Just curious if anyone is feeling the effects of the ceasing of horse slaughter in the USA.  With Congress having passed the bill to discontinue the necessary USDA inspections till October, I was wondering if anyone has noticed the dropping in prices yet?  I haven't been to any sales yet this year, but I have already heard grumbling from some local breeders about the market going very very soft thanks to congress. 

Any thoughts on this?  Maybe it is too early to tell yet. 

We have about 12 solid mares of our own, that we breed each year to our stud(1994 Congress winner Reining) This year I only bred one of them He stands for $500 and I can't get that from babies on the ground. I'd say that is a soft market. But you know when you think about it, It is really our own fault when prices were up in late 90's early 2000-2001 we over bred everything. So I guess we'll pay for a few years with low price horses.

 Come to Florida, everyone thinks their 23 wear old mare is made of gold.

Looking at the papers here you would think the equestrian lost their minds. 

It's a sign that the man upstairs wants me to buy more show horses....the dropping prices make me happy

I bought hay this year for $30/round (nicer than my usual squares) in South Eastern OK (just above Durant) and they guy had more than he could sell.  The funny thing about hay is...you just need to know where to look!

Hay prices are decent up here in Michigan.  I get good grass/alfalfa/timothy mix for $3 a bale for a good 50 pound bale, or I can pay $40 for a the same mix in a huge round bale.    I find it is easier to buy it by the ton rather than by the bale.

I hope Congress gets the message of what they are doing to horse prices and peoples livlihoods.  Granted the thought of horse processing is not a pleasant thought, but obviously it is a necessary evil!  

HWBar, I don't see it taking care of itself for at least ten to twenty years.  We are flooded, not with just young babies, but middle to older horses as well.  Meat buyers did inflate the prices.   I don't think alot of it was over breeding.  First 75% of the PMU farms in Canada shut down or reduced their production, thrusting thousands of horses into the market, then with Congress having passed the bill to end USDA inspections, the excess market has been closed off.  You will definitely see lots of horses suffering because there is no where for them to go.  The economy is already staggering due to unemployment (NAFTA) and now, we have thrust thousands more into unemployment, plus inundated the market with lots of horses to care for that were not planned on being cared for.  Rescues are inundated, and can barely keep their heads above water as it is. 

I agree, Government should NOT have meddled in this, it has caused a domino effect in several financial arenas. 

If those folks in Congress who voted to pass this bill are so concerned about the horses welfare they need to open up their check books and head on down to the local auction to pick up the loose ends!!!!

The PMU mares are not to blame - slaughter is still open in Canada.

My question is what ever happend to having a horse PTS? I don't disagree with horse slaughter - I think for cull animals it is a necessary evil - otherwise healthy animals that are either unsuitable, dangerous or just overstock - that I'm ok with. But i get upset hearing about the half deads, cripples and very old horses being forced to make that trip because the owner is too greedy to just have the horse PTS. If they don't want to pay for a vet - a bullet is a much more humane option than a slaughter trip.

Hopefully with the "pay me $400 for my injured/crippled horse" option not available to most people that they will start doing the right them and have those horses humanely distroyed.

Hopefully with the "pay me $400 for my injured/crippled horse" option not available to most people that they will start doing the right them and have those horses humanely distroyed.

I hope so, but I'm not holding my breath.  I think there will be more horses left like my old mare was.  Starved, sick and left lying on the side of the road.  Funny thing is, she is the best kids horse I have ever had.  My 3 yr old rides her with no problems.

People don't put their animals to sleep usually due to cost. 

Horses could be sold at slaughter for a profit versus paying the vet to put them down and paying to dispose of the body.  I think it just comes down to numbers.

I once worked for a vet that injected household cleaners into dogs to put them to sleep if the owners weren't watching because he could make a profit.  I quit and don't look back.

My personal thoughts are that we'll see exports of live horses to neighboring countries where they will be slaughtered there without government control.

I hear the heartfelt stories of rescue horses and cry but the reality is that there is not enough space/money to care for every animal.  As a nation we have come to accept putting dogs/cats to sleep and we slaughter cattle without a second thought.  Eventually horses will fall into one of these two.

What is wrong with slaughtering cattle?  I love a good medium rare TBone!!!  lol...

I think those who want these horses "rescued" need to look at the economic side of it.  Are you prepared to take care of these extra horses?  Because somebody is going to have to.  Especially with the way the economy is going, folks are running short on feed money and having to make difficult choices.  Folks that were "well to do"  5 years ago are standing at the unemployment office.   It is all well and good to do what you feel is right, but who are we to tell someone they can not sell their horse for slaughter or to take it across the border for slaughter?  What is next???  Government needs to stay out of the horse business period.  I plan on calling and writing to my respective congressman (woman) and ask them if THEY are prepared to take in the extra horses, and if THEY are prepared to take up the economical loss associated with it.  If they vote for that bill that is pending, I will hound them to see how many rescue horses they have taken in, and how many ranchers, slaughter factory workers, horse haulers they plan on helping out financially after their jobs are permenantly lost.   The key is education.  Stallions are a dime a dozen out there, just as there are TONS of subpar mares.  Do us a favor, get your mare shown, if she wins in the show ring, breed her, if she doesn't then don't breed her.  The same with stallions, campaign your stallion, whether it be working ranch horse copetition to stakes winning racing.  If your horse doesn't do well, don't breed, there is a reason your horse doesn't succeed!  Too many breed their studs to make $$$, they are NOT discriminative and will breed to just about anyone.  Raise your stud fee's.  If you raise your stud fee's horse prices will increase because then those who can afford to  breed will,those who can't afford it won't, thus it will thin down the market.   Broodmares can be shown in halter classes and judged on their conformation.  The best broodmares are retired show horses. This way you know if your horse is worth something or not.  If you place last under ten different judges...then your horse is crap, simple as that.  I applaud those who geld their horses!!!

The American association of Veterenary medicine supports horse slaughter!  If they can't stop these tree huggers then I'm sure chewing on Ralph Hall's ear won't help either.

The only part I read on teh bilk was about transporting horses out of California for slaughter.  Nothing was stated abiut shipping them from other border states for slaughter.  Mexico would welcome this industry.

The bill is unclear about slaughter for non-human consumption.  Won't they still slaughter for animal feeds?  I mean our zoos use lots of horse meat to feed their carnivores.

Congress has threatened the USDA about going against them by allowing it's trained inspectors to sub-contract to the slaughter houses.  They state that this is a direct violation of congressional act.

Another funny part about this bill was that it had a cluase that legalized the slaughter of wild horses.  So that begs the question, is an unwanted horse wild?

As I understand it, there will no slaughter for any commercial purpose.  And I may have that wrong.  I have no idea about private slaughter for personal use;  and yes, here in the sticks, we still do slaughter and butcher our own hogs;  and have game processed for our own use.    However, when my aged gelding passed away last year, he was buried on the hillside overlooking his favorite pasture. 

I just don't like the govt telling me what I can and can't do;  but I can deal with my rights ending where the exercise of same would infringe on others. 

So when you talk about horse prices dropping, What is a low price to you?

Are you folks dealing in $50,000 horse and only getting $35,000 now or are you talking $2500 horse that now sell for $1500.

Since I've got 4 pins and cast on my left arm right now, I got bored today and went and sat through a local auction. This is one of the bigger sales we have here and they put it on twice a year.  They had 91 horses in the catalog. This was a Quarter horse & Paint sale. No arabs, Saddlebreeds, foxtrottersl etc. They had a stallion preview prior to the sale and showed off 41 stallions. Probably  1500 to 2000 people in the stands.

I didn't stay for the whole sale. So I don't know what the high selling or averages where. But I did see a 1992 grullo stallion, that was a ABRA Reserve World Champion sell for $13,500. I suspect he was the high seller for the day.

Most yearlings sold for $700,  Two year olds with 30-45 days went for $1300-$1400  4-6 year olds that demonstrated some good spins and sidepass in front of the auctioneer went for $2000. And a few 5-8 year old geldings that were a No Sale but had auction prices up to $2800-$3000. Sellers were hoping for $4000 - $5000

There was a lot of Doc O'lena, Peppy Sand Badger, Leo, Colonel Freckles, Zippo Pine Bar type of breeding. The sale was in Northern Utah, with horses from Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, and few from California.

For me, Why would I pay $500 or more for a breed fee, Care for a mare for a year, care for the foal for a year, when I can buy a yearling for $700? Or a started two year old for $1200-$1400?  But these are the same prices I've been seeing for the last 5 years.

I cannot say its the removal of horse slaughter that is dropping the prices...at least its not the main reason. As has been said over breeding has a LOT to do with it. With most people i have met they decide on a mare or stallion  and i quote "cuz i want a baby  and geldings are useless when they get old or lame". Ok must say its not the brightest statement but its what i have heard repeatedly. Another favorite of mine is when they begin to state that horses bloodlines then you look at the horse and you see a knock-kneed, ewe necked nag thats young but soo not worth breeding however they do have the bloodlines so for some reason that makes it ok to breed em. I do not agree with that at all however its the general consensus that i have seen for myself. I personally do not give a rats butt if they had Doc bar so forth and so on in the lines if they look like someone got confused on which end is which. Point is  a lot of the quote "sub par horses" are from this aspect. Yes their ancestry may be grand however they totally missed out so have em sterilized. As for horse rescues i applaud them for what they do however and i may get bashed for this a lot of the horses i see advertised with a rescue organization would probably be better off PTS. More effort into finding homes for the horses most likely to get them makes sooo much more sense. Slaughter had its place. I would rather see a horse go to slaughter thna sit in a pasture with his feet curling up and turning to skin and bones. For those horses it was a happy release to go to slaughter. It may not have been the most humane way but it was a release all the same. Honestly slaughter was actually a boon to the horse business in the states as it took on a lot of the over breeding issues. Jobs decreasing and plants shutting down is another aspect of why horse prices are droppin people are having problems affording them. Much as i love them they are a luxary(sp?) for most. I have actually sent a horse to slaughter once and i do not regret it one bit. SHe was freakin insane due to ignorance and plain out meanness of a former owner. SHe was in constant terror and no amount of love or patience got through to her.  Point is the blame goes on the economy in general and the overproduction of a supply who's demand is quickly slowing down. In my hometown there are quite a few people without jobs now because they are hirin migrant workers and shutting down a lot of the plants. My mom alone has seen people she worked with for years be replaced  with someone who would work cheaper but didn't speak so much as a word of english. I have no problems with people wanting a new start however the initiative to keep those who already have their start in place is just not there. Wow i am talking wayy to much. As for the horse market its been down for years in South Carolina. I've seen some nicely bred and built yearlings going for around 300 each. That was in 2002  as of april 2005 you could buy a 4 year old green broke horse for around 400 and thats if the bid was high. Those are regular prices on em. I bought a 12yr old well bred paint stud and a 2yr old paint filly for 850 together at the auction. The stud rode like a dream. I ended up selling him within a week. The owners wouldn't seperate them so i bought both (just wnted the filly).  Anywho though the market is down because there is more supply than demand.

 Well i am gonna shut up now. Ya'll have a good one and for those of you who have foals left to sell this year my best wishes are with you.