Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Sale sends horses off to new lives
Prison system’s aim is greener pastures for retired animals
“I like buying their horses. My wife rides them, and she’s not that experienced, so when I put her on one of their horses, I know she’s safe.” — Greg Spann, pastor of Cross Bar C Cowboy Church, Benton
Blazer, once ridden by Arkansas Department of Corrections officers in Newport, sometimes resists leaving the barn.
“It’s kind of like me on Monday morning [when] I’d really rather not go to work,” Tom Green, the department’s horse program coordinator, joked to the audience of about 200 people Saturday at the department’s 10th annual horse auction.
Blazer and 25 other retired prison agency horses were up for auction in Thomas Arena at the Saline County Fairgrounds in Benton. Rep. Mark McElroy, R-Tillar, took bids from the audience.
“Sold for $3,300!” McElroy called out after three minutes of bids for Blazer
The horses were all at least 15 years old and retired after several years with the department. The auction is advertised as “Good Homes for Good Horses” with the hope that the horses’ new owners will take care of them for the rest of their natural lives, said Davey Farabough, the department’s farm administrator.
“We didn’t like to sell them at regular auctions because we couldn’t control what happened to them [afterward],” Farabough said, referring to clients who buy horses with the intention of killing them.
The sale draws prospective customers from all over Arkansas and from other states. Repeat customer Loyd Oxner of Monticello said it’s not easy to find horses that have been ridden as much as the ones from the Corrections Department.
“They’ve been through it all,” Oxner said. “They’re good, honest horses. They’re at the end of their careers, and it’s time for them to find a good pasture and a good home.”
Corrections officials and the auction’s repeat customers said the sale is completely transparent about any problems with the horses’ health or temperament, such as Blazer’s temporary resistance to leaving the barn or some horses’ limps or short steps.
“When they describe a horse, they’ll tell you the absolute truth,” said Greg Spann, another returning customer and the pastor of Cross Bar C Cowboy Church in Benton. “If it’s got something wrong, they’re going to tell you.”
“I like buying their horses,” he added. “My wife rides them, and she’s not that experienced, so when I put her on one of their horses, I know she’s safe.”
Some of the horses sold Saturday had some health problems: Trigger retired because of a shoulder injury, Dun has a breathing problem and Holly occasionally bites. Trigger sold for $1,900, Dun sold for $800 and Holly sold for $1,500.
The auction crowd was much smaller last year because the pandemic had just started, Farabough said, but he expected the final tally on this year’s crowd to be back to normal. Attendees were required to wear masks at the auction and during Friday’s preview day, which allowed potential bidders to meet and ride the horses.
Some of the horses are advertised as good with children, as the Wiggins family of Scranton confirmed. Bradley and Melissa Wiggins and their three children have two horses from past years’ auctions and were on hand Friday to look at more.
“It’s an honor to be able to buy an animal that served [the state] and is tried and true,” Bradley Wiggins said.
All of the department’s horses are born and raised in Calico Rock, and Green said he starts to break and train the horses when they are 2½ years old. He occasionally runs into people who have bought horses at an auction several years before, and each owner has a story to tell about each horse.
As a lifelong horse lover, Green said he greatly appreciates this.
“Every horse sticks in my memory,” he said.
Robert and Helena Thurlby have stories about their 35-year-old Hidalgo, who they bought several years ago from the prison agency.
“We do not let him be in a pasture with other horses,” Robert Thurlby said. “We have other horses, and they’re tougher and meaner and stronger than he is, so he has his own pasture. He has two [stable] stalls and eats very well. He has wonderful hooves that don’t have to be shod. We’re going to be sick to our stomachs when he passes away.”
The Thurlbys bought two more horses Saturday, Ben for $6,100, and Baby Girl for $5,600.
One of the last horses up for sale was Clem, who was raised and trained in the Corrections Department’s horse program and became the first horse sent to work outside the department. He worked with the Little Rock Police Department’s Mounted Patrol Unit for 15 years, and former mounted patrol officer Maurita Langley bought Clem on Saturday for $3,600 after some Little Rock officers pooled their money for the purchase.
“We wanted to do our best to save him from ever going to a kill buyer or a slaughter sale,” Langley said.
She owns land near Compton and has three retired mounted patrol horses, including one named Roscoe who worked alongside Clem at the Police Department, she said.
“I think everyone that donated will be happy that [Clem] has a nice retirement pasture and a forever home,” Langley said. “He’ll still get ridden, probably on trail rides around the Buffalo River.”