How do you not get burned and low balled?  Someone walk me through this!

Set a reserve.  We have both high end and low end (killer) auctions around my area.  At both I have noticed they will allow owners to set a reserve - just be realistic in what you are selling.  If you turn down the highest offer because it is under your reserve there is usually a fee/percentage required to be paid to the auction house. 

I'm going to date myself and possibly p*ss some people off.  When the slaughter market was healthy, I used to go to the sales all the time.  One could get a good feel for what the bottom of the market was.  An unbroke or lame horse with nothing going for them would sell by the pound.  That pound price was the "salvage" value of a horse. That meant that anything that was a nice horse, broke well, pretty, etc.. would be higher than that.  A good stout ridable gelding, even if he wasn't registered, would start at $2500 and go up from there.

I bought quite a few nice horses at sales. I also got screwed a few times when I wasn't smart about what I was looking at.  Live and learn.  I don't have the negative feelings about horse sales that a lot of people do now.  I have bought and sold some really nice horses through sales. What I'm trying to say is now the horse sales don't bring the prices they used to. Because there's no salvage value or it's really low. You have to have at least two bidders that want the horse or it doesn't work for the seller.  If you're going to take a horse to the sale, you either have to set a reserve on the horse. No sale if he doesn't bring that amount.  Or resign yourself to sell at any price and not worry about what you get.  That would be if you have to cut numbers and you don't have a choice. The only person who can decide is you. 

Bringing the slaughtering of horses would be the best thing for the whole horse industry.   It would bring more quality to the nations horse herd.

It would also set a floor for the horse market. There are too many horses standing around not being cared for that are skin and bones living a miserable life in horrible conditions and not enough rescue operations to house them all. Believe me, if I had 3 million acres and adequate funds to care for all of them I certainly would but that is just not feasiible. I know there are people that disagree, but the United States is losing money every day by shipping slaughter horses to Canada and Mexico. Do not misunderstand me, there are plenty of great sale barn horses out there but there are also those that are dangerous, lame, have poor conformation that need to get out of the breeding herd and stay away from backyard breeders and people that "just want a horse" and have no idea how to care for it.