Slaughter Sales
The End Of The Line? Or A New Beginning?

When thinking of acquiring a new horse, most people envision buying one privately from a seller or perhaps even breeding one, but there is another option that many people don’t consider. Not only could you find your next horse there, but you may very well be saving a life.

In nearly every state in the country there are auctions where many of the horses are sold to dealers whose livelihood is selling horses to slaughter houses. In 2001 47,134 horses were slaughtered in the United States for human consumption overseas. Nearly 100% of the horses who are slaughtered annually go through these sales. Luckily, not all the horses are sold to slaughter house buyers. Many are sold to dealers who buy and sell horses and many are sold to people who are just in the market for a new horse.

The percentage of horses at these sales who are sold to dealers selling to slaughter houses is dependent upon the market. Outbreaks of Foot and Mouth disease and Mad Cow disease in Europe in recent years drove up horse meat prices here. Japan and several countries in Europe are the largest consumers of horse meat. The United States is one of the largest sources of this meat. This is a reality of the horse industry-one that many horse owners are not aware of or would rather not think about. (Now, you really didn’t think I was going to let you get away with not thinking did you?)

Some of the horses sold for slaughter are in bad shape, obviously neither rideable nor desirable to most people in the market for a new horse. But many of the horses are rideable, merely in need of some care, possibly some training, but more importantly-a new home. Because of both the high price of horse meat and the excess of unwanted horses, many nice, healthy, rideable horses are sold for slaughter every week. But even horses who are not rideable have uses. Maybe you only have one horse at home and could use another as a friend to the one you have. Maybe you have two horses who become upset when separated and a third horse or pony would restore calmness to your barn. Maybe you just have an extra stall or pasture you could use to give an old horse a few good last years.

While buying a horse at this type of sale is not for everyone, visiting such a sale should be. Why? Because, in my opinion, if you are going to be part of the horse industry it is important to understand and learn what goes on in all parts of it-however unpleasant. And if that isn’t enough, if you have ever sold a horse and do not now know its whereabouts, consider that there is a chance that the horse you once owned could have been sold to a slaughter house buyer at one of these sales.

Buying a horse at such a sale is full of risks and should not be undertaken without a very good professional horse person and possibly a veterinarian as advisors. Some horses are brought to this type of sale because they are difficult to sell elsewhere. Some are unsound or have behavior problems that other people cannot or are not willing to try to correct. Some horses are drugged to make them appear sound or to calm them. The auction houses do not guarantee the horses to be sound or healthy.

Typical of auction houses, like the Marshall sale has a steep amphitheater of seats which look down onto a small half-circle dirt sales floor. The auctioneer is in a booth overlooking this sales floor and horses are brought into the ring in one door on the left and, after being sold, are taken out a door on the right. Behind this sales area are the holding pens. These pens, which are arranged in rows, are made of 5 ft high board fence. Some of the pens are long and narrow with hay feeders, to which a number of horses are tied. Other pens are smaller, to hold just a couple of horses and there are a number of stall-sized pens made to hold just one horse or a couple of small ponies. Above this is a catwalk so prospective buyers can have an unobstructed view of the animals below, a view that is difficult at ground level where one must peer between the boards.

There are horses of every size, shape and description imaginable. Often there are mules, donkeys and even goats as well. The majority of the horses look as if they have been relatively well-cared for. Some have obviously been bathed or otherwise groomed for the occasion. At every sale there are always a number of horses who have not been well-cared for and a handful who are in very poor, even desperate shape. It is not at all unusual to see crippled, emaciated, foundered, or otherwise very unhealthy horses.

At the Marshall sale, horses coming in to be sold are not required to have a negative Coggins test or a health certificate or even proof of ownership, though the seller must show a driver’s license. The horses are given a "hip" number that is glued to their hindquarters for identification. Horses can be ridden by perspective owners prior to the start of the sale. This is done in a small area outside the building, or often, up and down the aisle ways of the holding pen area.

When the sale begins, the horses are brought into the sales ring, usually one by one. If they appear rideable at all, they are ridden in by employees of the sale, or sometimes by their owners. The auctioneer begins the bidding at a level he determines as reasonable. If no one bids, he drops it lower until bidding starts. When the bidding stops, the horse is sold to the highest bidder unless the owner has put a reserve bid on the horse. If the horse does not bring the amount put on reserve by the owner, it is considered a "no sale" and is returned to the owner. Once the horse is sold, it is taken out of the sales ring to a veterinarian who draws blood for a mandatory Coggins test. The price of this test and sales tax is added to the final purchase price of the horse.

"About three out of every ten horses go to dealers for slaughter," says Hilleary. But it used to be more.

"This sale here, has changed in the past several years. The management has changed, the animals are better cared for. It has become more of a riding horse sale than a slaughter sale."

Hilleary left the sale with a Arabian mare and a burro. The mare she purchased was possibly 14-years old and suffering from an acute respiratory problem. She was extremely thin and appeared to also have a neurological disfunction. Oddly enough, she had front shoes on but looked like her hooves had not been trimmed in months. The burro carried a Bureau of Land Management brand. He was brought to the sale without a BLM title which made it illegal for him to be sold there. Hilleary purchased him directly from the man who had brought him to the sale. He claimed to have bought him at the sale in New Holland, PA but decided to sell him because he was too old. Hilleary routinely buys horses, donkeys or mules which are in the worst shape at this and other sales. Homes are found for all except those too sick or debilitated to recover, those are humanely euthanized.

Prices were relatively low. I watched a 9-year old thoroughbred that had raced and done training level dressage sell for $600. Many other decent, sound looking horses sold for similar amounts. A flashy looking black and white pinto Tennessee Walking horse sold for $1600. A riding camp that was downsizing, sold several camp school horses-all for very modest amounts. Hilleary guessed that most of the horses who sold for less than $350 went to slaughter buyers.

Make no mistake about it, these types of sales are not for the faint of heart. And, do not expect to see the handling of the horses to be anything approaching what most people would consider "horsemanship". Some of it is borderline or even outright abuse. Though the horses are at the sale all day and some of them are brought in the previous night, few are given hay or water.

As many horse people are making a stand either for or against allowing horses to be slaughtered in this country, few of them ever consider what has happened to the horses that they no longer own. Visiting such a sale provides one with several opportunities; to buy a horse, to see where some unwanted horses go and to decide where OUR horse industry should go in this new century. The bottom line in the slaughter issue is this; as long as there are unwanted horses available, horses will be slaughtered, whether it is in this country or some other. I believe our horses deserve better!