Horse Haven has nothing against auction houses, provided that they are run in a humane matter, and that they put the well-being of the horses first. Horses that are kept in pens for more than 8 hours, during extremely hot and humid weather, with no access to water, are not acceptable conditions. Horses that are allowed to be brought into the auction, reeking with sickness, only put healthy horses at risk of contracting strangles (or worse). Stalls continue to carry a virus risk weeks after an infected horse is removed. Auction houses were meant to be a place the American family could come to purchase livestock for their personal needs. Bad horses drop the price that the local farmer can get for a good horse.

To discourage bad sales, we recommend checking the horses for sickness, as well as proof of ownership, before the horses are allowed to be unloaded. Putting ethical sellers, and their horses, at risk is a practice that should be monitored and stopped. A sick horse that sells for a meer $75 does nothing but possibly cost other sellers (and buyers) hundreds of dollars in medical bills.

HHT Agent Reports

Below is a list of accounts witnessed by agents of Horse Haven. All other reports, received from the general public, are listed afterwards.

2002 - Praise from HHT to the Knox County auction, for announcing to all sellers that proof of a negative Coggins test is required for all horses sold at auction. Thank you!

Dickson County: 2002 - Reported by Nina Margetson, HHT President: After one of our agents was recently informed, via certified letter, that they were no longer allowed on the auction grounds; I decided, as President of HHT, it was time I personally attended this auction. I am personally giving the following report:

This auction was held at a very nice facility. Plenty of parking and very clean bathrooms. Probably one of the nicer facilities I’ve visited. A little on the small side, but seems to be able to handle the amount of people that attend. Horses are in stalls, made with corral panels, or tied to a line on concrete. This is an excellent type of setup because it allows for easy disinfecting, if they choose to do it. The barn area was well lit, allowing for easy viewing of the animals. I saw two very thin horses, but they seemed alert and not sick. The majority of the animals looked good, with no obvious signs or sounds of sickness.

The auction ring was large enough to enable the horses to be ridden in, which allowed the crowd a clear view of the whole animal and its movements. I would like to report on the current prices that the horses were bringing; however, we were informed by the owner of the auction, over the intercom, that if we didn’t “leave immediately and get out on the road, he’d put us out on the road himself!” Seeing as we were there only to observe, and were not there to cause trouble, we left - even though this is a public auction, held on a public fair grounds. The statement was made that “they were only agents and they did not starve or beat their horses”. We have never made that accusation of any auction house. All we have ever posted are the facts, that have been witnessed, in regards to the condition of animals and how they are treated.

Some seem to feel we are trying to close down auction houses. This could not be further from the truth. All we are trying to do is see that horses sold at the auction are in good health and treated humanely. Horses that are sick, injured, drugged, or abused, only endanger the welfare of other healthy horses they come in contact with. Auction houses that show little regard for this type of goings on, not only endanger the other horses sold at the auction; they also endanger the equine of the general public, once it leaves the sale. Some illness can linger for weeks on stall walls and floors, which in turn infects any and all horses that come in contact with it. We will continue to monitor auction houses in Tennessee that we receive complaints on. We will continue to purchase horses in need and write what we see.

Many times all you hear of is the bad, mostly because that is the only time people contact us. We wish to encourage those who attend to inform us of good auction nights also. HHT agents are always available to meet with owners of auctions, to see how we can work hand-in-hand to make this public event a better experience for all involved, both two and four-legged.

In closing, I would like to say just one thing: Only those who are ashamed of themselves, or have something to hide, would not want us to attend their auction.
~ Nina ~

Praise from HHT Agent to Ron Gregory's auction, located on Hwy 231, just outside Lebanon. Mr. Gregory personally inspects each horse and is honest with his appraisal. He does not allow a horse to go through the sale unless it is healthy. This is, by far, the best auction that we've attended.

Dickson County: 2002 - 30 year old horse with his feet growing around his shoes, to the point where the hoof was touching the ground. Snotty noses and coughing still prevalent. Several horses came to the sale packed into a small trailer. Two had severe bloody cuts. A young gelding had a nasty injury to his left eye, large enough to insert 2 to 3 fingers.

Dickson County: 2002 - This was the largest auction for this location in the past several months. Approximately 60 plus horses, ponies, mules, and burros and an attendance of 250 plus people. Observed 4 maybe 5 horses in the 2 to 3 body score range otherwise most looked in good flesh even some fat ones which is rare for this sale. However, the overall health of the horses was poor. Noted several with snotty noses, crusty mucus filled eyes and a hacking cough which has been very prevalent at this sale for some time. The horses were averaging $600 to $800 for the better quality animals and $300 to $400 for the unfortunate horses being traded among the dealers.

Wilson County: 2002 - A couple of HHT agents attended the local auction and found a colicky horse tied short in a stall (to prevent him from lying down). One of our agents asked the owner to untie the horse, so that he wouldn't injure himself. The horse had gone down in his stall, so the owner was kicking and stomping the horse to get him up. Our agent instructed the owner that he needed to call a vet out for this animal. The owner refused. The horse remained at the sale from approximately 7:30 to 11:00 PM. The sheriff arrived on the scene. When the horse was able to stand, the owner loaded him in a trailer and left the sale. He stopped at a truck stop, not far from the auction. Our agents tried to follow the truck and trailer (to make sure that the horse did not go down in the trailer), but they were detained by 2 sheriffs, which allowed the truck and trailer to get away. Side note: One of the sheriffs commented to our agent that he cold-cocks his horse when it tries to follow him through a gate, until he staggers and just about falls down. He also added that he trains his horse by tying it to the back of his tractor.

Knox County: 2002 - While inspecting a horse in the barn, we observe a man trying to lead 3 scared horses - all at the same time. One horse pulls back, resulting in what had to be a nasty rope burn to the man's hand. The one horse gets loose and goes running through the barn. The man punches the other two horses. He then goes after the one that escaped, and proceeds to beat that one repeatedly, while a crowd of people stood and watched.

Hancock County: 2002 - Two horses in bad shape, believed to be owned by the same person. One was a very old buckskin mare, skin and bones. She had an old halter sore on her nose, and could hardly walk; an obvious case of neglect. A family took pity on her and bought her for $30. The other horse was a TWH gelding, approximately 11 years old. He was very thin and his hooves were a mess. He did not sell.

Poor Freckles..... Click here for the Cookeville Auction story.

Public Reports

HHT receives numerous complaints, from the public, in regards to local auctions throughout Tennessee. These reports come to us via email and telephone. Being unable to substantiate these complaints, we are only posting them as public information. We encourage others, who have witnessed these incidents, to contact us with additional information.

Dickson County: (no date given) - A person emailed us to let us know that they purchased a few horses at this auction. One of the horses they purchased had an eye missing, complete with oozing puss. Another horse they purchased was later found to be lame. The vet diagnosed the lameness to be caused by abscesses, and also stated that the horse must have been drugged when they bought him.

Dickson County: 2002 - Report of a large herd of mustangs brought in from an Indian reservation in New Mexico; some were in good condition, others were not. There were many pregnant mares, mares with foals, yearlings and 2 year olds. One of the mares lost her eye on the long trip. Many were thin, especially the foals. Several had fresh, bleeding wounds.

Knox County: 2002 - Report of a pony that was so sick and pitiful that it could barely stand.

DeKalb County: 2002 - Report of three seriously under-weight horses. One of these horses was ridden into the sale ring by three girls (at the same time). The horse could barely stand. One of the children kept hitting the mare with a crop, trying to get her to trot - which she obviously couldn't do.

Dickson County: 2002 - A group of people attended this auction, for lack of anything better to do on a Saturday night, while in town for a horse show. They have stated that this was one of the best sales they had ever seen. There was no evidence of cruelty, although they did notice a few doped up horses. Every horse that came into the ring was good looking, appeared well cared-for, and was handled well in the arena. The prices were not slaughter prices.

Knox County: 2002 - A couple purchased a horse at this sale on Memorial Day weekend. Later that night, this horse was seen in the barn with a couple of men struggling with it. The men were apparently trying to sedate the horse. The horse went over the wall, fell to the ground and severely injured its eye. The witness that reported this was so disgusted that he had to leave, so we don't know what happened next. If anyone else witnessed this incident, and can provide additional info, please contact HHT.

Knox County: 2002 - Report of abuse at local auction house. Several large draft horses were loaded into the cattle chute to be brought into the auction ring. The chute is too small to accommodate such large animals. The horses would not go forward into the chute, so they were beaten with a 3 to 4' stick. Instead of going forward into the chute, the horses backed up to get away from the person in charge of the stick. As a result, a 2 year old colt got his front leg caught in the fence. He could not move and was trampled by the other horses. The people in charge of the stick finally realized that the method they were using was not working. The terrified horses all mananged to get out of the chute and proceeded to kick at each other in the holding area. A girl, that works for the auction house, then has the bright idea to try a cattle prod; in addition to the original stick. This didn't work either. The horses were, again, climbing all over each other. A man, who may have been the owner of the animals, told these people not to use the cattle prod again.

Putnam County: 2002 - One horse that had been beaten so badly that it was swollen and bleeding. In the next stall laid a dead horse. This horse laid there dead for at least 24 hours. Sorry folks, but it gets worse - there were 2 pre-teen children climbing around on the dead horse.

Knox County: 2002 - A friend of ours purchased a gorgeous horse at this sale. Unfortunately this horse had shipping fever, which infected all of the animals in the new owner's barn.

In the last few months, we have received numerous eye-witness accounts of cruelty towards horses. Here are just a few:

1. Reported to HHT: Horse being dragged through the sale because it couldn't walk due to it's back legs being broken. When asked what happened they were told it fell off a moving trailer.
2. Reported to HHT: Horse with a festering wound. Running green all the way down his leg from its shoulder.
3. Reported to HHT: Horse traders that are intoxicated and falling off the horse.
4. Reported to HHT: Horse stalled up with cattle. Looking like a sheet over bones. Covered thick with flies.
5. Reported to HHT: Whipping of a mule with a rope halter repeatedly in the face to get it to run through the chute.
6. Reported to HHT: 9 year old stud must have been castrated right before the sale. Blood was running down it's legs, he could hardly walk.
7. Reported to HHT: One horse totally broken down in it's back & another near starvation.
8. HHT Agent witnessed an estimated 160lb. man riding a little pony that could hardly carry him.
9. Reported to HHT: Man kicking a miniature horse in the butt and made it fall over.
10. Reported to HHT: Sheep seen sick in stall. Couldn't get up.
11. Reported to HHT: Small donkey not picked up before cattle auction time. Poor thing was in with the cows.
12. HHT Agent witnessed 10 horses packed into a six horse trailer.
13. Too many reports of sick, emaciated horses being sold at auction. Horses that need to be humanely euthanized.
14. HHT Agent calls in local sheriff in regards to badly emaciated horse. Owner of auction house buys it for $30 and tells anyone to please get it out of there. Person selling it tells agent she doesn't know the facts and shouldn't start trouble. States they loved that horse and tried to do the best they could for it. The best they could have done was to put it out of it's misery.

***Praise: One auction house put in new bedding and water for the animals. They were even seen watering down the shavings to keep down the dust.***

All auction houses, throughout the state of Tennessee, are not run in the same manner. Many of them check for illness and proper paperwork. Many feel that providing a humanely run auction will benefit both the buyers and sellers. The buyer receives a well cared-for animal, and the seller receives top dollar.

We encourage the public to report abuse to auction officials. We also encourage the public to congratulate the auction houses on properly run facilities. Let them know that you appreciate their caring for what comes through their doors. HHT welcomes any and all comments in this regard. Praise should not be over-shadowed by complaints.