Tracking the Trends....

I love spotting a trend, and watching how it unfolds, so this is one I'd like to re-visit, as some have finally caught up with me. Let's back up a bit for a short history lesson, first. In the "old days", people used to attend horse sales or auctions. You could bid on the horse of your choice, and bring that horse home. Most of the time, you got a good one. Sometimes, the horse didn't work out, or needed a little tuning up. If you were a knowledgeable horse person, you did the work, and either kept the horse, sold it privately, or took it to another sale or auction, often making a profit for your work. Sounds like a fairly decent deal for people and horses, right? Well, at some point, someone decided that EVERY SINGLE HORSE that went through a sale was destined to go on the trucks and straight to the Slaughter plants. People were discouraged from attending sales. If you DID attend a sale, you were really looked down upon. You were supporting irresponsible owners who just didn't care what happened to their horses. Those who went began to change their language. One no longer bought a horse , they "rescued" or "saved" one. The evil Killer Buyer was described as the lowest of the low, and not even worth the time of day. His use of trickery to get horses away from the unsuspecting innocent has long been the fodder of many a story meant to shore up the Anti movement, and death has been literally been wished upon him by some. He is the enemy, and those attending sales must work against him, with his pockets overflowing with money to outbid anyone in the stands. Truly a bleak picture for anyone daring to enter the arena of horse auctions and sales. Fearing the judgment of those who truly love the horses, and competition from the bloodthirsty Kill buyers, attendance at the sales began to drop off. Unfortunately, the number of horses arriving at sales and auctions did not. In fact, due to the economy, they appeared to increase. What to do? Well, here's the trend I talked about, and it's a great idea! What we've got right now is almost a mail order horse business where lots of people, not just the Auction house make a bit of money! Genius? You betcha!!!!! For those of you unfamiliar with what is known as Feedlot or Broker Sales, here's the basic premise. Let's say a horse is run through auction and the bid gets to say $400. The horse then goes to a "dealer" "broker" "kill buyer", whatever they are called for the sake of the story. That person is contacted by a "rescue person", who offers to "bail" or "ransom" (love the terms) the horses. The "broker" prices the horse for an inflated price, making an instant profit. So the $400 horse now is priced at $700. Here's where it gets interesting. Once the horse is "rescued" an appropriately sad or dramatic story is posted, and a home is sought. Oftentimes, once the "rescue person" becomes involved, the horse becomes a freebie. Either a private owner, or another "Rescue" will "step up" and offer to take in the horse IF the purchase price can be raised by a group of gullible....oops, generous people. But wait! Now there are fees to be attached. We have transport fees, quarantine fees, vaccine and worming fees, and suddenly, we're up to $1200 or more. Everyone along the way gets a little piece of the pie, and the lucky new owner hasn't put out even one dime. For those who frequent the ABR forum, the most blatant example of this method of "Rescue" had to be the Jill Starr Percheron Team drama. Jill rescued a team of Percherons from a Sale barn, and sent funds to a woman known only as "Simone". When she sent her trailer to pick the horses up, they were nowhere to be found. Neither was "Simone" or the money. My understanding is that the original money to buy this team was donated. The tale is so convoluted, I may be wrong about this part, so forgive me if I am. Jill then claims to have spent $2000 trying in vain to find that team. Then, lo and behold, she receives an e-mail telling her that the team may have been possibly been found on another broker lot! Never-mind that the team is NOW a gelding and a mare instead of two geldings, a team is a team, and Jill just wants to get that team! Never-mind that a look into Jill's finances shows that she makes a pretty decent salary-she runs a Rescue herself. She could probably find a draft team locally. And she may not even be providing that "forever" home. The fund-raising begins, and when all is said and done, all fees added up, and everyone gets their cut, I believe the end tally was around $3000! Anyone have a clue as to how many horses can be bought outright at an auction today for $3000? Make no mistake, this is a great business for those involved in it. And it works because there's just the right amount of drama attached. These horses are, after all, going on the truck to Slaughter in X amount of days, so they MUST be saved!!! As I said, genius! The fact that one could simply attend an auction and buy a horse directly seems to be overlooked, as is the fact that in most cases, they are paying the very evil doers they vow to put out of business by "ending" Slaughter. I would get a good laugh out of this, but I hate for anyone to be taken advantage of. And in many cases, no one really knows what happens to the horses after the dramatic save. The fact that some Rescues themselves participate in it, and then sell these horses at a profit is another blog for another time. They do. I bought my horse with my own money. I take care of him myself. I pay his bills. I am solely responsible for everything that concerns him. It didn't take a village to get him here, nor does it take a village to care for him. Maybe that's the problem with this whole issue we're fighting. If you come to own your horse by the virtue of the team effort, maybe that puts the mindset in place that you really can't make any decisions about that horse on your own. Again-another blog for another time. But as for the Broker and Feedlot sales, some on the Anti side are beginning to question them. And it's about time. We've been wondering about them all along, and asking why they're so much better than going to a sale yourself. When you guys find out, be sure to let us know.

By RH2