To Bring Home an Auction Horse

We have lit a fire of inspiration in a lot of people, which is a great thing! I get asked a lot of questions concerning the process of bringing a horse home, and what all is involved in the care of an auction horse afterward. This post is to help share information about what we do, and some advice about what to prepare for, should you plan on bringing home your own auction horse. Before diving into bringing home an auction, horse, please take the time to read up on it. Do your research and be prepared.

First, prior to ever attending the auction, the number one thing you need to have lined up, is a good vet. You need a vet that is readily available in times of need, and who approves of the idea of a rescue horse, and trying their best to help rehab them when needed. Not every vet is pro rescue/rehab. Make sure your vet is a regular with farm animals, and familiar with horses. A good way to find a vet is to get in contact with local people who have horses, and ask for personal recommendations and go from there. You will need to establish a relationship with that vet and office, and plan on frequently being in touch with them if you plan on regularly bringing horses home. You will want to set up an appointment with your vet in the first week of coming home.

Your farrier will be your next best friend. There is a saying, “No feet, no horse.” Our farrier, Rick Flacco, has been SO kind and patient with us. He is a world of resource. When we are at the sale barn, we have sent him pictures of foundered feet asking his opinion on if they were salvageable, and conversed with him about the different options for hoof care for different situations. He is more than willing to work with difficult horses and is always up for a challenge. A lot of horses in the loose pens are long overdue for a trim and the change of scenery and trauma they go through there, on top of getting their feet done, can be a scary experience. That being said, having a farrier who is willing to tackle a horse that may or may not be the easiest to get done, is necessary. And a patience is key! Make sure you have a good, knowledgeable farrier who isn’t hard to get ahold of. Our horses get their hooves done 2-3 days after being home with us, and see the vet on the Wednesday following the sale.

Let’s talk quarantine…Being prepared to quarantine a sale barn horse is a necessity. You should plan in advance before you bring a horse home, to have a separate area set up for them to quarantine. Sicknesses, especially in loose pen auctions, are a common occurrence. Just because your horse develops a snotty nose, doesn’t mean they have strangles. There are horse viral sicknesses just like there are in the human world. When they are in loose pens, horses are in pens packed full of other horses and nose to nose with them, sharing water, etc. It’s a perfect environment for germs to shed. Don’t panic when you see a snot nose. It is rarely actually Strangles. Sometimes, antibiotics are necessary, and of course extra precautions to help prevent sharing germs. Uniprim added into their daily feed is usually sufficient, sometimes a shot of antibiotics might be the better option. Most of the time, however, we have found that Uniprim does the job. Be careful that you wash your hands before moving on to any other horse’s chores. Use separate buckets, and designate a spot specifically for their feed buckets or mark them clearly with their name or color. Don’t ever put the hose inside their water, and don’t put the grain scoop into their feed bucket. It is recommended for a proper quarantine area to be 30 feet away from any other horses. If you are unable to do so due to space, put a sick horse, or sale barn horse in an enclosed area away from other horses so they can’t share food and water, and cannot be nose to nose. Our vet recommends a minimum of 2 weeks quarantine time. Within 7-10 days is when most sicknesses will make their debut if they have picked up a sale barn bug. Strangles has the longest incubation period of 14 days. When we bring home a horse, we quarantine them automatically for two weeks. If we are clear of any signs of infection or sickness, we will consider turn out. But if there is a hint of a snotty nose or cough, they will have another minimum one week of quarantine time. The longest we have had to quarantine a sale barn horse was a full 30 days before turnout with a friend.

The week before we go to the sale, we spend time cleaning and sanitizing the barn stalls. Bleaching walls, and buckets, and slow feed hay bags. Each horse will have a designated hay bag for the ride home and it will transfer to their stall when they come home. We use slow feed hay bags to help keep them occupied during the day when they are stalled, and take them out individually for a chance to stretch their legs and graze. Our horses see the vet two days after they have been with us, and the farrier, and spend time in quarantine with daily handling.

After a short while of settling in, if they are in good enough shape to be ridden, we begin working with them as the weather permits to refresh them under saddle. I will say, there is always a reason why a horse is in a sale barn. Whether that reason is a medical reason, or that they couldn’t be cared for, or a certain quirk under saddle, there’s a reason. Most all times there is some habit to be worked on when being ridden. So we try our best to help work out those kinks and get them back into the swing of regularly being worked with and ridden. If a horse is going to be a good lifelong riding partner for someone, they need someone to invest the time in them so they can see that potential.

Expenses involved will be heavy. We do a fundraiser every month, and have never spent under the amount fundraised. In fact, we usually write a check for a minumum of 3-4x the amount that we raise. Auction horses are NOT cheap. You need to consider the amount of cost of a decent broke horse will probably cost you, plus sales tax, plus a Coggins fee just on the sale day. Not counting your time, and mileage and gas. Then you will bring them home and have to plan on feeding them, more than likely more grain than your average horse. Consider also the cost of hay involved. If it’s grass hay, unlimited hay is the best option. If you have a high percentage of alfalfa hay you should give them a ration based on their weight and your vet’s recommendation. You need to calculate in the cost of the possibility of medication costs, dewormer, farrier work, shoes/pads if needed, vaccinations, vet visit, possible chiropractic work, and if necessary dental work.

Chiropractic work has been SO beneficial for our horses. We don’t do chiropractic work for every horse that comes home with it, but sometimes the sale barn rescue buddies just need the healing touch of an equine Chiropractor like Dr. Bleem (Who is the BEST…Let me just interject that there!). Chiropractic work is healing, and soothing, and helps these guys so much after going through the trauma of the sale barn and loose pens. You should consider the cost of Chiropractor adjustments as a possibility as well as your other costs involved, should your new rescue friend need it. Also, consider the cost of rendering and putting a horse down if necessary. Unfortunately, it is also a part of the rescue scene. Costs quickly accumulate. And if you can’t afford the costs involved of bringing home a horse, you should not do so. They will end up in a bad off way once again even though you had good intentions.

If you don’t feel like you can adequately quarantine and vet the horses, find someone who can and have them do the dirty work for you. You can still make the difference in the life of that horse and provide a home for them, or if you can’t provide the home for them, maybe you can support the people who rescue these guys on a monthly basis. Support a good cause and help put a dent into the horse slaughter industry. Together we can make a difference.