EMW Sanctuaries representatives attended both auctions on
30th October and 27th November...

LLANYBYDDER AUCTION NOVEMBER 27^TH 2008

 

I don't really know what to say about Llanybyddyr. In some respects it's
better than some of the other markets we monitor as many of the vendors
and buyers are real enthusiasts so we saw lots of ponies very nicely turned
out and looking well. Lots of  these types went home again as they didn't
fetch the reserve. At the November sale our only real concerns were ponies in
 three pens. One contained an aged mare and her colt foal, in another pen was
the foal blind in one eye and with serious infection going on, and in the third
were four foals, two of theses foals came home to EMW that day.
The mare and foal were sold together, although I don't know who to.
Out of the 4 foals, an EMW trustee had one, a fellow sanctuary owner had another
and the remaining two went to two very nice families, who took pity on them.

One of the families bought a few small ponies, the other bought an 18 year old mare who was in foal.
They were very gentle with her and said they had a 27 year old at home.
  The foals were in one of the really grotty pens which had an over flowing
water tank in it. It made the floor very slippery. The foal bought by ?M?  had
fallen and injured her leg. They were all desperately thin and frightened.

  The foal which went to EMW trustee, the blind in one eye foal, had a very snotty nose.
She phoned today to say the vet was coming out because his remaining eye was very sore and running pus.
  On a positive note. The auctioneer constantly removed people from the
ring and told a child off for touching the ponies as they came into the ring.
He was also very clear about any concerns with the horses making sure
everyone was aware of blind eyes etc. Many of the horses had hay and some
had water. We had to go and look for our transporter as he got lost, when we came
back one of the market staff had put a bucket of water in with our foals.
   Because of the area it is in, you see less of the odds and sods that can
be found at other auctions and today we saw better bred foals.
It doesn't necessarily follow that the horses are safe but more went home with owners who refused to let
them go at ridiculously low prices. The auctioneer did not take any bids under £10.
The pen they were in doesn't look to bad on the pictures but it was awful.