Auction buying
From AlexBrownRacing
This page is for those planning to attend a horse auction (kill auction) for the first time and want a few pointers.
Contents |
Planning Ahead
It is best to go with someone who is familiar with the auction. Find out who the rescues are that attend the auction, if any attend. A person/rescue, who attends the auction on a regular basis, should be able to point out to you who the KBs are, so that you can keep an eye out on which horses they are bidding on.
Check the auction schedule..... some auction houses hold special, separate auctions for slaughter horses exclusively. Most times, these are referred to as "loose horses".
Go Early
Get to the auction before the horses are run through the ring so you have time to look at the horses. Take notes. Check for lip tattoos if you are interested in x racehorses. Bring your cell phone to snap photos if necessary.
Get a bid number, or otherwise determine how you are able to become a bidder at the auction.
If you see a horse, who you would like to help BEFORE the auction starts, for instance if it is lame or you think it would get too stressed out from being run through the ring - there are a few options. You can wait by the horse's pen until an owner shows up, or record the tag number and go to the office and find out who the owner is. Approach the owner and ask if you could buy the horse directly from him/her.
SHARE INFORMATION!!! ...with uninformed horse owners (See next section)
During the Auction
Horses will be ridden through the auction under a western saddle, led through the ring, or in loose with other horses.
Take notes. Take down bid numbers of those who buy the horses. Try to determine the bid numbers of the kill buyers.
SHARE INFORMATION!! Many horse owners have no idea, that slaughter still exists, that it is legal, what a "kill buyer" is and that their horse is in jeopardy of being bought by a KB and shipped to slaughter. Kindly explain what could happen to horses at the auction and encourage owners not to sell horses too cheap (less than "meat price" which is usually around $500 - depending on size of horse and demand at the particular auction) and to follow up with WHO bought their horse. Depending on what auction you visit, "meat prices" differ, at some auctions it might be as low as $150-200, check with someone who has been to this auction before and knows what regular prices for horses run through there is.
There are auctions where no kill buyers are in attendance. Horse dealers are buying and selling horses, and these dealers can then ship horses to larger kill auctions or directly to kill buyers' feedlots. The point is, don't assume that because no kill buyers attend the auction, the horses are not entering the slaughter pipeline.
There are cases when, for instance, a crippled horse might not get any bids and a KB can pick it up for, say, $40. That could be a horse that would benefit from being bought by a rescue, or a kind private person, and have it humanely euthanized. Such a horse is in great danger of being trampled to death on the truck to the slaughter house or endure horrible pain during the trip. It could be a foundered (laminitis) horse, who should not even be standing up, much less transported...
After the Auction
Follow up on horses you were interested in and did not purchase. Check to see if there are designated kill pens of the kill buyers. Take notes of the number of horses going to kill.
You can usually determine which are the "kill pens" (horses bought by KBs) by observing which pens fill up with horses (of all kinds) during the auction. The private sale horses will be put in separate pens, until the new owners come and pick them up.
Sometimes, horse are brought to the auction with no intention of getting run through the auction. They are usually in larger pens behind the auction, already destined for the slaughter truck. Sometimes they have old tags (hip stickers) on them, from a previous auction. These horses can sometimes still be bought from their "owner", the KB, if you can find out who they belong to and negotiate directly. Best thing is to ask around. Being bilingual, or bringing a friend who is, can sometimes be helpful, as some of the KBs are Mexican and speak limited English.
Also, some horses are not even unloaded, but are still in a trailer in the parking lot. KBs are sometimes even approachable about selling those horses...
Share Your Experience
Write a report on the discussion board so others can learn from your experience.
