How I Spend My Time
Last Friday my friend Ellen and I took the day off from work and went to the Lake Odessa Draft Horse auction in Lake Odessa, MI. It took us nearly two and a half hours to drive down I-96 past Lansing and then south to the small farming community of Lake Odessa. I had a vague memory of where the auction barn was, but I could tell Ellen was worried. But her face brightened up quite a bit as we finally stumbled across the barn and squeezed into the parking lot.
We got there at about 11am and it was clear by the crowd moving slowly into the main barn, that we had missed all the miscellaneous stuff they sell before the horses. There were sleigh parts, a real sleigh, and a drag (used to train draft horses to drive) right next to the only parking spot I could find. I wish I had gotten there earlier!! But, then again, maybe it is better that I didn’t. At least that is what my husband tells me.
We hustled into the barn and found a throng of people milling around the few horse stalls. What a disappointment! Lots and lots of people, hardly any horses for sale. I had come looking for something very specific. A quick tour of the barn turned up nothing matching my dream animal. But Ellen fell in love with a six month old Morgan cross. Coal black without a white hair on him, he was a cutie. And he sold for $130.00! We couldn’t believe our eyes. Horses were going pretty cheap this spring, but they were not going for meat. This was an auction by farmers, for farmers and most of them were Amish. Ellen kept saying that it was a good thing she did not register for a number as we would have hauled back that colt. She doesn’t really need another horse–in fact she is trying to sell the baby born last year on her farm. But really, who NEEDS another horse anyway?
As soon as we got back home Ellen checked the Draft Horse Journal and found another auction for us to attend. This one is in Mt. Hope, OH and sounds even better. It had 89 pages of horses in the catalog. This time I am getting there early!
For those of you who would like the experience of a real livestock auction, you’re in luck! The Dundee Livestock auction is going to be held tomorrow, Saturday March 3, 2007 at 9am. They usually have a pretty good selection of poultry, a few sheep, some goats and occasionally a cow or horse. It is a lot of fun, but dress for the weather, it looks like it is going to be a cold day tomorrow.