I've never bought anything at the sale barn. But last Saturday I thought that might change. I've gotten all of my registered Angus stock through PB production sales or private sales. Nothing against sale barns or our closest sale barn (that I sell steers and cull cows at with no worries [Greenville, IL]). But 15 head of angus 3in1's, spring pairs, and a few heavy bred, came in to the cow special on Valentines Day from a respectable producer. I had my eye on a few. In particular, lot 2, a darn good bred heifer that would have fit in nicely around here and replace a 5 year old that I had to cull back in December. She was a Hoover Dam over an Objective cow. She was due march 24 to Discovery. I liked a few other pairs and such that I wanted to pull the trigger on if they went for the right price. They sell Lot 1 who was also an impressive bred heifer but wasn't exactly on my radar because she wasn't AI bred and was calving too late in the spring for her to fit in around here IMO. So I felt good about Lot 2 after seeing lot 1 sell. So they open the door for lot 2 and I start bidding right away. After being in there 5 seconds, she started freaking out. Obviously not the first or last time this has happened at a sale. But all of the sudden she did a half jump got a foot caught between two cables. Then she used her head to sort of push off and free herself. As she did that and got all four back on the ground, I quickly noticed she shaved the hide and hair off on the bridge between her eyes and nose. All the way to the bone. It was about an inch wide and 4 inches long. The cable had acted like a cheese knife. I immediately stopped bidding at 3000. Bidding continued as I assume not all had noticed the injury (we were sitting in the front row). I was kind of surprised they didn't pause the bidding to address the situation. She ended up selling for 3500. I was willing to pay 3800 or even 4000. Now I assume that the injured heifer will be just fine and they will patch her up and give her the appropriate shots. But for me, I felt that I didn't HAVE TO buy a cow that day, and especially if everything's not going right. I know my story sounds small and boring to some, but I put a lot of time and thought into the decisions I make for our herd and farm.
Has anyone experienced a similar event in which the animal they set there eyes on had a freak accident or something that changed their mind a the last second?
And also, what's the worst injury/event someone's ever seen at a sale or sale barn?
Has anyone experienced a similar event in which the animal they set there eyes on had a freak accident or something that changed their mind a the last second?
And also, what's the worst injury/event someone's ever seen at a sale or sale barn?