Talgarth Auction 31st Oct

Talgarth is a pretty Powys town about 3 miles from the river Wye and under the shelter of nearby mountains.
We arrived early and found the Sunderlands & Thomson auction site very busy already with incoming horse box traffic queuing to come in to the market venue and unload.
This is the first horse auction to have been held in Talgarth for 40 years.
The pens are mostly undercover leading to a weighbridge entrance to the selling ring. We did have a few concerns over the 'escape' gaps in the selling ring - a kind of narrow railed short passage that allows people to get in and out of the ring to the public buyers stand area - but this didn't actually cause any problems at all. The ring was well covered with shavings.
Prior to the auction start four members of the EMW team looked round the horses/ponies on sale. The majority were in good to excellent condition. One vendor had put two entire colts together in one pen. One was constantly mounting and causing distress to the other. We called for assistance and one of the regular drovers helped move the two horses apart and pen them separately as the 1990 Act decrees.
There was plenty of space for entires to be penned alone so goodness knows why the vendor had penned these two together anyway! 
We were concerned about a mare and foal that were listed to be sold away from each other as the foal was clearly unweaned and had been seen suckling in the auction pen. On informing the auction staff they were very quick to respond and the pair were then sold together.

We were also pleased to hear the auctioneer ask that the exit be kept clear but of course the diehards still filled the gateway, several almost coming to grief when some big unhandled 2 year old colts rushed out from the selling ring. This is one of our biggest gripes at most auction venues! if only the exits could be kept clear there would be much less stress on the wilder types. The entrance at Talgarth was clear at all times.

We also applaud the auctioneers for stopping riding of ponies in the ring. In such a small area nothing can be gained from putting a child on board a pony. There was plenty of space outside to try and view riding ponies/horses without displays of equestrianism in the ring!
Part of the EMW team had to leave early but those left behind did have cause to stop the auction and point out a foal that came in to the ring had a nasty cut on his knee. Blood was dripping down his leg.

The auctioneer spoke to the vendor then shouted back that the colt had done the injury in the pen! it wasn't where he had done it that was the point, it was concern that he was clearly bleeding with an unattended wound! He went on to sell for £9.00.
Prices were very difuse. Highest was well over £4000 for a beautiful SEC D mare to one tiny foal not even raising a single bid. Many small mountain Sec A babies went through for less than 10 guineas (£10-50) each.