Meat man will have some bargains at Llanybidder.

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Cattle & sheep going to market have far more protection than these ponies though.
You wouldn't get a cow with a new born calf in a pen with other strange adult bullocks, or cattle/sheep generally who've had absolutely no management or care whatsoever taken to market if they've managed to survive a winter on the Brecon Beacons.
These breeders should be forced to microchip/eartag & provide basic care for all their animals if they are going to do it for meat.

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You are right, they have far less protection, but it still doesn't make any difference as to how they are viewed by some farmers.

As far as I know, and I am out of date with UK rules admittedly, hill/moor farmers were exempt from passporting their pony stocks, whether it would make a difference if they had to I don't know, they are used to doing it to other livestock why not ponies?

I worked for a farmer on Dartmoor and although he had a barn full of hunters and chasers that lived like royalty, his ponies were just meat on the hoof to him, he treated them exactly like the cattle. We'd sell solid colts at Okehampton for less than 3 pounds a head, then he started breeding coloureds (shetland crosses) now, he'd get 30-50 pounds for a coloured that did make it worth his while. A great many of those coloured ponies went to private homes, I know that because I was the one doing the sales pen 'meet and greet' as it were.
 
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The knacker man only buys aged horsese.g 18+!!! All sound horses incuding foals usually go to good homes.... And most of the horses tomorrow will have high reserves on them therefor knacker men and dealers wont bother because they like to pay as little as possible for horses hence why they can only get their hands on old old horses.

[/ QUOTE ] im sorry but this just isnt the case iv bought from sales n seen 7 n 8 year olds go for meat n they do buy a lot of young stock if the price is right theyl buy it id never take a chance on a backed n ridden horse at a market if in some cases was it that good a horse it would of been sold before it got there i know a lot of people that will take a lame 1 buted up or a nutter there n sedate it n ride it round iv bought young 1ns ready for breaking n theyv been fab
 
what my point is i go every month and my family know all the knacker men and the dealers and the genuin buyers, and they only by horses with faults or the unwanted ones, because lets be honest where else would they end up?? in a field, neglected and starving. if nobody wants them sureally you must get the point that they are no good to man or beast. the perfectly sound horses e.g ridden horses, childrens ponies get left alone... i know this becuase i have seen it!!!!
 
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what my point is i go every month and my family know all the knacker men and the dealers and the genuin buyers, and they only by horses with faults or the unwanted ones, because lets be honest where else would they end up?? in a field, neglected and starving. if nobody wants them sureally you must get the point that they are no good to man or beast. the perfectly sound horses e.g ridden horses, childrens ponies get left alone... i know this becuase i have seen it!!!!

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yes, i think we all agree on this....

not quite what you had originally said though..
 
why do we not have sales like this in suffolk?!?!?

I might have to trek over to wales and stay at my cousins and do some pony shopping
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I stopped going there a few years back when i still lived in Lampeter. I went there once and there were about 10 little ponies crammed into one pen and they all looked utterly terrified, then some bloke climbed into the pen scaring them even more. He then let his kids climb all over them not even knowing it was safe to do so, he just didnt care. Plus i always threatend to come home with all the rescues even though i had no where to put them. Dad had to come with me to make sure i didnt bid!
 
Llanybydder is a meat sale where people push through rubbish.
I know because I go there occasionally and the ponies and cobs are treated worse than cattle. Sometimes there's a diamond mostly it's rust and unfettered over production of rubbish be it ponies, cobs, TBs, warmbloods whatever is to blame. The only reason there is not the same emotive outpouring on the continent over the fate of these sad animals is that they go straight into the food chain. The only difference is that on the continent is that originally the animals would have been bred for a purpose by and large and then found wanting.
 
I was actually pondering this sort of subject in the bath earlier. With so many horses fetching only meat money, surely even the meat man can only take so much/many? Meaning, many are unsold...meaning, are we heading for a US type situation? (I.e. where horses start getting dumped
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Last i heard, even the meatmen in England were having a 6-8 week waiting list and paying absolute peanuts. Don't know how true that is though.

Have seen plenty of ponies at melton go for £50-£60. Nice little welshies, little NF foals. I've only seen true knackers go for meat though, and TBh best thing for them. Lots of people would like to give one of these a chance, but to be honest how many people have the know how and money?

I've 'sold' on behalf of friends at market, and nothing in my hands went for meat. Lucky? maybe, but sales arent always the horrendous places people make out.

Anyone who's not been to a sale should go (minus any money) and take a good look round, see who's who and see that it's not 'evil' people who sell at sales, there's many reasons. In my friend's case, she couldnt sell privately (because people just werent buying) and was overstocked.

We did cry in the lorry on the way home though
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I'm tempted to go and buy a companion at a sales next year, when my trilers sorted
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couple of your points i do agree with..

but not quite 6-8 weeks though..the ones in the field near me were there 4 weeks..some stay for the whole summer..some for about a year...the 3 ponies i took out of the meat chain had may 2008 sale sticker on the front of their passports when i picked them up june this year..

joe public taking animals dont need to wait at all.

and again i agree with charlie, everyone should, if they can, visit a sale/market..the animals that go to the meat man look like they should be going to the meat man!....

as for the foals etc...yes, a lot are bought for meat..but they are usually wintered then slaughtered the following spring when they are up to weight...

but the problem here ISNT the "meat-man"...its the idiots who over breed in the first place, year after year, flooding an already saturated market.
 
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It does make sad reading but some people (like me) are really lucky and buy gems like he sounds from there

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Yep, My current horse came from the sales just over 2 years ago, and my little pony, who i recently sold, went through Derby market twice.
 
I could not have put it any better JM as the BHS say THINK BEFORE YOU BREED!! if owners didnt breed for the sole reason of its a mare so I can the problems would be greatly lessened.

I always thought it was a pity that mares cant be spayed easily
 
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couple of your points i do agree with..

but not quite 6-8 weeks though..the ones in the field near me were there 4 weeks..some stay for the whole summer..some for about a year...the 3 ponies i took out of the meat chain had may 2008 sale sticker on the front of their passports when i picked them up june this year..

joe public taking animals dont need to wait at all.

and again i agree with charlie, everyone should, if they can, visit a sale/market..the animals that go to the meat man look like they should be going to the meat man!....

as for the foals etc...yes, a lot are bought for meat..but they are usually wintered then slaughtered the following spring when they are up to weight...

but the problem here ISNT the "meat-man"...its the idiots who over breed in the first place, year after year, flooding an already saturated market.

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I normally stay out of these types of threads as it angers me so much .

But well said JM .

Stop the breeding of these ponies and then there won't be a problem . ....... ( to a certain extend )
 
there are always going to be genuine people at sales, Ive had 3 horses my self from Melton Mowbray in the midlands, and my parents have also had 3 or 4. but its heart breaking to see how many dont, in fact last time we went my father was offered a shetland stallion free because the people couldnt afford to take him home and NOONE had bid on him, very sad as he was stunning, unfortunatly we had to say no...I hope they found a good home for him, poor lil boy
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but the problem here ISNT the "meat-man"...its the idiots who over breed in the first place, year after year, flooding an already saturated market.

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Well said, couldn't agree more!
 
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but the problem here ISNT the "meat-man"...its the idiots who over breed in the first place, year after year, flooding an already saturated market.

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Well said, couldn't agree more!

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hear hear.
i wish we could enforce it in this country so that you need a licence to breed horses. if there was a shortage they would all be more valuable, and treated better. it breaks my heart to think of some of these ones at the sale, who could probably be really good kid's ponies or nice little allrounders for adults and have a nice life, going straight for meat. please tell me at least that they'll be under the exportation threshold so won't have the stress of a journey abroad for slaughter.
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but the problem here ISNT the "meat-man"...its the idiots who over breed in the first place, year after year, flooding an already saturated market.

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Well said, couldn't agree more!

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please tell me at least that they'll be under the exportation threshold so won't have the stress of a journey abroad for slaughter.
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No that'll be the TB industry waste....
 
i was talking to someone on sunday evening who had 15 TB's ...all "failed" 2 yr olds..in his field/barn...to go to Potters for wednesday...he was expecting £1+ per kilo....

last month he took 20....

at least their "future" is/was certain...not left in barren field starving..
 
What I don't understand is how these pony 'Breeders' make money
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Surely getting a passport for them costs more then what they sell for?

I brought a foal at the beginning of the year for £35 from a market (and yes she was a bit of an ugly duckling and was probably 'meat quality') How much would a runty, wormy and full of lice foal (like the one below) sell to the meat man for? and how much are passports these days? How do the breeders make any profit?
CIMG1199.jpg
 
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What I don't understand is how these pony 'Breeders' make money
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Surely getting a passport for them costs more then what they sell for?

I brought a foal at the beginning of the year for £35 from a market (and yes she was a bit of an ugly duckling and was probably 'meat quality') How much would a runty, wormy and full of lice foal (like the one below) sell to the meat man for? and how much are passports these days? How do the breeders make any profit?
CIMG1199.jpg


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you need to think of the bigger picture here..

you "runty" foal sold for say £40..pasporrt £20...£20 profit for the seller..then the "meat-man" sticks it out on good grass for 6 months, costing him nothing at all, it weighs in at 250 kilos.. average price per kilo for "pony-pie meat" is around 48kilo....so the runt is now worth £123.00...

mr meat man would probably have 20 ponies...£2400..nice little earner, really
 
We've bought reg Welsh section b's, c's & d's at Llanybydder, which are absolutely bred in the purple, really lovely types. Generally because my mum couldn't bear to see them go for meat. It isn't just the hill ponies.

I agree about those though, I think it's just a matter of paying absolutely zero on any kind of care or feed & getting what you can for them, although as you say it's peanuts. Can't imagine any having passports.
 
I didn't realise passports were that cheap now (or maybe they have always been - never had to get one
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).

I realised that the meat man is obviously onto a good little earner but just couldn't see how it was worthwhile for the breeder, but I guess if he makes £20 for every foal he sells he would be happy.

What is the average price a 'meat pony' would go for (in the ring)?
 
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Can't imagine any having passports.

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I thought they HAD to have passports now?
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Pixie came with a passport although it is useless in the sense that there is no DOB or info about her breeding on there, but they had got the vet out to do it.
 
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Can't imagine any having passports.

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I thought they HAD to have passports now?
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Pixie came with a passport although it is useless in the sense that there is no DOB or info about her breeding on there, but they had got the vet out to do it.

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they would all have passports.....mostly WCPS passports at LLanybidder..

there wouldn't be an average price for meat ponies
 
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And, in the cases of the nice sounding horses ("sad sale" - yeah right!) what I don't understand is, if that's where they're destined, why do they have to be put through the stress of the market first? If they're that nice, why haven't they sold privately? Why would you rather cast them off to an experience like that? Is it all about money?

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Because a lot of people need quick sales because of divorce, job loss / redundancy. A lot of people find the long, slow arduous process of selling a horse privately too traumatic, and would rather it just went to the auction. I wish I had sent one of mine to the auction rather than hanging onto him privately, because I didn't have the time or money to keep him, and he suffered from it, ultimately.
 
I agree Bramble....

alot of good, honest ORDINARY, NICE people buy and indeed sell at Auction...

you can IMMEDIATELY tell who the Dealers are..and fix a reserve on your Lot accordingly which could ensure the Dealers dont buy it.
 
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