter what. 4. Personally, if they don't tell you what he's had then I would feed hay then slowly add the grain after a few weeks, that you want to put him on. Like a 1/4lb for 2 weeks then double it the next weeks. 5. Halters, hay net, bucket, lead line, lunge line (just in case), Ace (if you know how to give shots) just in case. 6.Quarantine for 30 days so that there is no over the fence touching and no other horses have access to the new horses manure. After that you put them in a pasture that shares the fenceline with the other horses so they can smell eachother over the fence. After a few weeks to a month of that then you can introduce. 7. Hopefully you will be told the truthful age, if it's a reputable auction. There may be a vet there that you can have look at the horse before the auction starts. You need to decide what age you want. The older ones are the ones that need the most rescuing. The younger ones have a better chance of finding a home. 8. Make sure to check the horses out before hand and then have the vet/farrier that are normally walking around check the feet out for you...or take your own farrier. Some horses are Aced to hide their laminitis and navicular issues to make the sale.
6. I have been to many auctions and bought horses from many auctions. It is not always possible to talk to an ex-owner. Some horses may be from sale barns/brokers, thus the person who brought them their knows essentially nothing about the horse. However, assuming that the horse trailered over to the auction it must not be impossible to get him back on the trailer. Never expect a true answer at an auction. These people just want to unload the horses to get them off of their hands. Depends on the auction. Some horses are led around the ring by hand so you will have no idea how it is under saddle, and other horses are ridden in (usually by kids to show how good the horse is) so you can get a general idea, however I have never seen a horse put through all its paces while in the ring. A good budget is whatever you are willing to spend. Most I have spent at auction is $2000 per horse. With the market down right now I would expect that you can find some good quality papered horse for pretty cheap as most are being bid on for slaughter. All my horses from auction ate my hay and grain (Trotter) when they got home and never had any problems. Bring a halter and lead rope. Usually after the horse is all paid up for you can just load him up on your trailer and leave. I wouldnt bother with wraps/shipping boots unless it is going to be a really long haul. When I introduce a new horse to the herd I do it one of two ways. Either put the new horse is a pasture next to the herd where they can sniff noses over the fence until they get used to each other, or, bring the herd in, turn the new horse out in the pasture first then one by one let the herd out, starting with those lowest in the pecking order. I have never had any problems happen with this. Age of the horse can be a crapshoot unless it is papered. You can always get an approx age by checking out their teeth before the auction starts. Whatever age you want to get really...you can get a weanling/yearling and train it, or an older horse...that's really up to you. I have gotten anything from yearlings to late teens at auctions. Some were papered and some were not but they were all wonderful horses.