Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary director Annette Fisher and two of her animal handlers attended the Mid-Ohio Draft Horse Auction in Mt. Hope in Holmes County and bought the horses by outbidding "meat buyers."
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| Sadie is scheduled for surgery Saturday to have her injured eye removed. She is 6 years old and was sold at an auction attended by "meat buyers" who truck horses to Mexico for slaughter. |
"Many horses do not even survive the several-days trip to the holding pens at the border. They go down in the overcrowded trailers and are trampled to death en route," said Fisher, a humane officer who founded the sanctuary in Ravenna.
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| Diamond, a Percheron with a severely swollen right rear leg, was spared from slaughter when Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary outbid a "meat buyer" at a Holmes County auction and bought her for $175. |
A horse with her right eye bulging from its socket was one of the lucky seven. Because of the ghastly injury, Happy Trails got Sadie for $25. She is scheduled to have surgery Saturday to remove the eye, then have "a good quality life," Fisher said.
A Percheron limping on a swollen right rear leg was brought to the auction.
Diamond, a Percheron with a severely swollen right rear leg, was spared from slaughter when Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary outbid a "meat buyer" at a Holmes County auction and bought her for $175.Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary
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| Woody, a Belgian with an injured rear hoof, was taken to a Holmes County auction, where Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary bought him for $85. He's receiving veterinary care and will be available for adoption. |
"Only a meat buyer, raising his eyebrows, bid on her," Fisher said. "So we stepped in." Sold! For $175.
A malnourished mare and her 5-month-old colt were brought into the auction ring. The colt was still nursing, but the person who bought him didn't want his mother. A "meat buyer" then bid on the 20-year-old mare, so Fisher stepped in. She got the mare, now named Fleury, for $85.
A Belgian horse was purchased for $250 by a young Amish farmer who had only seen the horse being walked in the ring. Fisher, who had seen the horse shaking uncontrollably in a holding pen, knew something was seriously wrong with it. She approached the farmer, explained who she was and gave him her phone number, asking him to call her if he found problems with the horse.
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| Fleury arrived at a horse auction in Holmes County still nursing her 5-month-old baby, but the person who bought the pony didn't want Fleury. A "meat buyer" then bid on the Welsh mare, but Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary outbid him and got Fleury for $85. |
Fleury arrived at a horse auction in Holmes County still nursing her 5-month-old baby, but the person who bought the pony didn't want Fleury. A "meat buyer" then bid on the Welsh mare, but Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary outbid him and got Fleury for $85.Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary
Before the auction ended, the Amish man sought out Fisher and agreed there was something wrong with the horse. He wanted no money, he just handed her the bill of sale.
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| A "meat buyer" bid $50 on Editon, an Amish buggy horse, at a Holmes County auction, but Happy Trails Farm Animal Sanctuary bid $75 and rescued him from being trucked to Mexico to be slaughtered for human consumption. |
Now named Billionaire, the gelding is being treated for West Nile disease.
Learn more about the seven horses at happytrailsfarm.org. It will cost thousands of dollars to rehabilitate them before they can be offered for adoption. Anyone wishing to sponsor one of the horses can visit the website or call 330-296-5914.
(The Plain Dealer - Oct 18, 2012)
