# Tips, Thoughts and Advice on Pulling a Horse from a Kill/Auction Pen



## BigNickMontana (Aug 5, 2013)

RolexinmyFuture said:


> I've decided this coming summer that it would be a fun excursion to try to choose and buy/pull a horse straight from an auction or even slaughter pen and rehab train and resell to a good home. Yes, I'm confident I have the experience and enough knowledgeable people around to deal with any issues both physically and behaviorally, and I know the obvious stuff like be prepared that he may have some very big issue(s), be careful about what horse you choose, quarantine for 30 days away from your other horses, etc. And I know of a few people who have done this before that I could ask to come with. But I would just like to get some tips and advice and such from anyone who has done this before. On absolutely any aspect of it: what to bring, what to look for, where to actually find a good horse (I live in central PA, so there are lots of large auctions around here- Camelot, New Holland, etc.), absolutely anything at all.
> Thank you!


Saw a horse earlier tonight on FB she is in PA at a kill pen. 

You don't know how bad I want to drive out there and bring her home. Maybe you can.


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## Saskia (Aug 26, 2009)

If you go to an auction talk to the people there. Be approachable and not too overly interested in purchasing and just suss it all out.

A mare that I had once was bought from an auction seemed really great, nice looking, calm and friendly. However she had a habit of just freaking out a bit. If I had gone to the auction myself (I bought her from a friend) and talked to people, I would have found out how she kicked a staff member into a fence and how she was, in general, just not great.

Also, if you get there early it can be worth going to where the trucks and trailers pull up and unload. I was just having a look around at an auction, and saw this gorgeous but obviously lame appaloosa mare. An hour later in the sales ring she looked perfectly sound. 

So just take your time, is my advice.


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## EliRose (Aug 12, 2012)

Just so you know, Camelot is no longer Camelot. It is Cranbury Sale Stable and is under new management. I would recommend trying to steer clear of the new management at all costs . . . Really not people I would ever give money to after having several personal dealings with them and boarding across the street from them for five years.


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## Regula (Jan 23, 2012)

There is a pretty comprehensive write-up of dos and don'ts at the New Holland auction or ERR rescue's site (have trouble copying the URL on my mobile, but just google "ERR New Holland Auction advice")

Basically, it says: come early to look at the horses and get a bidding nr; try to blend in, don't look like the stranger with money or like you're just there as a tourist; Bring someone who is very knowledgeable; you can look at the horses before the sale and trot them for soundness; a horse advertised as "sound" means "not lame", it says mothing about the horse's mental state; there is a vet on site (payed by the sale) for questions and concerns; don't buy cause you feel sorry for the horse and don't buy before the sale (cause you will get ripped off); make sure you understand the auctioneer - he talks fast and it's sometimes hard to make out what price he is calling out; make sure you know how to bid; never start bidding, wait for the dealers to bid first, see where it's going and then join in
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

Remember that some horses are in a kill pen because they NEED to be. There really ARE some you can't fix.


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## Drifting (Oct 26, 2011)

BigNickMontana said:


> Saw a horse earlier tonight on FB she is in PA at a kill pen.
> 
> You don't know how bad I want to drive out there and bring her home. Maybe you can.



Is it the gray one? I totally messaged to try to buy her. She's nice


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## RolexinmyFuture (Oct 20, 2014)

Thank you everyone. this is exactly what I was looking for. Interesting to hear about Camelot and the new management, and I'll definitely look up the advice on new Holland' s site. I'll definitely get there early. wow about that appalooaa mare.

I have seen so many on FB that I'd love to get now, but Im actually in South Carolina until Easter. So I'll be going then when I get back
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

There's a very old British saying
'Never buy a pig in a poke'
It breaks down into meaning never buy anything you can't see properly and when you buy from these unwarranted horse auctions that's exactly what you're doing - what you 'see' might not be genuine. They can say exactly what they like with no come backs and once you buy that horse it becomes your problem - so many of those Camelot horses used to end up being put back into the sale because they simply weren't 'fixable'
The horse the OP liked was said to have a snotty nose - could well be strangles or some other contagious disease which could then have infected every other horse it had come into contact with directly or via people going from one to the other 
I looked at the prices on their new site - you could go to a private seller wanting to find a new home for their horse so asking a low price, try the horse and have it vetted for what they want for some of them
Unless you're prepared to deal with possible disappointment, heartache, trainers bills and vet fees if things do go wrong then walk away because the odds are stacked against you finding a perfect horse there


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## SlideStop (Dec 28, 2011)

Pulling a horse out of an auction is all well and good, I've thought of doing it myself down the road, but what happens if the horse cannot be "rehabilitated"? Are you willing to drop it back off at the sale? Have it PTS? Do you have room/money to keep a pasture puff for the next 20 years? 

There are plenty of horses out there in hot water that you can pick up for the same price (or free) and evaluate more thoroughly as a project/prospect. Just look on Craigslist.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

We have purchased literally dozens of horses at auction for 1 bid over killer bid. I have several now that came from the auction that is 3 miles down the road from us. We also go there with other people and help them pick out horses. It is still no guarantee.

I do not recommend doing this unless you are prepared to bring a horse back to the next sale when you find that the hole in it is not fixable. I know what I am doing and have probably taken close to half of them back. Quite a few are unsound after being ridden a few times. Some have the tranquilizer or Bute wear off and are plainly horses that were drugged. 

Since we are trainers, we usually look for spoiled horses that probably had some better training at some point. We can turn those around very quickly but they are probably not the ones you want.

Green and thin are the best project horses. They are also the least likely to be drugged and are less likely to have soundness issues if they have straight legs, good feet and decent conformation. Vetting is usually not possible. Trotting one out and having an experienced person watch it is probably as good as you are going to get. Sometimes you can do a flexion test and we sometimes bring along a pair of hoof testers. This is not as necessary with young horses and green horses, but then, we are looking for 6 - 10 year olds so soundness is huge in that age group.

Never, never, never buy one because you feel sorry for it. You don't have a well-funded sanctuary and don't need a money pit. Don't do it if you are not willing to take one back and try for another. You can't save them all. Look at it like a business venture. That is exactly what it is for us. If we save some of them along the way -- great. We have saved many, but that is not why we bought them. We bought them because we thought they were going to fit our needs.


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## squirrelfood (Mar 29, 2014)

The "brokers" at places like Camelot are there for the money. They work with the kill buyer simply to turn a large profit on these horses. They WILL tell you anything.


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## EliRose (Aug 12, 2012)

squirrelfood said:


> The "brokers" at places like Camelot are there for the money. They work with the kill buyer simply to turn a large profit on these horses. They WILL tell you anything.


^^Oh yeah. At CSS in particular the brokers are known for lying through their teeth - even before they had the auction. My old vet would NOT associate with them or work on their horses.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I like getting a horse from auctions. Used to get several at a time for projects for my kids and me.

I approached it as a business, though as it was additional income for my family. We bought what the market wanted and shot for a 30 day turn around. I had my own place and raised my own hay.


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## jaydee (May 10, 2012)

It's not the buying from auctions that's the problem - I have 3 horses here that I bought from auctions - it's how you do it
You can't go buying a horse just because you feel sorry for it, you have to be knowledgeable enough to detect problems, you can't believe anything thats said about the horse unless you know the seller's reputation is good and you have to be prepared to either send them back in and be honest about their problems, sell them direct for slaughter or pay the cost of euthanizing them if they turn out to be a total fail


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