First Market Of The Season

Saturday was the first wild pony market of the season so we travelled down to Cornwall for the sale.  The market has improved vastly - in so many ways - since Faye first went in 2010.  This year there were 217 horses and ponies entered in the catalogue (although not all actually turned up) and about half of those (perhaps a few more) were domesticated.  Back in 2010 the same sale had over 486 wild ponies, not really any domesticated ones, and it wasn't an experience for the faint hearted!

This year the auctioneers did very well - the auction staff handling the ponies were helpful and quiet by auction standards.  Great care had been taken to make sure that all the entered animals were appropriately penned and not injured etc...and that they had passports.  We noticed a pen with a gate that hadn't been shut properly and a small foal was in a precarious position and likely to be crushed by the opening gate - we asked the auction staff and they were happy for us to go in the pen and shut the gate.  Just about every horse and pony in the sale had a bid offered and (even if the reserve was not met) the prices were above meat value and no meat men were at the sale.

We saw one very proud grandfather collect his purchase "Lucy" a lead rein pony for a 10 month old baby - the pony was very happy to see the small child...and the child, who couldn't stop grinning with joy at seeing the pony, was sat on top, much to the delight of all parties involved.

And then to the other end of the scale...and perfectly within the law...2 women who purchased 2 young foals - maybe 6 or 7 months old - straight off the moor and absolutely terrified.  With 2 young girls in tow, they went about splitting their ponies from the others in the pen - rather crudely done, but they did manage it.  The women were then determined to headcollar both foals there and then.  The foals jumped and leaped about in all directions desperate to get away - rearing over the top of each other and getting stuck several times whilst the women pursued them - one woman got the headcollar partly on and pulled, resulting in the foal rearing up and going straight over backwards falling to the floor on it's back and landing on the 10 year old girl in the pen who hopped away with an injured foot.  The whole episode seemed to last forever.  Eventually, the women, with "fag ends" hanging from sides of their mouths emerged victorious and proud from the pen with their two petrified, headcollared foals huddling for comfort and shut down in the corner...off the women went laughing about their experience.  Watching it, it was difficult to know whether to pass out or throw up...that sinking feeling, not only is it distressing and highly traumatic for the animals, and difficult for us to watch, it's the realisation that things still have a long way to go - the law doesn't make provision for handling and if people don't want to be educated, then they are stuck in the tradition and mentality of breaking horses.

Despite this last story, this was the best sale we have seen at this auction house and we hope that they can continue with their new standards of running the sales.

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