This gorgeous boy is a 3-yr-old gelding who is in desperate need of a trim on his front hooves. We hope that's all he needs but are ready to x-ray if needed. He's friendly and shows signs of being handled and loved.
We originally thought we won the bid but they announced a different number so I assumed it was someone behind me. BUT when we went to check on the other two before leaving for the night, he as alone in a pen and it was obvious no one had checked on him. By then, all private buyers had cleared out and only the broker/kill buyers were still there, and it's not like them to separate a gelding, so I started asking who had bought him. We were technically a little short for taking home three BUT I figured I could swing it if one of them would let me buy him from them. Several of them said "no" and then "I thought you won him" ... and I was like, yeah, me too, but apparently I didn't.
One of the buyers called the office and asked about him, found out the number was "456" which was a friend of his, and called his friend who wasn't there and hadn't bought a horse. Our bidding number is 156 ... so you can see the mixup. An hour later after several phone calls and people looking at a computer and he was on my number, I paid for him, and he came home.
We are grateful that the auction house and brokers treat us with respect, even if they do tease us sometimes and occasionally run us up on the bid. Sometimes, like with this guy, they step aside and make sure we get the horses we need. And most times, they'll go out of their way to help us out. While we'd love to someday put them all out of business ... truth is we'd also love to put ourselves out of business with no horse needing rescue. For now, we do what we can, maintain a respectful relationship, and do our best to be accepted and work together to make the best of auctions.