What are 'Killer Buyers'?

Answer 1

Killer buyers are men and women who are usually extremely knowledgeable, lifelong horsemen. Killer buyers are generally men and women who buy, sell and trade horses who are also contracted or independent agents for slaughter houses. They attend auctions and travel all over the US. As horses exchange hands they are sorted by, broke and unbroke, young and old, sick or injured and healthy.

The broke horses are ridden to ensure they are safe and then typically sold to owners who will provide quality care for the horses. Unbroke horses are checked for extreme bad habits and ability to be broke. Those that can be, are broke correctly and then sold as other broke horses are.

Young horses with potential and that are sound are scheduled to be broke when they come of age. Middle aged horses tend to be broke and those that are unbroke and too old to be broke (Typically a horse 5 years of age or older) are often sold to rodeo stock contractors to be used in their bucking strings.

Sick and injured horses are evaluated to determine if they can be saved. Generally, a few good months of care and most horses will rebound, easily. It is a lot more common to rehabilitate a horse than to need to put it down. Those that are too far gone are put out of their misery at slaughter houses. It is also possible that a horse in any of these groups is found to be unsound. This is a problem because they are unsafe to be ridden. These horses also end up at slaughter houses.