There were two sales this month. At the first sale we were able to rescue four lucky horses..Well, three and one cutie pie pony. We were able to find homes for all of them except one, so we made room in the barn for some more quarantine horses to join him. The first sale, was not huge, and it was somewhat short. I’m sure most people were holding out for the big draft sale coming the next week.
This trip for us began on Monday. We went as a family. If you were at the sale, I hope we provided you with some entertainment bringing along our circus of children. Our kids certainly know how to spark a little joy… or perhaps I should say “trouble” in a scene otherwise seemingly boring. Usually, up until this point I have not brought all the kids with us to a sale. They have all accompanied us to the last two and have thoroughly enjoyed themselves. They LOVE the ice cream there (And yes…sometimes they get two cones… I mean come on! Their ice cream is the best!) And they love the adventure of finding horses to bring home with us. My two oldest boys love to help find ponies. My littlest girl is 2 years old and she about flies out of her seat in the loose auction every time a horse comes out to go tell her Dad to buy that one.
My oldest children understand to some watered down extent, that a lot of these horses don’t have a great future. Since they have been coming along, they also understand that some people just plain don’t take care of their animals. It makes them appreciate what they have even more. I feel that the experience of rescuing and helping save the life of a horse and making a difference is teaching our children huge life lessons that can’t be taught at a school desk. My kids are homeschooled, and we take the day off to learn life lessons about helping someone in need. Whether it be people, or animals, etc. I want my children to be compassionate and help those who need it. Not only will this apply to animals, but also when it comes to showing the love of God to people. I hope that this compassion will spill over into their love and compassion for people as well.
We stayed the night in our trailer. It was COLD! But the kids wanted to watch the draft pull, which was pretty astounding. And we camped out in the trailer. Which consisted of a mattress up top with lots of blankets and a queen sized air mattress wall to wall down below. I apologize to anyone in the neighborhood for the crazy wild animals sounds coming from the trailer. There were no zoo animals on the loose. Just my kids. At one point they were howling like wolves.
Velvet, a rescue from Oct 6th sale
The next morning, I briefly went out to the loose pen with Nathaniel with my coffee and watched him ride a couple horses and petted some horses. And mentally made note of which ones I hoped could come home with us…There were not a ton of loose horses. And then went back to the trailer to switch off with Destini and get the rest of the gang dressed.
After the kids were dressed we went up toward the catalog sale. The sale was long, and prices were not horrible, but still pretty pricey. However…I was pretty tuned in to kill buyer numbers that kept being repeated after a horse was sold. People think that if they sell their horse in the catalog side, it has a better chance. If you think that, just let me inform you, you are wrong. Kill buyers bought so many on that side that it was gut wrenching to me. There were at least five or six horses and ponies that I wished I would have bought had I known what number would have been said after the auctioneer said sold.
Autumn, a rescue from Oct 6th 
Roxy, a rescue from Oct 6th 
Deisel a rescue from Oct 6th
I thought because the sale went on so long on the catalog side, that the buyers would be dwindled down some and the loose side would be going cheaper than usual. So, I was holding out for loose horses. I ended up having to leave before the catalog sale was over because I had to play music at church. So I took the littles and headed out. I gave my fifteen year old Destini our number and said don’t spend over $700 on either of these ones I sent you pics of. (THAT was a leap of faith…trusting a teenager with your bidding number! haha!) I had been holding out for a couple of ponies. They both went higher than I could spend and the ponies were a bit too young for small kids.
I got a text saying that the sale was started. When the loose pens run through..It’s about thirty seconds that each horse is in the ring. The loose pen sale went by pretty quick. There really is not much time to hesitate during the middle of the loose auction. You hesitate, you’re out. They just sell that quick. It is something to experience if you have never been there.
A bidding war erupted in the loose pen auction. A bidding war, not of individual buyers… Not of horse traders.. Not so many rescues… But a bidding war between kill buyers. There were three major kill buyers at the sale yesterday. When I say major, I mean the kind who fill up large semi truck loads and mean business. They write enormous checks every month and some run bail out pages, and some ship direct. As my husband put it…the Kill buyers decided to flex their muscles yesterday, and they succeeded. It was a hard competition between kill buyers and it drove the prices up way higher than we expected. Prices were way higher than they should have been for horses that you really know nothing of their background history. It was kind of the equivalent of when you have a gang on another gang’s turf. I honestly don’t know which kill buyer won out of that round, but hopefully they at least put a bigger dent in their pocket books because of that petty show.
We were only able to bring home three this trip. There were three very blessed horses that came home on our trailer. One is a beautiful black Percheron mare, and a sweet dappled young palomino mare, and we bought a horse directly off the truck following the sale because we had a specific buyer who wanted him, and he is a bay draft cross gelding. He is SO sweet! Our money we raised, including my mini sessions I did, did not cover half of what we spent just at the sale barn alone. Had we not raised money and prepared for this sale, we would have been lucky to bring home one. So, all of you who had me take pictures of your families, and helped raise money for this trip…THANK you! And all who donated via facebook, thank you SO much for supporting us. Not only are we thankful, but the horses are thankful too. Because of you, they have a much brighter future.
In hind sight, you live and you learn. I learned that so many horses on the catalog leave on kill trucks, that we are changing our strategy some. We will be buying from both sides here on out. The best strategy to combat the slaughter industry in the first place, is to keep horses OUT of the sale barn . If you, or anyone you know has a horse that they feel that the only way they can sell them is to dump them in a sale barn, PLEASE, have them contact us. Allison – 309-368-9152. We do not always have room, and sometimes it’s just not a good fit. BUT, if it’s something we can work with and help get into a good home, we will buy them. We take project horses all the time and work with them, and when we don’t have the time ourselves, we have a wonderful trainer we work with. If you have a horse that needs weight, or are embarrassed about their condition…I understand life happens. Call me. Text us… Message our page. I would hate to see that horse end up standing with their head hung low in a loose pen because it was a free to good home horse and the wrong person picked it up. We will rehab, or we will have a foster home work with us to rehab them. And when they are back to where they should be, find them a fantastic home. If you have a 30 year year old horse that’s not sound or has trouble keeping weight in the winter, or you have a lame horse who is always in pain, consider doing what’s right and putting them down. Don’t dump them off in a loose pen or walk them through a catalog sale saying “At the end of the halter”. It is not a kind or peaceful ending waiting for them. Have compassion on your animals.
We rescued seven this month. Seven beautiful souls got to come home with us. I have new life ambitions…Some day, expect to see us rolling up in a big ol’ semi truck and parking next to the kill rigs… Only our truck will be filled with horses celebrating their freedom ride.
Thanks again for following us, and supporting us in what we do. We hope to continue growing and to be able to start doing more than what we are able to do now. We need you all to help us be able to do that. We appreciate you all! God bless, and please continue to follow us at Aldrich Equine Adventures!