Prepare for March 12th Sale

Alright folk, we have some major work ahead of ourselves. The Mitchell Livestock Auction is having a Catalog Horse Sale March 12th. Originally I had planned on focusing on education but Gentle Spirits Horse Rescue and Sanctuary said they would be willing to attend with me. That means we may be pulling one or two horses that need our help the most.


I've only attended the Mitchell sales twice but was fairly impressed by how they were run (although they did say "sold" for an old black mare that went to kill..so not totally impressed).

This will be a Catalog sale so the first part will be horses that people have spent time in trying to promote. After the Catalog sale is the Non-Catalog sale (similar to the open consignment sale we attended in December).

Then it's on to the loose horses. These horses have a slim chance of landing in a safe home. In most cases, by the end of these types of auctions there's only a handful of people still in the bleachers.

So with that said, lets start coming up with ideas on how to promote good horsemanship, retirement, and the final years of your horse. If someone is looking for a particular type/color/breed of horse, please let me know and I'll look. Otherwise, I am willing to take on another horse if someone/group of people are willing to sponsor that horse.

I'm unsure what will be at the auction since it's spring. In the fall, it's mostly weanlings, yearlings, and broodmares. But it's very hard to judge what will be standing in the pens in the spring. The thin, lame, blind horses are not allowed to run through auctions so it's a bit harder to judge exactly what will be in the back pens.

I can't even fathom what types of horses will be there. But the majority of the loose horses will be bought by traders or kill. It's not just the old and sick. Good saddle broke horses are bought by kill buyers right here in South Dakota. Good broodmares that could easily be turned into saddle horses are bought by kill buyers. It's not just the old and the sick. Kill buyers don't want those since they don't bring in as much money. They want the good, fat horses.

We have just over a month to prepare for the sale. What can we do to promote and educate people about the sale and slaughter in general. Is anyone willing to sponsor a horse to make sure that they are pulled from the auction and live out their life in safety.