Michigan Horse Auction!

[RackinRudy]

Apparently Double JJ Ranch, has gone bankrupt and is auctioning 94 horses, around 45 other farm animals, and 14 Husky mix dogs.

The concern is the fate of these animals. I have read through the list of animals and mostly they are young and healthy and beginner friendly, although many have past injuries from wire fencing and some have behavioral issues.

It is going to be quite difficult to assure that all of the animals go to good homes, especially since the auction is in a week. I know that the economy is bad and no one can afford to feed extra animal but please think about these horses if you have an extra stall. Also please forward this message to every animal lover you can think of. Below is the link to the auction list describing all the animals.

Auction is Thursday, October 30th.
Here is the list of everything for auction including descriptions of the horses:
Auction List - CLICK HERE (http://www.maascompanies.com/documents/Maas_Companies_Catalog_142.pdf) it's a pdf document.

[lovesfortune]

I wish we lived closer and my hubby would let me bring in another horse. I hope they all manage to find good homes.

[AppyLady]

If I lived in Michigan, I'd be there. I hope they all find good homes.

[mandisue]

Poor things. My question is why are all of them so hard to handle/mean? ( besides being out in a pasture all the time.) AND all of them practically have sore backs and have had injuries.


This is why certain people should not have horses..

[Ranger44]

Poor things. My question is why are all of them so hard to handle/mean? ( besides being out in a pasture all the time.) AND all of them practically have sore backs and have had injuries.

My thoughts exactly! It will take some talented and dedicated people to take most of those horses. For a place that was a working ranch almost none of them seem like easy keepers or easy riders.

[shewasmyshadow]

Wow... I can't keep reading the descriptions. It's making me sick.

[Stellaluna]

Wow! Some really tough cases. If I had the extra space and money, I'd be there in a minute. I will send this to some friends and family members, though. Thanks for sharing it.

[Horserider]

Wish I could take one in, but we just don't have the money to buy another horse right now and especially one that's going to take work or extra care. The worst part of this is not only are people in Michigan struggling to care for themselves and their families right now let alone their pets, but those who could afford to take in another horse aren't going to right before winter. Hay's expensive and no one who can is going to take another horse on until spring.

Seems to me that the Appy Apples and the APHA Aztec should be switched. I'd rather a beginner have Aztec than Apples. All they say about Aztec is that he is a slow walker and eats on the trail which lots of horses do. But for Apples they say she tosses head when being bridled and ridden and doesn't trailer. :huh:

Poor Bugs. No one's going to want a horse that runs over people when they enter his stall. Some of these should just be euthanized before they suffer worse fates. :cry:

329 – 1 GRADE DUNNIT Dunn xx-67
Mare; Age: N/A; Riding Level: Beginner; Tendencies: Great kids horse, soft mouth; (If
you pull on reins too much, she will jerk them out of your hands) AVOID LARGE
ADULTS; Medical History: Wormed: 2006x3 (Fall), 5/08, 8/08

Wouldn't mind knowing a bit more about this one. Wish owning a horse wasn't so expensive right now.

:cry: So many of them had problems of training, health or both. I don't think there was a single one that didn't have a problem of some kind.

[wyleeluver]

well for being a ranch where guests come it doens't seem like those horses are at all beginner friendly :huh: but if I had the experience and the money then I would definetely be there! and also, what is Butt-Tieing?

[Horseaholic]

These poor horses...it looks like just about all of them have had puncture wounds "will run person over when entering stall", "keep away from children" ,"bolts out of stall" ,"will lay down if cinched too tight" ,"will lie down on trail if rider has no experience" ,jesus...these horses all sound so scary. :( I hope they all find good clean healthy happy homes.

Aggressive/snotty towards other horses (or anything breathing)<< ???????

[RackinRudy]

I know ... as I'm reading the descriptions I'm thinking ... ok, pretty soon there has to be one that is descent? This description got me!

1 AQHA FUZZY Bay, Markings: Star, White on Bridge of Nose 01-04
Gelding; Age: 1995; Riding Level: Advanced; Is a jerk in the stall; Sometimes difficult to
catch; Box stall is preferred; Medical History: Wormed: 2006x3 (Fall), 5/08, 8/08; 2007
(Winter): Large Cut to Left Knee; Kept in BB Cleaned Daily with Idone Wash and
Wrapped with Furazone.

They didn't say one nice thing about any of the horses!

I mean, to me this farm should of been investigated or something ... how can 94 horses all have major behavioral issues or so many of them hurt.

I also wish I could take one in, but I just can't ... maybe next spring, but not this winter and with a new baby ... they sound like they will be expensive to care for and also sounds like they could all hurt you big time! Ridiculous!

[mandisue]

I would also like to know what butt tying is????? These poor horses. If this was an honest guest ranch I don't know how they ran it with horses like that, that were treated like that. You'd think a guest would have turned them in!

One of the ones that really got me was the deep puncture wound behind shoulder????? HOW IN THE HECK does a horse get a puncture wound up there???????????????????????????

[spotsmom]

Butt-tying (at least when I was a girl scout wrangler) is when the horses are in a standing stall and a rope or chain is tied from wall to wall to prevent them from backing out. I'm guessing that these horses do not tie well in their stalls.

The horses are painted in a pretty bad light, but with the exception of a few, I think they're just trying to be honest about their temperments. I'm actually surprised that the ranch has kept such good notes...

If I had to give a detailed description of my horses it would probably come of sounding similar. Every horse has their own little quirks.

[TLC97]

There were only a few horses that sounded promising at all. The kids safe one sounded great. What good is it to buy a horse at an auction that does not trailer, now that would be a video to put on you-tube, NOT!!

Read some of the dog desciptions, trusting once they know you, poor dogs.

This will be a very sad auction.

[JackieB]

This is tough for me. I live very close to the Double JJ and have ridden there many, many times. It was one of the two places where I rode before a friend who I met there took me under his wing and eventually introduced me to Buster.

I only recognize a few of the horses. The one that I rode the most and really love because she was the first horse that I ever felt fully comfortable riding isn't there anymore. Just as well, because it would be so hard to see her auctioned, but I absolutely cannot afford another horse. I board and am self-employed with a very low income now. She was such a wonderful kid's horse that I heard someone bought her off the farm. I never wanted to stop riding her. They had to encourage me to move up to horses that required a bit more of me and told me that I needed to give Apache back to the little kids. :)

I think there is certainly some "honesty" in those descriptions. Those horses went out with guests every day and I don't think that they had any more problems than one might expect in terms of behavior. However, there have always been concerns that the owner wasn't willing to pay to keep good care of his stock. Virtually anyone you talk to around here will say that.

Animal Control did get a lot of calls on the horses and dogs from visitors who were disappointed in their condition. And they visited the ranch often, too. But there wasn't a legal case.

They had a lot of great wranglers over the years. College students would come from all over the country and even from Europe and Australia to work at the ranch for the summer. Many of them were wonderful kids who dearly loved those horses and cheerfully got up at 5 a.m. to call them in and saddle everyone up. But they had trouble getting really good head wranglers, and it didn't matter too much anyway because the owner wasn't going to spend much on those horses no matter what.

There are a bunch of interested buyers in the resort, including a dude ranch from somewhere out west. It would be such a blessing if the horses were all purchased at once and stayed there on the ranch. I see them all the time grazing in a huge pasture that adjoins the highway. It's so hard to think of those horses being auctioned for a very low price and then trucked to Canada.