Slightly deep question alert - should we buy from horse sales?

[letrec_fan]

I have been deep in thought recently. I haven't really felt like posting up till now but I was thinking - referring to the badly treated 'meat' pony sales (I am just going by the descriptions I have seen posted on here)- should we buy from them to save that one pony or in the long run would it be more beneficial of us and them to campaign to have them banned? I have no experience of any kind of sales, so I just wondered what people thought about this..?

 

[Dolcé]

If you buy from them then you give the lowlife dealers, who trade mainly in that type of poor animal, the money to go out and buy more BUT you do then save that ONE from it's terrible lot of being passed around between the dealers by taking it out of the sales circuit. If you choose to buy then I sympathise with you, I sit there and look at them and it is so hard to not buy them all, we have 8 that have arrived with us because of this, all emaciated and costing a fortune to put right, then we have to start on the emotional problems caused by their previous life! If you want to buy then why not do that AND campaign. You know the 'meat man' is a fallacy at most sales, it is the lowlife dealers who buy them and if they are lucky they get taken to the abbatoir, if not they are dragged around from sale to sale, unfed and uncared for, treated roughly and terrified! I have to add here that not all the dealers at a sale are of this type, there are those who see the potential in a very poor animal and take a punt on it, taking it home to put right and then work with it to make it a useful horse/pony with a future!

 

[Montyforever]

I see what you mean about buying a horse, just puts another one in its situation

Its unavoidable really, the whole time dealers are selling they are gonna keep going

 

[SusannaF]

I heard of one rescuer a couple of decades ago who would buy up all the ponies at the local sale. End result? The lowlife dealers* invested in job-lots of hill ponies, kept them shut up in barns till they were ribby and miserable, then took them to the sales where this rescuer promptly bought them all.

It's hard to say, and that example is an extreme one, but it is a good thing to give one pony a great shot at life. The real nub of the problem is the people who breed the horses that the dealers buy so cheaply.



* not tarring all dealers with this brush, just the scummy ones.

 

[ginadrummond]

I've now brought 6 from sales, over 30 years. My sister and I used to save our pocket money and rescue them from Southall market. We brought two this way, both doped and ribby. One became a lovely riding horse, the other was cold backed but ended up SJ with professionals. Since then I have brought 3 from a field auction, sold 2 on to great homes and one is still with me, horse of a lifetime with advanced potential but quite happy to plod around with me. The other one I brought from a sale up here was sold on to a good home too after two years great service. I understand the point and we cant save them all but if you are prepared to take the gamble then I think its OK. However, if you get a really bad one then I would never let it go down that route again.

 

[missparis]

Its a tough one.. We have meat markets in Australia and you get a mixed bunch of horses. You would get the lowlifes selling horses (you'd find some previously top show ponies that had won at the royal melbourne in there! crazy what happens to a good pony/horse when they end up in the wrong hands ). You'd also get the race horse trainers off loading horses that were doing no good for them and it was a quick way to make room for them in the stables and then you had people that physically could not afford the pony/horse anymore.

I have purchased some ponies & horses (the best buy for a 3yo shetland pony we called Ratbag - best $25 spent I say ) and a nice hunter but sometimes there is a reason that ponies and horses should go there too It is a real gamble but sometimes can be rewarding too.. Oh and the other thing is, when going to the market, it is very difficult to leave with one horse as you want to 'rescue' them all.

 

[bj_cardiff]

My experience is that poor looking horses tend to sell well because so many peope feel sorry for them and want to 'rescue' them, other healthy looking horses in good condition often fetch less and end up going for meat..

silly isn't it...