Rescued Horses Find New Homes

Cheryl from Lebanon came looking for “a couch with legs.”

Others in the crowd of several hundred at the Horsebarn Hill Arena on Saturday came in search of  a sound horse, or an animal in need of a good home, or both. Then there were those who just came to watch.

Though their reasons for being there varied, virtually all of the 40 or so bidders who registered for the annual University of Connecticut Spring Horse Auction were looking for the same thing – a bargain.

The auction is a cooperative effort between UConn and the Connecticut Department of Agriculture to find homes for retiring university equestrian team and polo horses and abused or neglected animals that have been seized by the department.

Among the crowd was state Agriculture Commissioner Steven K. Reviczky, who said more than 175 horses had been placed in new homes since the auction program began in 2003.  

The agriculture department maintains an animal rescue center at Gates Correctional Facility in Niantic where the rescued horses are cared for by department staff and department of correction inmates who are assigned to the program.

There were 32 animals on the auction block Saturday and of those, 16 horses, a mule and a miniature horse came through the rescue program. The proceeds from the sale of the rescued animals are used to support the rescue program, Reviczky said.

Cheryl, who would not give her last name, was looking for an easy horse to ride and had her eye on “Rosy,” a 20-year-old dun quarter horse that had been rescued by the state.

After hearing that Cheryl wanted a “couch,” Raymond T. Connors, supervisor of the agriculture department’s animal control division, had just the horse for her.

“That would be Clyde,” Connors said, referring to the 20-year-old bay Clydesdale-cross gelding who stands 16 hands high at the shoulder. At four inches to the hand, Clyde’s shoulders are five feet, four inches above the ground.  “He’s a couch with four legs.”

Victoria Lewis already has 15 horses on her 30-acre farm in Canterbury, but that wasn’t going to keep her from bidding. Lewis said she intended to bid on Missy, an 11-year-old bay thoroughbred mare with arthritis and Ellie, a 10-year-old chestnut thoroughbred mare that, according to the auction program, also has lameness issues.

“These two come from neglect situations,” said Lewis who was at the auction with her two sons, Parker, 7, and Colby Robinson, 17. “Both have health issues,” Lewis said of the horses. “They don’t stand a good chance of having a nice home.”

The auction was organized by students and faculty of the animal science program in the university’s College of Agriculture and Natural Resources. Barn Manager John Bennett served as the auctioneer.

Bennett kept the auction moving and the crowd entertained.

Trying to whip up some interest in “Snowball,” a 4-year-old, 36-inch tall miniature gelding that according to the program “likes to play with other animals and enjoys cookies,” Bennett assured prospective bidders that it would never talk back at you.

“They're always a little hoarse,” Bennett said, grinning.