Who is Last Chance?
Last Chance is a group of volunteers who work to network the horses at the kill pen in hopes of finding them loving homes before they ship to be slaughtered. This group of volunteers are not part of or employed by the kill pen in any capacity and do not profit from the sale of these horses.
What is a kill pen?
A kill pen is a holding pen for horses due to ship to Mexico or Canada to be slaughtered for meat. These horses are usually bought by the kill buyer at local auctions or low cost personal sales.
Where are these horses located?
These horses are located in a kill pen in Asheboro, NC.
What is a horses “bail”?
A horses bail is the amount that must be paid in order to free them from the lot. If the full bail amount is not raised by their deadline, they will ship them for slaughter.
Who sets the prices for the horses?
The kill buyer sets prices for all horses at the Asheboro, NC kill pen. He typically sets prices based on a variety of factors including weight, value of horse to the public (EX: ridable; broke vs green), his purchase price, etc. These prices are non negotiable.
How long do horses have before shipping?
They kill buyer typically gives the volunteers 10 days to network from the day they do evaluations.
What history is available on these horses?
Little to none. Because of the way these horses are obtained, we know very little about their history. Exceptions come when the previous owner has relayed information or if they are registered. We spend 5-15 minutes with each horse at evaluations gathering information. ALL that info is available in our chat groups. Outside of that information, we do not know.
Please refer to teeth reading information HERE for age estimation.
Can I come see the horse before I buy?
No. These horses are located in a kill pen at a personal residence of the kill buyer. He does not allow the general public to come see or test horses. He only allows the Last Chance volunteers, approved transporters, and those who have purchased a horse to come onto the property.
What is a home offer and how does it work?
A paid home offer is when a person puts down at least fifty percent on a horse’s bail and commits to providing a home. Home offers have until the ship date, or one week if close to the ship date to fundraise the balance. If paid home offer can't pay the balance on the deadline then, they lose their home offer money. Please make sure if you are going to be a paid home offer, that you have the balance available to pay by the deadline in case you can't raise it by doing fundraising.
NOTE* FULL BAIL can be paid on a horse at any time and OVERRIDES A HOME OFFER. If another person pays full bail for the horse, the paid home offer money will be refunded.
Will I need to quarantine the horse?
We have volunteers who can arrange transportation for you. Because of their affiliation with this group and knowledge of the property and horses, they are the approved transport options. ALL other third party transporters will need to be approved prior to pick up. Please see our details on transport services and costs HERE.
What if I don’t have a way to transport?
We have volunteers who can arrange transportation for you. Because of their affiliation with this group and knowledge of the property and horses, they are the approved transport options. ALL other third party transporters will need to be approved prior to pick up. Please see our details on transport services and costs HERE.
I’m ready to purchase. Now what?
BEFORE purchasing, please familiarize yourself with LC policies regarding pickup, transport, quarantine, layover board, and other services you may need. You can find details about those services HERE.
Message the volunteer group and let them know you would like to pay on an invoice (half bail home offer or full bail). We will check to be sure the horse is still available for purchase and direct you to the invoice to pay. All sales are final and pick up must be arranged within 48 hours after full bail has been paid. Pickup hours are from 9:30am to 5:30pm unless otherwise approved.
Once full bail is paid, we will add you to a transport chat where all arrangements for pickup/transport can be made.
Now that I’ve purchased, what should I know?
Use the transport chat to stay in touch with our volunteers. Our group is very busy and we do not want to miss your questions should you have them. We make a point to look after this chat so we can get your horse out of the pen and to you as quickly and easily as possible.
Please review our KILL PEN AFTERCARE information. These horses require special refeeding program to adapt back to a normal life.
Please join our SAVED horses group on Facebook and share your horses journey back to good health and a happy home! We work tirelessly to save these horses, we lose many and deal with the stress of so much going on. It is our light in the darkness to see these horses saved and the difference made in their lives.