December 5th auction reports

Huge thanks to our EMW Teams for being at  Henley in Arden and Brecon auctions on the 5th December.

The first report in from'BT' who attended Henley in Arden says
"A couple of things that really stood out for me were:  Lot number 16 - A mare heavily in foal that was due before xmas (only 2.5 weeks away)  Lot number 37 & 38 - A little 12hh ish mare with a apaloosa foal at foot, they had seperate lot numbers and were bid for seperately however the same gentleman bought both and I believe they were going to a better place. They (auctioneers) seemed to have every intention of them being sold seperately"

Both of these are issues that EQUINE MARKET WATCH Sanctuaries UK are asking our Animal Welfare ministers to address and redress as a matter of welfare urgency. The 1990 legislation is muddy, needs loopholes closing and the law given clearly so no welfare mistakes can occur. After all these are real lives that are being toyed with.
 
Our second report from L. and D. at Henley-in-Arden

".In one case a youngster was getting upset outside the ring (after the auction had finished) & rearing. The auctioneer came over and told the people with him that he (auctioneer) had told them once already to fetch the box to the horse. They then left him and when they tried again he seemed much calmer and he was fine to be boxed.

The only other time I saw anything was when someone was trying to load a loose youngster into a box without moving the others tied up close by and one of the others broke it's head collar. This was really a lack of common sense in not moving the others first but they were not handled roughly.

Are they supposed to tied straight up to the fence or should it be breakable bailing string or something like it? E.M.W. says unfortunately the legislation (Section11(e) states a horse must be 'secured by the head' it does not qualify that tying procedure, another point regarding clarification/improvement
The only thing I would add was at the end there seemed to be a lot of moving of the last 5 or so horses from box to box. Not sure if this is the usual case as been a long time since I went to the auctions" E.M.W. says this is quite normal as it's when many dealers tend to sell to each other.

The Brecon auction report
We arrived early and had a good look round. Ponies/horses were being unloaded and penned with the usual noise and business of auction. We spotted a pen with some sorry looking section D youngsters and mares in it. They were all very thin and with poor feet. We body scored the worse one as a 1 -http://www.newc.co.uk/advice/documents/BodyConditionScoringofHorses-NEWC2005.pdf?PHPSESSID=79396169d24fdcef97751a36983206c5 the others may have scraped a 2.

although distressing we felt this pen of horses had reason to be poor as they were being sold as a result of a death, always a hard time and maybe the horses had suffered as a result of severe and final illness taking it's toll. They would recover quickly with a worming and good feeding without doubt. A few others in auction were thin but nothing that caused great concern. Prices were up but still not really reflecting the cost of microchipping and passporting all foals now. The economic climate is also taking it's toll but some sold very well indeed. We were very pleased that the auctioneer questioned the selling of a mare with a foal, as it turned out she wasn't the dam of the foal. The exit was most clear and the entrance to the ring via the weighbridge has now got some good solid doors beind it, it seemed to make the horses/ponies coming through much calmer and must have been easier for the drovers to get each pen into the selling area too.

Our next auctions are now after Christmas, January 23rd,  as we gear up to the festive season.Lets hope 2010 is a kind year for our equine friends.