Buying horses from auctions...

jadelovescassie

jadelovescassie

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Has anyone here or anyone you know had experience with buying a horse or pony from an auction (where they would in the end go to the meat man if nobody wanted them)? Good or bad experiences?

After a previous post on here I am thinking of giving a poor horse or pony a better home and future. Just to state, this is not something I will go into lightly, and not something I will do without considering everything carefully.
 
Subject to vetting on the day I would buy an un-backed horse from the sales but not an already backed one.
I think with sales you are normally a lot safer then in a private sale, if you get the horse home and its not as advertised you can bring it back. Of course that means there are a lot of vague adverts to avoid this.

I tend to judge the horse on how it behaves in the ring, the sort worth their weight in gold will just walk around it perhaps a bit tense and looking. Stay clear of the ones trying to cart the handler out the ring or the ones doing fly bucks at the spectators.
 
I bought Donovan from the auction, we choose him because he was quiet and happy in his stable, not at all tense or worried. We had long long talks with his owners which were always there at his stable which I took as a good sign, they wanted to know that he was ok. Obviously my purchase had nothing to do with his handsome face or that I fell for him as soon as I saw him!:rolleyes::o:rolleyes::o:D
 
jadelovescassie said:
Has anyone here or anyone you know had experience with buying a horse or pony from an auction (where they would in the end go to the meat man if nobody wanted them)? Good or bad experiences?

After a previous post on here I am thinking of giving a poor horse or pony a better home and future. Just to state, this is not something I will go into lightly, and not something I will do without considering everything carefully.
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Unless i had previous knowledge about a horse I would only by a youngster from auction. Unless you only wanted a companion and were willing to call it a day later if necessary. But you have to be realistic.

I also have the land to keep them on so to me it would be minimal expense. I could take on a youngster from a sale and take a risk on it. But tbh I wouldnt as it costs as much to keep a bad one as it does a good one and you get emotionally attached and then you have a paddock ornament for life...

Dont go there!;):)
 
Buying from auctions is a huge gamble, you could end up with a real good one, or equally so one that requires hundreds/thousands of pounds of vet treatment, or could be a dangerous type.

You have to have a damn good eye, and years of experience to even stand a chance of getting it right, its amazing the lengths people will go to to cover up a horses problems. Remember people use these auctions to off load problem horses or to off load youngsters that are of poor conformation and quality.

Youngsters can be the best gamble, as they tend not to be ruined either mentally or physically, but then you have to ask yourself if you have the skills to bring and youngster on and back it etc, and often the ones that end up at the sales are verging on completely wild.

I have known some cracking horses come from the sales, and some only fit for a bullet, unless you can deal with the consequences of a poor choice, dont do it as it will end up costly, and you may feel you've no option to put them back to the sales to off load. You may of course be able to offer a home for life either way, only under those circumstances would I ever take the chance x
 
Well first off it would depend on what type of sales you are going to obviously if performance horse sales, then you will have less to worry about.
But if it the type of sales where the meat man is the biggest buyer then you will need you wits about you and plenty of knowledge.
When i was younger and thought i knew it all (come on we all did that bit) i brought a mare from southall market that look if good condition, found out a week later the reason she did as there was a lovely colt foal, and she was skin and bone and he was tiny, long story short mare was pure evil and foal took after its mother, both would kill you if you tried to get near them, they were a complete liability so yes i did take them back to southall.
I learnt a lot from that, and have brought many from aution since then but boy do i know a lot more now 20 years later
 
miss_bird said:
Well first off it would depend on what type of sales you are going to obviously if performance horse sales, then you will have less to worry about.
But if it the type of sales where the meat man is the biggest buyer then you will need you wits about you and plenty of knowledge.
When i was younger and thought i knew it all (come on we all did that bit) i brought a mare from southall market that look if good condition, found out a week later the reason she did as there was a lovely colt foal, and she was skin and bone and he was tiny, long story short mare was pure evil and foal took after its mother, both would kill you if you tried to get near them, they were a complete liability so yes i did take them back to southall.
I learnt a lot from that, and have brought many from aution since then but boy do i know a lot more now 20 years later
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This is exactly the worrying scenario I was talking about when I said its a gamble, I'm sure the OP Will correct me if I am wrong but I believe she is 18 years old from a non horsey family, so like yourself when younger, probably wouldn't have the experience necessary to buy the right type and it would be too much of a risk, and should something go horribly wrong, no disrespect OP, but I would question your ability, or finances to deal with the situation.
If this seems harsh, I am only going on your other posts about struggling with a 400 quid vet bill and having a sharer for your loan horse to help with costs.
Nothing wrong with either of these things, but I dont believe that puts you in a great position to be rescuing a "meat" horse.
Its a nice thought, but you in reality need a lot more experience and money behind you if it goes wrong, and if it doesn't, well it just means someone got lucky or has that experience to get it right x

Please dont be offended OP, you asked for opinions on the markets, I am just trying to point out the hazzards and the possible limitations to your experience etc x
 
We've had several. 1 kicked me so badly it broke my cheek bone. 3 or 4 have turned out to be really nice little eventer types and having team chased and hunted have been sold on to family and competition homes. I think u have to be prepared to spend up nearer the 1000 mark which at sales seems a huge gamble to get really nice horses. The cheap ones tend to be cheap for a reason. U could probably spend similar private and try the horse properly at the minute.
 
Sure, I would buy from auction , in the current climate people are putting genuine ones in as they cant afford to keep them.

I wouldnt buy a made riding horse, as i would want to ride it and thats not possible in the market set up, only a youngster and take it for granted that it would need lots of TLC and training. Also dont pay too much and dont fall for one that looks sick or sorry, and ask to see its passport and check it fits the animal you might want. I have had a few good ones at auction, buying is always a gamble anyway, whether from private or auction.
 
missyme10 said:
I'm sure the OP Will correct me if I am wrong but I believe she is 18 years old from a non horsey family
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I'm not offended, my mum was very horsey and bought horses from sales herself but she died when I was younger. Hence me being horsey I guess. I guess my family is horsey in a way but not as into it as me. We do have one very good experienced close family friend though. Anyway, I don't mean I would get one from the sales now anyway, maybe in 5 years or something, whenever I think I'm ready :) definitely not in the near future though.
 
Buying a horse from a 'proper' stud or family home yes, hill/mountain bred no, definitely not.
By bidding high for those ponies you are letting the people that own them believe that their substandard breeding practices are okay, and funding the next seasons trainwreck of a breeding season. (Generally, I'm sure there are some people doing it right, just seemingly not many!)
As for buying from a kill buyer after the sale, once again you're funding his activities - if you feel that strongly about horses not going to slaughter you wont do this either.
You'd need to buy under guarantee, which I'm not sure all horses are offered as, limiting your choices further. also, just because something comes from a seemingly nice home, don't assume it is, handle it well, look out for signs of doping (ask if you want a list!) and make sure you see a passport!
 
I did this when I was 17. I bought a horse broken to drive, because I felt sorry for him, and rebroke him to ride (which was very straightforward, he was brilliant, although I had to wait months until he had gained enough condition to stop his ribs and spine poking out). Because he had been neglected and mistreated, it took a very long time to earn his trust, but I eventually did, and I've never had a bond like it with a horse. However he had a lot of health issues - our vet thinks he was on bute at the sale. He is now lightly hacked by a friend.

He is happy now, has a home for life and I felt a lot of reward from saving him and regaining his trust in humans. However there was a lot of heartbreak along the way, and although I've never regretted what I did, he cost more in vets bills and time than I could ever have predicted, and I wouldn't recommend someone do the same unless they have their own land, and can offer even a lame, useless horse a home for life.

If you want to do a good deed, and give a rescued horse a home, which is what I wanted at the time (my beautiful horse had died in a field accident and I felt I owed the equine world something) I would recomend going through a charity like the Blue Cross, as they can do everything properly, and take the horse back if you can no longer cope.
 
Headpiece said:
I wouldnt buy a made riding horse, as i would want to ride it and thats not possible in the market set up
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That's not necessarily true. At Beeston market, you can sit on, albeit not in a menage and try the horse in a more conventional fashion but you can certainly sit on and go backwards and forwards up and down a track.

I wouldn't go near to be honest. They're at a market for a reason - navicular, lameness of some kind that's not immediately obvious, behavioural issues etc etc.
 
jadelovescassie said:
I'm not offended, my mum was very horsey and bought horses from sales herself but she died when I was younger. Hence me being horsey I guess. I guess my family is horsey in a way but not as into it as me. We do have one very good experienced close family friend though. Anyway, I don't mean I would get one from the sales now anyway, maybe in 5 years or something, whenever I think I'm ready :) definitely not in the near future though.
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Glad you're not offended :)
I wanted to say similar with my first post but didn't know quite how to!
Being so young, its a serious concern you'd get duped and end up with a nightmare on your hands.
If and when you do decide, just make sure you've got experienced people with you that know what they are looking at, and of course be prepared for it to go horribly wrong.
But equally so you may get a right good one, its a lottery I'm afraid.
I'm 39 and I'd be too damn scared to take the risk, and I'm not easily conned anymore as I've done my share of buying dodgy horses when I was more inexperienced, one being a nut job that broke my leg in 9 places. I think they saw me coming, and I was a nervous beginner at the time! But they still told me a pack of lies, anything to get your dosh :(

You said at the beginning you'd not go into it lightly, and I'm glad many replies have pointed out the hazzards of buying at auction, thats not to say dont do it in the future.
I think it can be a wonderful thing to do, and there are some very lucky ponies in the UK that have been saved from the meat man that now have very good forever homes, sadly they are the lucky few :)
 
As above buying a youngster like Benson has done from Brightwells is a good idea, Leominster has a good reputation
Consider purchasing direct from a stud as well

Read the sales conditions
My local auction says anything sold under 750gns has NO Warranty--that would be 90% of horses and ponies sold that day
A vet is often only on stand by and not actually at mart but it would be possible to ask for 2 stage vetting

Please dont 'take a rescue case'
This is likely to be your only pony/horse please buy something you can enjoy and rescues often cost more in the long run and more heartache.
By buying a horse/pony which has been carefully bred, wormed as a youngster etc you should get years of pleasure

If the sellers stay with their horse/pony at the sale they are proud of it and want it to have a good future.
 
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