Another Auction Report!

Auction report from the Cowtown Registered Horse Sale in California last weekend. This is good to check out for (a) anybody who may be looking for any of these registered horses and (b) anybody who needs to see how dirt cheap even nice, registered stock are selling for. The high sellers were AQHA geldings - and I'm guessing they were good broke ones, the kind who used to auction for $5000.

Again, if you are going to breed anything this year, I hope you know for sure there is a demand for it that will drive the price far past these auction prices we're seeing. If you aren't sure, don't do it! The economy is not getting better...seriously, it's not. If you just want a weanling, there are going to be tons out there that you can buy far under their "normal" value.

Prices marked with an asterisk (*) are horses who no-saled.

#	Sex	Name/Description	Registry	Price	DOB / Age
1	M	WR The Real McCoy	APHA	300	2005
2	S	Who Coudaskforemore	APHA	850	2006
3	G	Native War Doc	APHA	425	2000
4	M	Juniper Bell Bell	APHA	500	2007
5	G	Millites Boy	AQHA	625	2003
6	G	Parsons Peppy Jack	AQHA	575*	2006
7	M	Queen O Spade	AQHA	625	2003
8	G	A Classic Moose	AQHA	475*	2005
9	M	Racotas Smart Daisy	AQHA	850*	1999
10	M	Bella Elmore	AQHA	900*	2003
11	S	Just A City Guy	TB	125	2005 - NER
12	M	WR Perpetual Style	APHA	350	2004
13	G	LGJ Bonanza Bar Isle	AQHA	275	2006
14	S	Nu Pepto Time	AQHA	360	2008
15	M	Nu Pepto Lena	AQHA	400	2008
16	G	Chief Sierra Runner	APHA	375*	2002
17	M	WR Passionate Kisses	APHA	775	2007
18	M	Kit River	AQHA	525	2006
19	M	Flyin Finale	TB	600	2002
20	G	Mr Chex Par Te Mix	AQHA	1650	2003
21		No Show
22	M	Dancing Drum	TB	150	1995 - NER
23	Jack	Bar JF Tennessee Red	AD&MS	175	2004
24	Jen	Bar JF Blue Diamond	AD&MS	380	2004
25	G	WR the Real Deal	APHA	150	2008
26	M	Zip of Spice	APHA	800*	2003
27	G	Cats Pine N Bailey	AQHA	550*	2004
28	G	Wanna Be a Gambler	AQHA	625	2005
29	M	Shiny Majorette	AQHA	?	2004
30	M	Docolate Bar Chex	AQHA	750	2004
31	M	Amy Tucker Chexs	AQHA	850	2004
32	M	Tic Tac May	AQHA	550	2002
33	M	Sheza Lil Memory	AQHA	300	2006
34	M	Sparkless Josie	AQHA	425	1993
35	M	Blue Try Royal	AQHA	490	2007
36	G	Sweet Beau Jet	AQHA	600	1999
37	M	Docs Pearl Dust	AQHA	500	2006
38	G	Dannys Dot Com	APHA	925	2004
39	G	Badgers Smart Gold	AQHA	1000	2002
40	G	Midnight Tango	AWS	500	2004
41	G	Pepsans Moon Light	AQHA	1000*	2003
42	S	THF Hit By The War Bug	APHA	375	2008
43	G	Ices Mini Me	AQHA	875*	2003
44	S	Not Named	APHA	220	2008
45	M	Miss Tardee Starlett	APHA	360	2004
46		No Show
47	S	Hesa Tee J Sugar	AQHA	275	2003
48	M	Red roan	QH	500*
49	S	Paint		400*	9
50	M	Paint mare		275	16 – NER
51	M	Tb Mare		175	9 – NER
80	G	Ridden through		825*	10
52	M	Red Roan		550*
53	G	QH gelding chestnut		425	12
54	G			225*	12
84	M	Grey mare		350	5
55	M	Paint mare		175	17 – NER
79	M	Chesnut grade mare		175	4
56	G	Grade Paint		150	9 – NER
57	?	?		175	8
58	M	Registered Morgan		400	8
59	?	Gentle baby, lifts feet		220*	1
84	M	Dapple Grey		600	6
85		Mini Paint		425
61?		Ride / Driving Mini		175	3
89	M	Bay mare		275*	5
82		Bay TB		160	10 approx
85	M	White mini pasture exposed		525	6 y/o
91		Mule – Red Roan ridden		200	6
88		Quarter Pony White		300	10
96		Baby bay		75	2008 – NER
95	S	Mini Stud		225	2
98	G	TB – chestnut		160	5
116				150	4
110		Paint –started on riding		160	4 – NER
83		Bay		?*
99	M	Ridden through		425*	4
100	S	Paint		75
101	M	Ridden through		225	10
	M	Ridden through		175
109		Ridden through, Paint		275	4
114	M	Ridden, Chestnut		375*
115	M	Ridden, Chestnut		325*	6
112		Buckskin		175	NER
103		Ridden, dark bay		125
		Buckskin		?
		Mule – Brown		150
		Mule – Brown		150
		Mule – Black		150
		Black Donkey		30	NER
90	S	Dark Appy		50
78		Dark Bay – Haltered		70
95	S	Sorrel Colt – Haltered		80
104	Jen	Donkey		160	4
108	S	Mini Stud		50

TGIF, so we have a Friday Featured Rescue! This is Family Book, an eight year old Thoroughbred gelding at Mountain View Rescue in Kentucky. He is suitable for light riding and sounds like he has a wonderful personality!

Mountain View is doing a number of things right from what I can see (and hear)...note the public display of how they did on an equine rescue evaluation and the huge selection of dated pictures showing improvement in their horses. Very nice!

I also want to update on last Friday's FFR...his rescuer rode him this week and says he's really, really broke...leg yields, lots of advanced training. He just starts off a bit tense for the first five minutes so he needs someone soft and sensitive to ride him.

Yes, another abusive, horrible, disgusting pig of a trainer!

Graphic pics at this link but not on the main page. Graphic pics ARE labeled so you can safely go to the site but avoid them.

http://www.freewebs.com/tessasordeal/

For some reason they are not naming names but I am SURE someone who reads this knows where this mule went to be tortured. Here's the description of the trainer:

"A few months before she turned three, I was contacted by a friend on a mules group and she gave me the name of a trainer here in Missouri that she knew of and was sending her young mule to. He was an older man and was an experienced mule trainer and Missouri Foxtrotter trainer. I was very interested and when I called his house, he wasn't there but his family told me to contact his nephew, who was the main trainer and owned the barn where they trained. He was also a farrier so I thought I'd hit the jackpot. I asked around and found out that two other friends knew this trainer, had used him and said he was good, he would put a lot of time on her and the area was rugged but she would have a lot of different types of trail experience but to know he didn't leave them setting around the barn and she would be worked so I should put some extra weight on her to start, which I did."

The owner is asking that people write and demand justice, but it would help to know who we're demanding to be punished!

To me, one of the most important points here is that the owner was worried. She had a feeling things were not right. People, DO NOT IGNORE THAT FEELING. That's the remnant of the good instincts we all used to have, the ones that kept us from being eaten by mountain lions! You are NOT being paranoid when you have that feeling. Better safe than sorry - if you feel uncomfortable, GO PICK UP THE ANIMAL. TODAY. If you are wrong the worst thing that happens is that one barn thinks you're a wacko. But you can't make the animal un-dead and this happens WAY more often than is publicized.

And now for an...

Official Announcement Regarding Rescue Drama

If I have not written a post about your rescue/ex-rescue and its drama, I probably do not consider it to be anything out of the ordinary or worthy of comment. All rescues have drama. All rescues have BOD turnover (or if there is one that does not, I have not yet encountered it) All rescues think they are right and all of their former board members/volunteers (who they used to write glowing posts about regularly) are now Satan/control freaks/wackos. Likewise, all former board members/volunteers think the President of the Rescue (who they used to compare to Mother Theresa) is the Anti-Christ/a wacko/a borderline hoarder.

I got SO many e-mails regarding multiple Rescue Dramas yesterday that I feared my Treo was going to spontaneously combust.

So here is the official position:

1. I am not gonna bash Rescue X merely because you don't work with it anymore and now you think it sucks.

2. I am not gonna bash your ex-BOD or ex-volunteers merely because y'all don't get along anymore and you all think each other suck.

3. I DO NOT DELETE comments to this blog (except for occasional spam and extremely severe racist remarks) and there are no exceptions for (a) friends (b) friends of friends (c) trainers that my friends happen to like (d) people who have lots of supporters who have lots of time to write me e-mails. Of course, due to the same policy, you may use this blog to defend yourself to your heart's content, supply any information that you fear is not "out there," etc. Everybody has the same rights.

4. If I do not delete negative shit about MY horse, odds are excellent I'm not going to delete negative shit about YOUR horse. Again, refer to the DO NOT DELETE policy.

5. You have two good responses to criticism: (a) ignore it and it will go away (this blog is extremely ADD in nature and everybody will have something new to bitch about tomorrow, if not in an hour) or (b) honestly answer questions to the best of your ability without inserting any whining or complaining or any of the following high drama words: mean, spiteful, hurtful, hateful, harassment, persecution, traumatized, and so on. First hint: Including high drama language makes others think there is probably something to all of the negative posts about you, because it makes you come off as an overly emotional wack job, not a grown-up who is capable of responding to criticism in a logical manner, secure in the knowledge that it is unfounded. Second hint: avoiding questions and instead providing an overly general response that addresses no specifics makes you look guilty 100% of the time even when you are not. Third hint: Answer and then MOVE ON...bickering back and forth forever over every single detail prolongs the agony and the drama and, again, makes you look like you skipped your meds.

6. Good LORD people, this is why NO ONE WANTS TO RESCUE. Because no matter how much they may love animals, they have better things to do with their life than respond to angry e-mails all fricken' day. So if I stopped responding to yours, it is because I thought I would do something constructive like grooming and riding some rescue horses. Which I did.

I swear, if this crap continues I am gonna invent software that recognizes rescue drama, deletes the e-mail unread and snail mails the sender a bottle of Prozac and a fifth of vodka. The really amazing thing is that some of you seem to think you can bitch/buffalo/threaten me into saying what you want on this blog. Um, are you new?

I'm not naming names but don't tempt me.

The What Not To Wear of the Horse World!

I'm busy this morning so I'm simply going to direct you to a blog that I think was long overdue:

Tacky Tack of the Day

Now, I do like an element of bling but other than that, I am with this writer all the way. Why do we need purple ostrich anything? I see stuff in the tack store that is pink and green. It looks like a saddlemaker was trying to go after the preppy market, 25 years too late.

The thing that annoys me the most visually is tacky colored polo wraps. Years ago we damn near booted someone out of polo in the Midwest for having hot pink stuff. Now you can find polo wraps with flames on them. They're polo wraps, not a 1969 muscle car that is the pride and joy of Tommy Trailer Park. Blech!

(Has anybody done a blog on hideous horseshow attire for humans? Because, boy, there is some stuff out there that just about blinds you...bad, bad, bad color combinations, bling in questionable places, spandexy fabrics that make anyone above Mary-Jane Olsen's weight look fat. That would make a really good blog!)

A Call for Justice!

I am sure you all remember the sad story of Ruby (first posting, second posting), the APHA mare in horrible condition that was in desperate need of being euthanized, not bred. Ruby was euthanized with the help of Second Chance Ranch, but - as is usually the case - she wasn't the only animal suffering at the hands of these people. The bottom-feeders' names are Richard and Maria Huffman and Michael Wopat and I'm posting today because we need your help. I just got this update over the weekend:

"Ruby's owner Maria Huffman is skating with time served! The defense and prosecution wants 90 days (they served that already) and 5 year ban on owning animals. (yeah, like THAT will work!).

There is time to call Judge Ira Uhrig. He does NOT have to accept the terms of the guilty plea. PLEASE print his number on your blog so people can call him!! 360-676-6747. That is his direct office line."

Sentencing is February 5, 2009 (this Thursday!).

Here's a news story with more details:

http://www.bellinghamherald.com/onpatrol/story/774899.html

FHOTD may have broken the story about these folks, but we only scratched the tip of the iceberg - they had FIFTY-SEVEN animals suffering at their home!

In case you need a little more motivation to call, allow me to quote from the news story:

"The three were arrested on Oct. 27 and released. As part of their release, they were ordered not to possess any animals, but four dogs were found living in a kennel on the property Maria Huffman and Wopat rented, according to charging documents filed in Superior Court.

Their landlord ordered the dogs removed, and a neighbor told investigators that he saw Wopat on the property late at night Oct. 29, according to court documents. Two days later, the neighbor found the dogs with their throats slashed. Only one puppy survived, and she is now doing well."

These are classic repeat offenders. They will NOT stop on their own! They need to be locked up and for long enough to think about the horrific crimes they have committed.

Time served, my you-know-what! Please call Judge Uhrig at 360-676-6747. It should go without saying that polite, succinct and profanity-free is the way to make your point. To me, the most important point is that someone who will slash the throat of a puppy is awfully close to the line of doing just that to a human being. That shows a level of depravity far beyond hoarding and starving animals (which is bad enough!)

Finally, thanks to the original person who intervened here and asked for help...there is really no telling how many lives you saved by helping publicize what was going on in that household. Probably fifty seven lives! So if you feel like reporting things to animal control or the sheriff is pointless, you're wrong. Report, report, report. You may be the only person standing between that animal and a horrible death.

P.S. If anybody has the mug shots, I'd love to put them up. I looked but couldn't find them in any news stories!

National Adopt An Animal Already In Rescue Day!

A little over a week ago I declared February 2nd to (unofficially) be National Adopt An Animal Already In Rescue Day. The point was that frequently people adopt animals that are somehow in dire jeopardy (the slaughter truck, the auction, on the "red list" at the pound) and ignore the animals that are already in rescue, assuming they are "safe" and do not need the home as badly. Unfortunately, this results in animals already in rescue sitting there for years and years with no person to call their own, often limited on space and exercise, often stressed out from living in an environment with an unusually high number of other animals, etc. So my challenge was, if you were already thinking of adding another animal to your family and had the resources to do so, to please adopt one that had been sitting in rescue or a no-kill shelter for awhile without finding the perfect home.

Or, if you couldn't add another animal permanently, to think about fostering for a rescue or shelter that covers your expenses. This, by the way, is a great solution when you're in school and know that you may be moving around a lot. Lots of rescues will pay for vet, so you can have a dog, cat or horse and only pay their food and water and have no fear that they won't have a place to go if/when you have to move away. You may have to spend some time taking them to adoption events or inviting adopters into your home to meet them, but it's just a great thing to do for an animal. So many are stressed/scared in a shelter/large rescue environment.

So let's hear about it - who has a new pet or a new foster in 2009, whether or not it's related to my post? You can't use the IMG tag but you can direct link to an image (how to make a link).

Post coming later today about the Enumclaw Auction but there is one thing I really want to say:

It is utterly pointless to take 2 horses to an auction and demand they not go to kill. This is kind of like walking down a dark street in a bad neighborhood with a t-shirt that says "Don't Rape Me." IT'S AN AUCTION RUN BY A KILL BUYER. Do you REALLY think the dude nobody has ever seen before picking up every single horse for $50 or $100 isn't a kill buyer himself or being "cut in" by a kill buyer? If you truly believe your 7 year old unbroke Thoroughbred mare that you sold for $100 is not heading straight for a double-decker, I have a nice bridge to sell you. There is absolutely NOTHING illegal about lying to you. Yeah, if you could prove the person said the horse would be safe in order to fraudulently induce you to sell the horse to them, you'd have a civil claim - but it wouldn't be worth much.

People, UNLESS YOU SELL THEM FOR $300 AND UP at an auction, odds are REALLY good they are going to kill. I don't care if they're purchased by a little old gray haired lady or a couple with kids. A lot of people pretend to be good homes to acquire horses for the KB's. It is a lucrative side job and one look at the economy ought to show you how many people will do shady stuff for a cash profit per horse. Not everybody's a horse lover. This is why low-end auctions just aren't a safe place to sell your horse. A bullet in the head is kinder than selling your horse for $50 or $100 at Enumclaw or any auction like it.

Silly Sunday Topic!

Tomorrow will be some serious stuff again so I thought we'd do something fun today!

What would you buy if you didn't have horses? I was thinking about this because I was working at a charity event last night and just drooling over the dresses, shoes and handbags I can no longer have because of my useless old mare addiction. (But hey, useless old mares are just so damn cute...) Like many of you, my horses have better clothes than I do. They certainly cost more!

But I know not everybody is into that stuff, so tell me - what would you buy if you didn't have horses? Would you travel more? A cooler car? Nicer furniture? A weekly massage? A state of the art video game system and a huge plasma TV? Do you have another hobby that you'd pursue? If all the horses disappeared tomorrow, what would you do with your spare time and money?

On our other shopping topic, for those of you who were looking for a new pet for National Adopt An Animal Already In Rescue Day, how's the shopping going? :-) I'm going to be asking you tomorrow to tell me all about them! (Along with a serious topic I have to address because it's time-sensitive).