More Americans Buying
Horses Than In Past
By BOB GRAY
Editor The Texas Horseman
Magazine
Written for The Associated Press
Want to buy a horse ?
If so, you’ve got company.
Americans of all ages and incomes,
in growing numbers, are buying
registered bourses—particularly of
the Quarter Horse and Appaloosa
breeds.
Some are buying them for pure
riding pleasure. Others hope to
breed more horses and make some
money.
This stepped-up interest has pro
duced more ‘purebred’ western
horse sales—particularly in the
Southwest—and more people going
to a sale to buy their very first
horse.
Maybe you’re in that boat. Per
haps you’ve never been to a horse
auction before. You hate to show
your ignorance but you do want
a good horse.
Well, relax.
Lots of people find horse sales
entertaining—and if you go to
buy, it isn’t hard. You should,
however, be prepared to use the
same care and time you’d take to
buy a car, a boat or a share of
stock.
DANCE
At
Snook, Hall
SATURDAY, FEB. 3
Music By
The Continentals
Admission $1.00
First, don’t expect to buy a
good trained horse for $100. Those
days are long gone. Some Quarter
horses have sold for more than
$100,000. The national Quarter
orse auction sale average in 1961
was above $1,000. Don’t let that
scare you, though. They don’t all
cost that much.
The Appaloosa and Quarter
horse sales coming up in the next
few weeks at the San Antonio and
Houston fat stock shows (the dates
are given below) are called “con
signment” sales. The horses in
them are consigned by breeders
hoping to get the best possible
price. It’s the auctioneer’s job to
help them do it.
What each horse sells for de
pends on it’s pedigTee, conforma
tion, age and whether the horse
has been trained for any stock
saddle contests—cutting, roping,
★ ★ ★
Sales Schedule
Feb. 4 — Fort Worth. Stock
Show Quarter Horse Sale.
Feb. 4 — Altair, Tex. Start of
8th Annual Texas Trail Ride to
San Antonio, 135 miles. Write
Box 100, Altair, for information.
Feb. 4 — El Paso. Southwest
ern Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Feb. 9-18 — San Antonio.
San Antonio Stock Show and
Rodeo.
Feb. 12 — San Antonio. San
Antonio Quarter Horse Sale. For
catalogs, write Box 869, San
Antonio.
Feb. 15 — San Antonio. Texas
Appaloosa Horse Club, 3rd An
nual consignment sale. For cata
log, write Rt. 8, Box 307 K, San
Antonio.
Feb. 24 — Houston. Houston
Quarter Horse Breeders Associa
tion consignment sale. Write Box
35068, Houston 35, for catalogs.
March 3 — Houston, Houston
Livestock Show Appaloosa sale.
For catalog, write Box 35068,
Houston 35.
reining or barrel racing.
You’ll see veteran buyers arrive
at these sales early. With sale
catalog’ in hand, they’ll look at
each horse. If you plan to buy,
give yourself at least an hour to
study what the catalog says and
compare that with the way the
animal looks.
Decide what you want that
horse for — to ride for fun, to
take to a show, to raise colts
out of. This should help narrow
your preferences.
Don’t hesitate to ask questionsj
even after the sale starts. The
sale catalog should ‘tell all’ about
each horse. If it doesn’t, ask
questions of the nearest ring man,
who aids the auctioneers in relay
ing bids.
He can find out if a mare is
bred, what stallion she’s bred to,
whether a young horse is “broke”
to ride, how much training a
gelding has had.
The owner is nearly certain to
be present and he welcomes quest
ions — they could help bring a
better price for his horse. A
veterinarian will usually be pre
sent also to point out any physi
cal defects a horse may have.
If you bid on a mare, for exam
ple, and she’s supposed to be
bred, that vet may be able to
certify whether the mare is ’’safe
to foal.”
The bidding process is not com
plicated. Almost any signal to the
ringman will get your bid recogniz
ed. Once you have bid, the ring-
man won’t fix his attention on you
again until somebody else ups the
bid. Then the ringman will in
dicate it is up to you, if you wish
to bid more.
The auctioneer will' usually ele
vate the bidding in $25, $50 or
$100 increments but you can bid
a specific figure if you wish.
Sometime it is a problem for
the inexperienced buyer to know
when to quit bidding on a particu-
Stop and Consider
Our Book Policy
Before You Buy
We Will Buy Back All Books WE SELL
When Edition Is Still Current.
When You Buy From Us - We’ll Buy
From You.
USED BOOKS ARE A REAL SAYING
But They Never Last Long. BUY EARLY and
SAVE MONEY. If You Know Your Course WE
KNOW YOUR BOOKS.
You Can't Loos© When We Guarantee Full Cash Re
funds For 2 Weeks. This Eliminates Errors and Allows
For Course Changes.
loupots
MADE BY TRADES
WHERE TRADES ARE MADE
THE BATTALION
Thursday, February 1, 1961 College Station, Texas Page 3
Auction
Horse auctions today are much different sales are well-managed, veterinarians vouch
than those of past generations. Sales of for condition of breeding stock and first-
registered Quarter Horses and Appaloosas time buyers in increasing numbers attend,
often bring four and five figure prices, the (AP Photo)
lar horse. The veteran buyers de
cide the maximum figure they’ll
bid, after mentally deciding a
horse’s value, and will seldom go
above it.
If at any time you aren’t sure
what level the bidding has reached
—and it does get confusing at
times—ask the ringman. If he
isn’t sure he’ll ask the auctioneer.
When the bidding slows and fi
nally ends, the buying bid and the
buyer are usually announced. If
you’re the buyer you will get in a
few minutes a ticket showing
you've bought the horse and for
how much. You settle up in cash
or by check during or immediately
after the sale.
Ordinarily, you’re expected to
haul your horse away from the
sale area within 24 hours. But it’s
your horse and your responsibility
from the time you bid and buy.
Once you get the animal home—
like all brand new owners—you
have an unlimited license to dis
cover (and tell all who will listen)
that you have indeed purchased
the finest horse in the world.
MARITIME
- (Continued from Page 1)
will provide $600 per year for each
student to assist in defraying the
cost of the student’s uniform,
books, board and room. The gov
ernment also will provide a train
ing ship and maintain it to the
extent of an annual survey and
overhaul.
Dr. W. J. Graff, dean of instruc
tion at A&M, said freshmen
academy students will study gen
eral engineering courses at the
'College. During the following three
years at Galveston, each student
can follow one of two options—
marine transportation (deck offi
cer), or mai-ine engineering (ship
engineer).
Graff said completion of the
marine transportation option quali
fies the graduate to apply for a
license as a third mate. This in
turn can lead ultimately to master
of a ship.
Completion of the marine engi
neering option, he said, qualifies
the graduate to apply for a license
as third assistant engineer on a
ship. This can lead to chief engi
neer of an ocean-going vessel.
The academy program will begin
with 50 freshmen, Graff said.
Fifty more will be added each year.
After enrollment is stabilized,
there will be 50 students at A&M
and about 125 at Galveston.
Dean Graff said students will be
selected on a competitive basis.
Applicants must be made, single,
citizens of the U. S., have a high
school diploma, and be not less
than 17 years of age and not more
than 22.
Extra Saving! Extra Value! Shop at
beef viEBmzema sale
SIRLOIN STEAK
ROUND STEAK
T-RONE STEAK
These Prices Good Thru Saturday, February 3. In Bryan only. We
Reserve The Right To Limit Quantity.
FLOUR food club 5
PEACHES food club
SHORTENING £5? 3
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SALE!
FOOD CLUB $1.00
SALE!
STRAW BERRIES,>„«
10-0*. -JA
Pkg. A7C
APPLE SAUCE r b
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ORANGE JUICE/1
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SWEET PEAS Zl
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CALIFORNIA LEMONS ..... c : ,1o „^35c ELNA CHEESE 2 .'/67c
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