Horses, seems like there is money to be made

[J&D Cattle]

Same here Denver. A friend of mine around her takes gooseneck loads of horses down to a buyer in Oklahoma. He'll give up to $250 or so but buys the vast majority for little to nothing. Not sure where the Oklahoma buyer sends them.

They most likely ship them out of the country for meat........That is a sad deal for the horses these days to have to travel, (usually in bad conditions.) That is more inhumane than slaughtering them locally. I sure hope that these "buyers" are telling people where their "beloved pet" is headed.

Alan in Oregon they will often go to the Wild Life Safari to be put down on site, then fed to the lions.

Sadly the ones my friend buys are far from a "beloved pet". He's found a few good riding horses out of the many he's bought and will try and sell them instead of slaughter.

 

[M5farm]

kill it and sell the skull to the guy that was on here last week you could triple your money.

 

[TexasBred]

I posted this on the the horse thread but hoping for all the suggestions I can get;

Took 2 more cow calf pairs to the sale today. Two horses went through, not bad looking horses, one went for $10 the other for $25. Just seems like there is money to be made here I don't know where though. :? Any help?

Alan

Think long term Alan. Get a stud and start breeding. Their is money in the numbers down the road. :nod: :nod: :mrgreen: And your feedstore man will probably give you a bottle of whiskey for Christmas.

 

[Dave]

Horse isn't bad eating. I have eaten it before. And if you announce that you regularly serve horse meat for dinner you won't have to worry about having too many people hanging around your dinner table.

 

[branguscowgirl]

I posted this on the the horse thread but hoping for all the suggestions I can get;

Took 2 more cow calf pairs to the sale today. Two horses went through, not bad looking horses, one went for $10 the other for $25. Just seems like there is money to be made here I don't know where though. :? Any help?

Alan

Think long term Alan. Get a stud and start breeding. Their is money in the numbers down the road. :nod: :nod: :mrgreen: And your feedstore man will probably give you a bottle of whiskey for Christmas.

TB I sure hope that you were just being sarcastic about "breeding them." Unless things are that much different in Texas, unregistered mutt horses are a dime a dozen around here. Even the really nicely bred young horses are selling poorly........No money to be made.

Several years ago when they could still sell by the pound, a guy here "bred and raised them" strictly for slaughter. Yes, he was caught and did some jail time. Faced a big fine, and then only allowed to keep just a few horses after that. A kind neighbor will turn you in. He had them in pastures all over the county.

 

[greybeard]

TB I sure hope that you were just being sarcastic about "breeding them." Unless things are that much different in Texas, unregistered mutt horses are a dime a dozen around here. Even the really nicely bred young horses are selling poorly........No money to be made.

http://nacogdoches.craigslist.org/searc ... uery=horse

http://nacogdoches.craigslist.org/searc ... e+horse%22

 

[Workinonit Farm]

Several years ago when they could still sell by the pound, a guy here "bred and raised them" strictly for slaughter. Yes, he was caught and did some jail time. Faced a big fine,

:shock: Okay, I guess I am really not up to date here on various regulations. Was it ever and is it now, really, a crime to raise horses for slaughter?

Katherine

 

[backhoeboogie]

My second answer was actually kinda serious... I know a lot of city people that say "OH NO, you can't eat a HORSE"... I certainly would.. Salami is historically made from horse/donkey meat... I've eaten all sorts of things.. mountain lion isn't bad, young bear is delicious!

We thought of building a kennel and raising purebred dogs.. on horse meat.. you'd have to do the slaughter yourself, but when you can make $1000 on a good pup and the feed is next to free..

The people scoffing probably eat hot dogs at ball games.

 

[backhoeboogie]

Several years ago when they could still sell by the pound, a guy here "bred and raised them" strictly for slaughter. Yes, he was caught and did some jail time. Faced a big fine,

:shock: Okay, I guess I am really not up to date here on various regulations. Was it ever and is it now, really, a crime to raise horses for slaughter?

Katherine

Yes. And the law changes again and again. No way to keep up with everything.

They also made it against the law to put one down. No kidding. If a truck hits your horse and breaks three of its legs on Saturday night, you have to wait on a vet to come put it to sleep. Even if it is going to be Monday. Most of us just break the law and do the humane thing, even tho the humane society would turn you in for it.

 

[Dave]

I know a guy here who has made himself very wealthy with a program that bred and raised draft horses that are shipped life to Japan for slaughter. He has been doing it for over 30 years. He moved his operation to Canada recently but not because of government regulations but because the airport there was easier to deal with. He ships three or four 747 loads a month. Here he was having to take up panels and set them up and tear down for every load. Up there the airport built a handling facility for him. He use to ship a lot of dairy cattle all over the world but that market died off as other countries got their dairy herds built up and their own heifers kept them supplied with cows. But his draft horse deal has stayed steady for years. His breeding and nutrition programs would match any beef breeder. The horse need to reach a certain weight by a certain age. He told me once what that requirement was but I don't remember. His customers had pretty strict guidelines that he had to meet.

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

Dave, isn't that facility out by Roy?

 

[TColt]

If someone can buy them for $10-$20/ head, get all of them and Ill give you $100/ head on them

 

[HDRider]

My second answer was actually kinda serious... I know a lot of city people that say "OH NO, you can't eat a HORSE"... I certainly would.. Salami is historically made from horse/donkey meat... I've eaten all sorts of things.. mountain lion isn't bad, young bear is delicious!

We thought of building a kennel and raising purebred dogs.. on horse meat.. you'd have to do the slaughter yourself, but when you can make $1000 on a good pup and the feed is next to free..

That might be a money maker.. Dog food.

 

[HDRider]

Several years ago when they could still sell by the pound, a guy here "bred and raised them" strictly for slaughter. Yes, he was caught and did some jail time. Faced a big fine, and then only allowed to keep just a few horses after that. A kind neighbor will turn you in. He had them in pastures all over the county.

I know a guy here who has made himself very wealthy with a program that bred and raised draft horses that are shipped life to Japan for slaughter. He has been doing it for over 30 years. He moved his operation to Canada recently but not because of government regulations but because the airport there was easier to deal with. He ships three or four 747 loads a month. Here he was having to take up panels and set them up and tear down for every load. Up there the airport built a handling facility for him. He use to ship a lot of dairy cattle all over the world but that market died off as other countries got their dairy herds built up and their own heifers kept them supplied with cows. But his draft horse deal has stayed steady for years. His breeding and nutrition programs would match any beef breeder. The horse need to reach a certain weight by a certain age. He told me once what that requirement was but I don't remember. His customers had pretty strict guidelines that he had to meet.

I do believe buyers want to know the medicine & shot history.

 

[Dave]

Dave, isn't that facility out by Roy?

Yes, that is the general location.

 

[Named'em Tamed'em]

HDRider There was USDA Vets. and the whole bunch of red tape at the place. The amount of money the guy was paying for each plane trip was staggering.

They were flying cows to Russia also. (My neighbor has been there.)

 

[TexasBred]

TB I sure hope that you were just being sarcastic about "breeding them." Unless things are that much different in Texas, unregistered mutt horses are a dime a dozen around here. Even the really nicely bred young horses are selling poorly........No money to be made.

Several years ago when they could still sell by the pound, a guy here "bred and raised them" strictly for slaughter. Yes, he was caught and did some jail time. Faced a big fine, and then only allowed to keep just a few horses after that. A kind neighbor will turn you in. He had them in pastures all over the county.

JOking....there is NO market down here. Only horses bringing any money is when one cowboy sells to another. Don't know if any of the sale barns sell them any longer or not.

 

[Alan]

If someone can buy them for $10-$20/ head, get all of them and Ill give you $100/ head on them

Sounds good!!! Where are you at? I'll load 16 to 20 on my trailer and head your way for cash! Where are you at so I know it makes a buck for me.

Thanks for your response, looking forward to doing business for a while!

:tiphat:
Alan

 

[Taurus]

A horse on good grass, can put on a lot of weight fast. Even in the heat of the summer, when stockers have stalled out on grass. I've always had my farm covered in cattle, with very few acres devoted to horses. Right up untill about 2006 or 7, I consistantly sold more $ worth of horses, than cattle. The entire market is ruined now, and for the foreseeable future. Colts bring nothing, killers bring nothing, just a "riding" horse brings nothing. If people just want a horse, somebody will give them one. It has also ruined the other side of the market. It has driven the price up of a real good using horse-----Rope horse, calf horse, cutting horse, barrel horse etc out of sight. One that is just fair to average, has no where to go. You can't turn it into a trail horse. They are free. You can't ship it to a killer. The only good that has come from the blow to the industry, is that it has cut out some of the back yard breeding of poor quality horses.

Except the mini horses and ponies. We always see them for sale or for free to home. A farm few miles away from us needs to stop breeding the mini horses because their pasture is literally full of mini horses and I lost count after 28th horse.

 

[Stocker Steve]

JOking....there is NO market down here. Only horses bringing any money is when one cowboy sells to another. Don't know if any of the sale barns sell them any longer or not.

I thought all the horses in Texas made their last ride to Mexico?