How long have you had him? I have a TWH (or TWHx) that was given to me 7 years ago as a 2 or 3 year old with a fried brain. Not from an auction, but was a rescue
out of a rough situation as a weanling or yearling. It took years of calm handling and work, but now she trusts most people and is turning into a nice trail horse.
I used to work for a hack stable. The owner decided to get into breeding Arabians. He bought most of his Arabian mares at New Holland and used them in the hack string. He picked up a large pony mare that was Frankenpony. Horse head, horse length body, pony neck, pony legs. Round like a barrel. Absolutely needed a breastplate or the saddle would spin. She was the most comfortable thing to ride. She just glided.
He had a few carriages that he used for weddings and carriage rides. Mostly used an Arabian gelding or a pair of Hackney horses. But he bought a big black Percheron gelding from NH. He had a mohawk so we called him Mr T. Yes this was mid-80s.
I think he only took one horse back to NH after a few weeks. Actually a large pony that didn’t work out for the hack children. She would try to rub them off of the fence or go back to the barn.
I bought my Arabian cross from a select sale in VA. I got to see him ridden and jumped and got to ride him myself. I had the option of having him vetted. I think there was a 7 day soundness guarantee. Same auctions now do online select sales.
i’ve had a lot of horses in my life, and never have sold/traded/given away any of them. If they come to me, they stay with me. If it doesn’t work out personality-wise, or if they are not rideable for mental or physical reasons, that’s OK. We have a LOT of acres and plenty of hay. Nothing makes me happier than giving a horse a forever home. I currently have 9 rescue horses and 8 BLM mustangs. Five of the horses i adopted from the humane society have turned out to be great riding horses, two of which i’m hauling in to weekly dressage lessons.
The mustangs were from BLM’s online auctions. I had to competitively bid on all of them. Prices paid ranged from 25 to 3k+… So, not all were exactly freebees. So far, none of the mustangs are ready to be greenbroke yet, they’ve only been here a few months, but i have high hopes for all of them. Except one. One little mare (12.2h) was nothing but limping skin and bones…she is filling out nicely and omg…so wan/so timid/so sweet. My hope for her is for her to be great in a halter (which she’s pretty good at already) and to blossom and be able to run on our 100 acre pastures and have an excellent, happy life. Others are all good riding prospects…5 selected for their moves/confo for dressage. The gray gelding that’s the furthest along, “Steve” has won my heart. Sometimes, when i put a halter on him and lead him around, or scratch his withers…my eyes tear up. The geldings were all studs out there on the range…for several years. And every single one of them has the scars to prove it. Steve has a concave hoof-size divot in the lower half of two rips. The scar is huge, but has hair. It’s below half way down his rib, and between where cinch and back cinch will be. He’s a low headed western looking guy, so i’m thinking trail horse for him…IF he vets-out. I’ll be trailering him for Xray panel at MIZZOU when he’s tame enough. And if they say OK to try, i’ll start saddle training him.
Anyhoooo…all i can say is that my experiences with auction horses is quite positive. But, i’m horse-crazy. I can find something wonderful and lovable in just about any equine …
2 Likes
My husband bought a really nice good looking appy mare at a mid-level auction. Paid a whole $400 for her. We went for another horse we saw on line and didn’t like it in person but he saw that appy and she was the one for him. He’s a trail rider and she was pretty good out there but after a few years, she developed a skin condition and needed a drier climate to be comfortable so sold her on to someone on the dry side of the state. They loved her from what I understand.
2 Likes
This is just wonderful. I have mustangs too, do you know what HMAs yours are from? It’s always fun when I find someone with a mustang from the same HMA as one of mine. It’s interesting to compare personalities and stories!
2 Likes
1 from Antelope Valley, 1 from Fish Creek (she’s a curly), 2 from Beatys Butte, 1 from Eagle, 3 from Warm Springs. Where are yours from? I got mine straight from BLM as untouched. Did you? Three of the geldings were gelded in March, at twelve years old. They are kinda awesome…
Both of ours were TIP trained (I haven’t had a facility for one straight from the BLM with the higher fences required). My daughters gelding is from Green Mountain, Wyoming and my mare is from Adobe Town, Wyoming.
2 Likes
The horse I own now had ended up at an auction. From what I can tell, the ranch she’s from closed and dumped all their horses at auction. Nothing wrong with any of them, the ranch just wanted to get rid of them quickly.
A wide variety ends up at auction; I wouldn’t assume that all of them had problems. Probably experience and luck for the people who buy good horses at an auction.
