The condition of some of the
ponies was disgraceful. One
mare (roan) had a lump on
her forehead pus running
from her eyes and nostrils.

The poor mare was very tucked up, with a huge swollen udder so guessing she must have had her foal taken from her very recently.

There was a tiny yearling colt with deformed legs I hope that you can see from the picture, his hind legs were very long from the stifle to the hock and his front ones were sort of knock kneed, much more noticeable when he walked.
The bay, looked dejected and lean, a few weeks of good care would have seen him ok. The bay horse was thinner than he looked on the photo, so sad looking too although none of them had neglected feet.
The mare, in particular, needed urgent veterinary treatment in my opinion.

Ponies tied near each other were fighting and other lean, sad, but not so bad ones. I could easily have bought the mare and her companion, but had nowhere to isolate her from my own.  The RSPCA and vet were in attendance. Why do they not confiscate the sick ones? The mare should never have been allowed to go into the auction, the owners should be held to account for the condition that she was in.
the photos I will also be sending them to the RSPCA

I don't think any of the photos show how sick the mare looked. The black pony, being ridden by the youth, was covered in bare patches and sores, the weight factor of the rider will probably not be an issue!

The sale was very busy and in my opinion was the worst one –re welfare - for a long time

The next one is on May.1^st and I will be there. I haven't yet had a reply back yet from the RSPCA.

Report by PW.

BRECON 17th April- The same roan mare was on sale at Brecon today.
Her nose was clean but the swelling still very much visible on her head and she is very thin but her bag had gone down a bit, she was sold as a 12 year old brood mare for 160 guineas.
We were unable to discover where she had come from due to there being no catalogues at todays auction.
It seemed to be a bring and sell/pay out on the day although that wasn't confirmed.
We were told that there was no vet nor LAHO but the 'market welfare' girl was there and would look any in need of inspection including possibly thesame shetland from Henley.
This one was also lame with an odd action on his off side back fetlock but he still went through,
The auction today was a mix of very nice horses/ponies but also some in poor condition re feet and skin and wounds. One very poor dark bay TB didnt go through the ring, had she, we would have brought her home and two donkey foals in matted really dirty condition looked very sad indeed. They did well through the ring and found a really nice home.
The whole market scenario during this recession appears to be getting worse. This is not aimed at any market in particular but at markets in general. We need to get the 1990 stat instrument changed to encorporate at least some of the NEWC guidelines and it needs to happen fast .
As soon as this election is over EMW intend to instigate a meeting with relevant ministers to ask that the clarity of legislation is addressed asap.
No doubt in the coming we will be looking at another 10 years before anything really changes
We hate the apathy and 'right way' of doing things because nothing ever gets done to help animals right here and right now.