Student-trained horses auctioned

By Jedd Rosche

Published Nov. 13, 2007

This weekend, MU-trained horses traveled down a path they'd never been down before: the World Wide Web.

Using online auction software, MU's equine science program members posted nine horses on the Internet last week and opened bidding to the public, attracting nearly three times as many bidders and overcoming a downturn in the horse-selling market.

MU Equine Teaching and Extension instructor Marci Jennings suggested the online auction to replace the program's previous auction system that used sealed bid auctions.

"This is the most I've seen," Jennings said about traffic on the Web site. "We're really looking at quite a bit of an increase."

That increase translates to at least 25 registered bidders, when previous years had attracted between six and eight bidders. And as of Monday night, buyers had promised $6,050 for the horses, $2,600 of that for one horse. Jennings had said their goal was to make $4,000 to 5,000 on this auction.

The auction ends tonight at 7 p.m.

Junior animal science major Amanda Conner, who had been involved with previous MU horse auctions, said the old way wasn't as effective at raising the most money.

"If you really want this horse, you can't see how much this other person is bidding, so you could either bid way, way too much or not enough," Conner said. "I think it's nice that you can see online."

Jennings said the auction and its open house on Sunday gave her group of 10 to 12 students involved with the project hands-on experience.

"The whole goal of the auction is to give students some real world experience, talking with clients and dealing with ethical issues," she said. "It also helps to raise funds for our equine program."

Any funds raised will help offset the program's cost, which is about $40,000 to $45,000 annually.

The Web site and auction are helping the MU horse program battle nationwide economic factors that have lowered the price of horses in the United States. Many horse organizations and equine science students said they agree that one of the main culprits for this price decrease is the passing of the Horse Slaughter Prohibition bill in Congress last year.

"Right now, the horse market is very low, basically because of the slaughter bill that was passed in the U.S.," freshman animal sciences major Vinita Foote said. "That has affected the horse market tremendously."

The bill banned horse slaughtering for human consumption in the United States, closing slaughterhouses and leading to what some students and horse owners called a buildup of "unwanted" horses.

"It hasn't affected my farm, but it has affected anybody who owns a horse to try to sell them because horse prices are so cheap right now," Foote said. "It's good if you're trying to get into the horse business because you can buy horses really cheap, but it's bad if you're trying to sell."

American Quarter Horse Association spokeswoman Jennifer Hancock said the bill keeps unhealthy horses from being slaughtered and caused some horse owners to lower the price or give away their horses for free.

"We've had people call and tell us that horses are not bringing bids now because there is no bottom floor price," Hancock said. "So if you have horses that are in bad health, they are selling for very low amounts. We've even had people call about horses that are just being left at auction houses."

Hancock said some people in poor economic situations can't keep up with equine expenses, and the bill causes some owners to export horses to Mexico or Canada where horse slaughter is still legal.

The AQHA had 345,447 active members at last count in 2006.

Equine studies students have also been learning what buyers want in this market, which most students agree is a horse with experience.

Of the nine horses for sale, a four-year-old gray mare named Godiva was the most popular, garnering a $2,600 bid by 10 p.m. on Monday.

"She's already started," Conner said. "She can go on to do something more advanced, while the other ones are still in square one. The ones that have been started and are saddled are the ones that are going to go first."