[giddyupgal73]

Last year we purchased a little grey mare for $275.00. We had our 8 year girl bidding on her (of course we roamed the pens before the sell and the mare found us) We were bidding against the killer buyers, but when they looked over and saw a tiny blonde cutie making bids they backed off, and she is now the proud owner of an older (25yo) Reg arab mare who has bloodlines up the bu*tt and has been shown from jumping to western to halter. She is teaching our kids how to ride and is soooooo perfect for the job. She will NEVER find herself at an auction again. Someday I will get pics I can download onto my puter and show everyone. We are soo very proud to have this little mare as part of our herd.


Sometimes You can really find a great deal, But I highly recommend that you go and inspect horses out back, and write down the hip numbers of the several you are interested in. Also, if they are acting flighty, remember they are very stressed out from being jammed in pens with strange horses and some of the people employed at auction yards treat the horses like stupid cattle, whipping and chasing them from one pen to the next. So take all that into consideration while choosing. Don't overlook a horse for being Shy, Most of the time once they get home you'll find out they are wonderful. When I look for a horse I check to see if they have bridle paths cut, If there hooves have been trimmed or shod. I look for little signs to see if they have been handled before. Most people that run them thru loose, took the time to make them look pretty before they go to the sell.

[monica-n-shiloh]

[quote=HooDoo]

Originally Posted by monica-n-shiloh

My best friend has gotten a good half of her 20+ horses from the Heritage Farm Auction in Mass. QUOTE]


Agawam?

God bless you? LOL
Im sorry what??

[Asfaloth]

Agawam is a town in Massachusets. I grew up in North East Connecticut and was in Agawam many times. Pretty area.

[SweetIron]

I have only been to one horse auction, and it was a pretty good one; mostly reg'd QHs that were stopping on a dime. There was a slew of unbroken mares and foals that some lady had been hoarding and they even sold for pretty good prices. There were some horses that did not sell though, reg'd paints, and I am pretty sure they were just taken home by their owner becuz they did not reach his reserve.
I felt horribly for this little gelding who did not sell though. The idiots who owned him were smacking him around cuz he would not get into their trailer. So me and my friend drove by them a few times, let them know we were watching, and finally we went and got one of the auction's head men to go assist them. Funny how they stopped smacking the poor guy when they saw us lookin at them though.
I think it depends on what you're looking for in a horse, as well as the location and the people who are running the auction. I am goin to one this saturday at a former trailriding place; the horses are pretty much bombproof and I am hoping to pick one up cheap!

[winchaser]

Ok last year I went to auction for TWH just to look.
And i saw a filly and fell in love hard,2 weeks after I got her home she was dragging her left hind leg I Called my vet fast and she stop it before he got here.
I was????? so I taped it when she did it again.
He said it was a growth thing and she mite grow out of it. She was 20 month then and she'll be 3 in july. they sold her becase of it and now she is going to show next year. She got the smooth gait and no siges of any tragging.
I got her for$1000 and now she is pricless

[LadyDulcinea]

I think that auctions aren't a bad thing, as long as they aren't all horses that are starved, sick, etc. Those ones make me cry on the spot. We took a friend to an auction a few weeks ago because she wanted to look for a horse for the summer, and she ended up coming home with a cute 3 year old green registered Paint mare. (Maybe we can talk her to posting pictures of Abby on here! Yup, she's a member, too.) Although I cried at the auction (they are always tough for me because I am automatically drawn to the ones that need food and love rather than the ones that are already trained and the owners just have to sell them.) I didn't see anyone in any way mistreat any of the animals there or do anything funny with them. Overall, the people were really nice and except for two pretty hungry looking Belgians (although with some groceries and grooming, I would be willing to put some serious money on them in a halter class) all the other horses looked good. There is even an area at this auction where people can ride the horse before it goes into the sale pen to see if he/she likes it. I thought that was good. My husband and I talked about it, and we agreed that when we get up and running and have some extra money that we are going to get a horse from an auction, even if it is just to train it, love it, ect, and sell it to a good forever home. While we are on the auction thing...I could not believe the number of registered Quarter Horses and Paints that went through the sale that day. It was crazy!

[arabgirl15]

51/49 chance IMO. LOL But horses usually change after they get home. If you want a frisky, endurance horse pick one that like looks the most active, and messes around with the other horses. If you want a "purdy" one, pick the color you like. If you want a "laid back" one pick out one that lets the other horses do anything to it and not do anything back.

[Astro30]

It's like a box of chocolates, you never know what your gonna get.

You could end up with the yummy chocolate covered cherry,

or you could get the nasty chocolate that has the icky white stuff in it.

Good luck whatever you decide, just remember, at an auction,

it is a horses life at stake most of the time.

[dockeramb]

I have been to lots of auctions. My advice is watch out for horses that are tooo laid back. Horse traders will "Ace" a horse, and whatever vices the horse has is hidden till the next day. Geldings most of the time drop their selves out of their sheathes, and mares have droopy heads, and eyes. I've have seen this alot. Horse traders are smooth talkers. They will even "Ace up 2 and 3 yr. olds, that have only being ridden once or twice, and say they have been riding for a couple of months. You can find really nice horses at an Auction. Just beware, and be really cautious. And so many horses come home sick with Shipping Fever from auctions. Not trying to scare you away, just trying to let you know the reality of some auctions.

[Heavenly Jumper]

If you think about it...most people get the horse that their heart finds for them. Health issues can be adressed. Horses can be fed, wormed,and seen by a farrier. So that isn't too bad. Behavioral issues can be adressed as well, some time in a round pen, some cuddles in the stall, a little bit of patience. So what are we left with? Let your heart decide for you. (just choose the age bracket you want, time is the only thing we can't change) Don't forget to put yourself in the horses place when you are looking, they may be ill, frightened or ...even drugged. SO it's hard to make a choice. Like another poster said, you'll probably be saving someones life no matter who you choose. If a horse turnes out to be not what you wanted, you can find him or her a good home once they are healthy again!