by Cowgirl on April 19, 2012
I’ve been going to a lot of cattle sales lately, at the local auction barn. Inevitably, there are two or three horses there every week, and I’m always curious at what they bring. I wonder why they were brought there, and where they are going after that final winning bid. It always makes me wish I had multiple pastures and unlimited funds so that I could take them home with me.
One of the things every horse owner should consider is the fact that horses don’t live forever, nor do they stay rideable forever. It might seem overly simple to state it in that fashion, but we really don’t like to think about horses getting old, getting hurt, or dying. Our imaginations enable us to envision the Black Stallion living in endless glory…and even though we understand the old gray mare “ain’t what she used to be”, we like to pretend that she is still quite comfortable and able. The truth is far uglier at times, and a responsible horse owner will understand and plan ahead of time. What should you do when your horse is too old to be useful? What are the options for owners of aged equines?
by Cowgirl on September 22, 2011
When we went to pick up the new horses last week, we took my mare Daisy along. Not as a travelling buddy, but because there was a horse sale going on in a town along the same route, and we decided to consign Daisy in it and just see what might happen. We have talked about selling her several times, and buying two more seemed a tad bit excessive, and the trailer was going that way anyhow, so we took her to the sale with a reserve price firmly established in our minds.
Growing up, the horses that my Dad rode were always the best ones we had. They say wet saddle blankets make a good horse, and that was surely the case with Spider. Of Dad’s string of riding horses, Spider was one of the best. He was a big rangy gray gelding with size and strength and beauty being his best qualities.
Here’s a point to ponder for all of you horse lovers out there: Don’t get so horse crazy that you lose all common sense. Getting caught up in your enthusiasm and passion for horses can easily overshadow some basic truths that I would like to point out.
Selling a horse in a tough economy can be a difficult thing to accomplish. And selling a horse in the middle of a harsh winter in snow country can be downright impossible. I’ve been helping my folks advertise a few of their Quarter Horses for sale in Idaho, and have found some tips and ideas to help their chances of finding a buyer. I’ll share them here, so if you’re trying to sell a horse as well, you might find these tips helpful as well.
by Cowgirl on November 22, 2010
I went to the cattle auction last Saturday. This isn’t a quality auction, it’s a ramshackle type of barn in our podunk county where the local farmers hang out on the weekend to watch stuff sell. You’ll see everything go through the ring—chickens, eggs, piglets, goats, sheep, and occasionally a horse, before the cattle start to sell. I only went because my husband had heard the sale report the day before and they’d listed a kid broke pony as well as eight other horses.
by Cowgirl on September 2, 2010
I was just a kid when I went to a Pitzer Ranch sale for the first time. I believe it was actually an all-school field trip—that will give you an idea of the rural place I was raised in and what we did for fun back then! I remember sitting in the stands and calculating in my head how much money I had in my bank account and how much of my allowance I would need to save weekly in order to buy a colt of my own. I have always been inspired by the Two Eyed Jack horses.
by Cowgirl on June 29, 2010
It’s a known fact that we horse people are a crazy bunch. But some of the stories I hear make me wonder if all of our common sense has been dropped in pursuit of gaining more horse sense, and the result is a bunch of daft idiots.
