Waynesburg Auction

Every Thursday people crowd into a room raised high above the auction ring. The air is thick with the warmth from their bodies and the voice of the auctioneer rattling off at a mile a minute is the only distinguishable sound. To get from one end to the other you have to squeeze between the tightly compacted bodies, hoping not to offend or step on any toes. To obtain a seat closer to the ring you must arrive early - my chances for that were shot. My father and I had arrived at about noon just in time to give the livestock a once over and grab a bite to eat before the sale at one.

You can view the animals from a walkway looming high over their heads. The very first ring of animal you see is a pen with four horses in it; a tall sorrel mare with a white stripe, a splashy overo horse with a ghost eye, another sorrel mare, and a dark bay. They stand perfectly in a line looking anxious but in decent shape. Next to them is another pen of horses, this one one with an array of ponies and one oddly built chestnut mare. This pen is not so calmly kept. The chestnut is constantly crying out, pacing back and forth relentlessly and the ponies squeal and kick out at one another if someone ventures too close.

As you continue down the walkway and look to the off to the left you can see the hogs. They appear to large for their own legs to support their legs. They lay on their sides with their faces pressed into the mud and their legs dangling in the air. Beyond the sows are many pens of cattle. There are dairy cattle with their prominent hip bones and young steers. There are also massive black Angus pulls, angrily stomping and blowing snot out of their noses. The calves are most pitiful to see, huddled and bleating together with large sad eyes. Their is an array of goats and alpacas, even a single mule.

But kept far in the back in hopes of staying away from the viewers eyes are the saddest animals of all. These are the horses who have been dealt a bad card. A two year old buckskin is in misery with his head between his knees, every bone in his body visible. His eyes are sad and if he has no response to any attempt to draw his attention. A pinto stud colt beside him is equally as pathetic but his eyes are not so subdued. They flicker about the building in distress, constantly moving with a wild look. The horse that draws the most heartache is an incredibly emaciated mare. Her body score would have certainly marked a 1 or less as her bones jut through her skin. Her muscle has all deteriorated and she is just barely clinging to life. Worst of all, she has a weanling filly still trying to suckle milk from her.

Waynesburg Auction is a livestock auction and it is one of the few places they sell horses by the pound. With the re-opening of slaughter houses in America, the killer-buyers are more aggressive than ever. Most horses run through the sale will end up in their hands. The buckskin colt, the pinto stud, and the horribly abused mare and her baby all sold for $5 dollars each. They will not be brought back to health. They will not know love. They will meet an end at the slaughter house. It is a terribly unfortunate thing because all of these horses had so much potential to become something. Because of neglectful owners they will never have the chance at life.

Oddly enough, I am a support of horse slaughter in America. However, I am not a supporter of abuse on any level. There is absolutely no excuse for the horses to have ever have reached that condition. If you cannot afford to feed a horse, do something with it besides slowly letting the poor creature starve to death in a pasture. Send it to auction before it reaches that critical point! I can't even begin to express the sorrow I feel for those horses.

The Horse That Changed My Life

I can remember sitting on the raised platform above the auction block with my father to my left at just nine years old.. There was a distinct excitement in the air as people raised their number on prospects, the auctioneer's voice going a mile a minute in the background. The horse I had hopes for was nearly black with a striking white blaze and four white stockings. When he entered the pen to be sold, I was tensed. I didn't even know who he had gone to when the auctioneer trumpeted "Sold!" over the loud speaker. I looked to my anxiously, he smiled and told me we had won the bid. I must have cried a bit then, and darted from my seat to meet the horse that would change my life.

Joker, as was the little 14.2hh geldings suitable name, turned out to me a hellish nightmare. The gelding was completely unbearable. He was danger to myself and anyone else who got on his back or happened to be around at the time. At the gate, he would set back on his haunches and whip turn after turn with a refusal to leave the gate. If you managed to get him away from the gate and asked for anything above the speed of a walk, he would immediately take off and and run into anyone else who was in the arena at the time, slinging his neck over their own mounts top line and plowing his chest into the horse. It was terrifying! None of the trainer's had much success in fixing the issue. One friend of mine, who was quite a bit older than myself thought she could solve the issue when Joker refused to enter the indoor arena. She got on and immediately Joker was spinning circles from one side of the barn to the other, never moving an inch closer to the arena gate. After that, my friend called it quits.

One day, a well known clinician visited the barn and I was hopeful that the clinic would be a great starting place in resolving issues with Joker. I was sadly disappointed however my the advice the man had to offer. After watching me try to handle Joker, and not having much luck he told me that I needed to sell the horse as soon as possible. Joker was too much horse for me to ever handle. Perhaps it was that statement that fueled the fire within me that still burns feverishly any time I work with a horse. After that, I took Joker to the round pen. It was the first time I would ever attempt this and had only gotten the idea from a kids series book titled "Heartland." Much like in the book I performed what is referred to as a "join up." It was the first real break through I had had with the troublesome gelding. When he lowered his head and licked his lips I bent down and amazingly, the gelding turned and came to me. Through hard work and lots and lots of research I was able to slowly overcome all of Joker's issues.

The little black gelding became the most amazing mount I have ever had the delight of owning. I took him to fun shows and won every class, earning countless ribbons. I could call him into me and he'd follow no matter the pace or place. I could ride him bareback, jumping heights taller than an upright barrel. I could slip off the bridle and tack and ride completely free, just one it the horse. I could throw a blindfold across his eyes and take away his vision completely and ride at all gaits. He was a remarkable horse and I don't expect to experience such a bond with any horse like that again.

Vixen Finds a Home




Vixen's first "ride" with new owner - 7yr old Gia

 

After I poured hours and hours of dedication and hard work into this little filly, I am happy to announce she has found a new home. Vixen is going to spend her days with a well known horse trainer throughout the area and her two daughters, one being seven years old and the other fifteen. She will be used as a lead line pleasure pony for the seven year old girl.

It was a bit unnerving for me when the family game to visit my pony. Vixen had never encountered two seven year old girls (They brought a tiny friend along too) and I wasn't sure how she would react with the two girls eagerly jumping up and down in their excitement. I was holding my breath the entire time. Bless that little pony's heart, she stood like a lady. When they were content with how she stood in cross-ties we took her to the arena where the mother requested to put her seven year old little girl onto Vixen's back. Being the only person to ever sit on Vixen, I was biting at my nails again, but I relented, putting a lot of faith into the horse and even more into my training skills. I was impressed again as Vixen remained calm and didn't flinch. One scary situation after the other, the mother wanted to put a saddle on Vixen and then have me climb aboard. Now, I had only saddled Vixen once previously and I had certainly never rode on top. But I was eager to show off my little girl and hoped my training was reliable. So I obliged, hopped aboard and the mother led us around at a walk and trot. It couldn't have gone any better. By then, their hearts were won over by this impressive filly and they came the following afternoon to take her home.



Looking good in her new pink halter.



As my first horse purchased for the intent of training to sell, I was incredibly proud of myself. Vixen was an excellent pony for me to start with and I could not be any more pleased with how things went. I set out with a mission and a goal in mind and I accomplished everything I set out to achieve without surpassing my limitations. Hopefully, this experience will open up many more doors for me in the horse training industry and I will be able to continue to further my success.