I saw a woman that is raffling off a horse to raise money for her charity and I got to thinking that this is a really bad idea. Is it just me or not??? I have never heard of such a thing since I used to watch Major Mud and they gave away a free pony, but, that was about 345 years ago:yes:
Yes it’s a bad idea. Poor horse, where will it end up?
It is not legal in many states either!
I think a lot depends on circumstances. I know I’ve seen horse/foal raffles but the winner is vetted and they don’t just send the horse off to random know-nothing people.
I know of at least one organization that does it every year to raise money. The young horse is brought to fairs and such where the raffle tickets are sold. If you win you have a choice of the horse or some small monetary amount.
[QUOTE=trubandloki;8050851]
I know of at least one organization that does it every year to raise money. The young horse is brought to fairs and such where the raffle tickets are sold. If you win you have a choice of the horse or some small monetary amount.[/QUOTE]
Hopefully this is what the woman is doing although she has provided very little information. Pretty much just wants people to sign up.
For anyone who cares about their horse’s fate, it’s a horrible idea.
Kathy does this every year for Leg Up and I think it’s great! Reputable charity and a lovely foal every year.
There is an old joke that goes along with this:
A Vermont farmer was having breakfast at the local coffee shop lamenting all he had to do.
His neighbor asks if he can help.
Farmer says, well, my old horse died last night and I need to bury it.
Neighbor says he will take care of it.
A month later farmer sees neighbor with a new truck and farmer says ‘how did you manage that in these tight times?’
Neighbor responds ’ well, I sold tickets for 50 dollars apiece for your old horse and I sold over 500 of them.!’
Farmer says ’ you sold tickets for my dead horse! What did the winner say when you told him it had died?’
Neighbor responds ‘well, I gave him his money back!’
Bada Bing.
and, no, I don’t think it is a good idea to raffle off a horse.
I honestly think it is a tax write off. Think about it as the breeder, barn, stallion and charity owner the foals costs are low and the pay off is huge.
Each year they get to write off expenses for the foal and the “cost” of the foal as a charity. Then whatever money is collected is also written off to charity. It also gives value to a foal that may not sell in the open market.
They may help a few unlucky people but they sure do help themselves first.
Not sure if it’s the same people that take their foal around to fairs but I wouldn’t be at all surprised.
There is a reason it is illegal to raffle off live animals in most places. Heck they don’t even give away free goldfish anymore.
It worked for National Velvet!
How do they vet the winner’s after they win? What happens if the winner doesn’t vet out great? Do they have some kind of clause for winning the raffle that states you must be able to care for the horse etc.? Do they get cash if they don’t meet the criteria? I think raffles for any kind of animals are bad ideas for all the obvious reasons.
With raffles that go on for a long time - foals and motorcycles come to mind - I always wonder if they ever do give the “prize” away. You buy your ticket in May, let’s say, and the raffle isn’t until October and the whole time they’ve been selling tickets in multiple locations. Does anyone actually win or has everybody who bought a ticket pretty much forgotten the whole thing? I’m sure there are some reputable people who do it but I think it gives scammers a great opportunity to collect money for nuthin’ (as Dire Straits used to say). Or they give the winner a poor quality foal and then nobody’s happy - the horse least of all.
[QUOTE=GotMyPony;8051150]
With raffles that go on for a long time - foals and motorcycles come to mind - I always wonder if they ever do give the “prize” away. You buy your ticket in May, let’s say, and the raffle isn’t until October and the whole time they’ve been selling tickets in multiple locations. Does anyone actually win or has everybody who bought a ticket pretty much forgotten the whole thing? I’m sure there are some reputable people who do it but I think it gives scammers a great opportunity to collect money for nuthin’ (as Dire Straits used to say). Or they give the winner a poor quality foal and then nobody’s happy - the horse least of all.[/QUOTE]
It does say it will be given away at a horse show in PA in April. That is about all it says though no other details are given at all.
GotMyPony-- the organization would get in pretty big trouble if they never held the drawing. But one tactic with raffles is to set a minimum amount that has to be raised through tickets sold, in order for the raffle “prize” to be given away. If the minimum is not met, then a pre-established dollar amount or % of the pot is substituted as the prize.
The organization can set the threshold artificially high, which means basically the charity has no intention of actually giving the thing away.
I could never raffle an animal. That said, I do know a couple of horses that were raffled. One couple lost a substantial amount of money, but they had good hearts. They paid board and train for a while, and then sold him to a young lady that was going to take him to some shows and expose him to things and resell him. Last I knew she still had him and loved him. As she moves forward with adult life he may be sold, who knows, but he has had some training. I also know a raffle horse that is now a teen and in the same home. He has moved states a couple times and is loved by his owner.
PA is one of the state where it is not legal. I know of a breed organization there who got into some trouble because they were doing a horse raffle as a fundraiser. They were actually selling tickets at their booth at Horse World Expo. This was within the last 5 years.
Terrible idea. I wouldn’t support an organization or person doing it.
PA raffle rules;
http://www.revenue.pa.gov/FormsandPublications/FormsforBusinesses/Documents/Small%20Games%20of%20Chance/sgoc_overview.pdf
I think it’s a bad idea, however, I do know two people personally who won ponies through raffles in the 1980s. One was the first foal to swim to shore at the Chincoteague pony penning. The other won a young pony at the Washington International Horse Show. Both already owned or rode horses and both ponies were cared for well.
