bustedupcowgirl
I am a legitmate rescue who does not buy horses at auction. Not that I dont want to but I cant afford it and I know myself well enough to know, I will buy the three legged horse that will never be adopted. Not conducive to continue operations but that is where my heart lies. I have bought several horses for peanuts from auctions but only because I was told ahead of time of there being there and they were beyond help. eg, a foal with a broken leg. Not old enough to be weaned but when he broke his leg, they took him to an auction. There he was thrown in with the slaughter bound herd, trying to nurse on mares and geldings alike as he starved to death slowly, dragging along a broken leg. Yes, I bought him and had him euthanized immediately.
But, here is my point. I am a Canadian, I am an animal inspections officer and I worked at auctions and slaughter yards. IF these ponies are bought by Canadian killbuyers, believe me, they will and do go to slaughter. They are paid by the pound no matter what. Yes, if they get a good saddle horse or a desirable, they sell them instead of slaughter them as there is more money in that. Every meat dealer I ever met, had a field of horses for sale, not slaughter. But…unbroke ponies unless they are really fancy, they are meatbound.
Another thing with Canadian kill buyers. They do so buy skinny horses. They put them on pasture and fatten them up. Again, they are paid by the pound. For a lot of the horses, this was the most humane treatment they had received in a long time. Food and lots of it. You see, when the horses are bought in the US, the price is by the pound at time of pickup. So, shippers dont give a hoot how much weight they lose after that. But, in Canada, they are paid by the weight when they get to the plant. Makes a huge difference.
There are a lot of ponies going to an auction where easily a kill buyer could purchase them. They are close enough to the border to make it worth there while. Here in GA, the dealer wouldnt bother coming here which is why most of our auctions are closed. Up north, a different story.
These ponies are at risk and the cothers are simply trying to ensure that they all get a good home instead of taking the wrong road. No harm done. And even if it were rescues attending, often, the Cothers raise the funds for a rescue to go and purchase. Believe it or not, we have a bit more clout. The meat dealers will often give us a break.
I applaud all efforts at the attempt to ensure the end for these ponies is a good one. Be they a rescue who purchases them or a private individual. Some people support rescues who will buy from the auctions and some wont. Its a personal thing. But, I dont know many people who will support a rescue who buys the horses and then sells them for a profit instead of adopting them. Saving horses or ponies always comes with a price be it before hand or after. None of them are free.
I just got Leo for free. hahahahhahah I could not have done half as much for him as has been done without this group of people. And he got a home and a few behind that one. People helped Little Leo as well as his new mommy. He cost every bit as much as these ponies will go for and likely more.
This is simply a good gesture, no harm is meant to anyone, nor is it a bid to keep others from getting the pony of there dreams. This is meant to keep the more undesirables from going the wrong way.
