> bloodlines. A clydesdale registered gorgeous yearling was nosaled at > 150. a pair of broke to ride and drive as a team of mules were no > saled at 150. Many many MANY registed horses went for less than a > hundred bucks. Many were paraded out and did not even receive bids.
By Angie (gaitedhorse): We are in the same situation here with a horrible drought, & after a bad year last year. People here are just trying to give horses away. I'm thankful I have too much pasture usually, so mine have grazing, they are easy keepers, I have hay, & can buy the feed they need. Many are just sitting in brown dirt fields here. No one is going to come rescue them, so hopefully it will rain soon here in north Alabama & where you are. Angie By Joanne (gaitedhorse): >>Good honest people that have made there livings for > generations trading/dealing in horses suddenly cant sell horses or must > take drastic cuts in prices. I agree that too many horses being born > plays a major role in the issue.<< There is not enough of a real horse market to support all of the horses being bred, even by "honest" breeders. Breeders have made their money for years by breeding too many horses and making their money on a select few of them. What the slaughter houses and killer buyers did was provide a "floor" on prices falling too low - below the price of meat. That floor has been removed, and a drought in parts of the country has made the situation even worse. There was no way to have a "plan" in place before closing the slaughterhouses. A plan would mean that breeders voluntarily cut back on breeding and that horse owners take responsibility for the animals in their care, instead of trying to pass on their sick, lame or problem horses on to someone else. Responsible breeders should have seen this coming - several years ago. Now they are responsible for the lives of horses they raised, and many are unable to care for them. They days of being able to make money by selling foals are pretty much over. The rescues in this country are being brought to their knees by the numbers of unwanted horses. People like me and others on this list cannot take in all the horses needing help right now. Our rescue is not only closed to horses needing a new home by owners unable or unwilling to keep them, we are now closed to taking in horses from law enforcement neglect cases, because our foster homes are overburdened. All I can ask is that all horse lovers need in some way to help those who do help these horses - by fostering, or by donating. There are alot of rescues which need your help, and need it quickly. Joanne (owner of 5 Paso Finos, a mule, a 36 y/o Morab, foster home to 1 TB, 2 ponies and a mule, and a Director of Bluebonnet Equine Humane Society, a 501c3 organization in Texas and Arkansas) ______________________ Judy http://icehorses.net http://clickryder.com
