Springfield Auction – MO

This foal desperately tried to wean, but her emaciated mother was likely too weak to nurture her.

Animals’ Angels has filed a complaint with Missouri authorities regarding the Springfield Livestock Marketing Center horse sale. The telltale signs of neglect and abuse are impossible to ignore — emaciated mares too weak to nurse their foals, sick horses coughing in crowded pens, and buyers tied to the slaughter trade scooping up groups of wild horses for a few hundred dollars.

Background

The Springfield Livestock Marketing Center, located at 6821 W Independence Dr, Springfield, MO, holds horse sales on the last Friday of every month at 5 p.m. Over the past several months, Animals’ Angels investigators have conducted multiple visits to this auction. Each visit raised grave concerns: no veterinarian present, no food or water provided, and horses arriving in deplorable condition.

Research revealed that many of these horses are wild horses rounded up from Indian Reservations in the Southwest. They arrive at the auction in large groups — often mares with foals by their side — already scarred, sick, and exhausted from their ordeal. Investigators documented mares far too thin to nurse, bleeding leg injuries, and symptoms consistent with Strangles (a highly contagious respiratory disease).

A Troubling Connection: Dennis Chavez and Earnie Shankers

Animals’ Angels has now confirmed that Earnie Shankers, a buyer with a long history in the slaughter trade, shipped horses to Springfield directly from Dennis Chavez, the notorious New Mexico kill buyer.

What makes this even more alarming: official documents obtained by Animals’ Angels show that Chavez acquired these horses specifically from the Navajo Nation and the Ute Mountain Tribe in New Mexico and Colorado. This confirms that reservation horses are being funneled through Chavez, transported by Shankers, and sold off in bulk at the Springfield auction.

This is not the first time Animals’ Angels has exposed Chavez’s cruelty. In our prior investigation, we documented how he acquired large groups of mares and unweaned foals from Indian Reservations, separated the foals from their mothers, and sent the adults to slaughter. The foals were crammed into overcrowded trailers, many sick with strangles, far too young to survive without milk replacer. Some were as young as three weeks old. Many did not survive the journey.

Young foals, torn away from their mothers. Overcrowded trailers, filled with disease. The tiny cries of lonely, scared, and suffering horses.

Animals’ Angels’ Investigation Report

JULY 25, 2025

• 150 horses for sale, including ~30 reservation horses, mainly mares with foals. Groups of mares/foals were sold together at shockingly low prices:
• 4 mares & 4 foals sold for $950 (buyer #918, suspected to be George Baker Stables).
• 3 mares & 3 foals sold for $950 (same buyer).
• Several horses showed fresh injuries:
  • Mare #0977 — deep gash on face.
  • Mare #0978 — large gash with fresh blood.
  • Mare #1438 — lame in back leg, sold for just $200.
• Sale concluded at 9:20 p.m.

AUGUST 29, 2025

• 180 horses for sale, ~70 wild reservation horses housed in front pens.
• Many were injured, emaciated, or sick. Several bore red “MOHA” tags, indicating no current Coggins test.
• Specific cases:
• MOHA 2402: Pregnant mare, leaking milk, visibly uncomfortable.
• MOHA 2406: Abscess on foot actively bleeding, cuts across face, partially blind, sold for $400.
• MOHA 2418: Emaciated, lame in hind leg, sold in group lot for $625.
• MOHA 3763: Severe cuts, emaciated, leg abscess, sold for $600 in group.
• Handlers used electric prods to drive terrified wild mares into the auction ring.
• Horses sold in large group lots of 10+, keeping prices low ($300–$600).
• Known kill buyer George Baker Stables purchased over 30 horses.

SEPTEMBER 26, 2025

• 200–250 horses for sale; fewer reservation horses present.
• Mare #2459 documented with injured leg, bleeding lip, cuts across face and body. Investigators provided her with water; she was later purchased by a rescuer.
• Only one mare/foal pair present, but a group of weanlings (~6–8 months old) were penned together and sold separately, furthering their distress.
• Several horses appeared underweight, yet no veterinary care was provided.

KILL BUYERS PRESENT

• George Baker Stables (Oklahoma): Attended every sale and consistently purchased large numbers of reservation horses in poor condition.
• Earnie Shankers: Strong presence at Springfield, now confirmed as a direct supplier of horses from Dennis Chavez in New Mexico.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Reservation Horses in Crisis: Mares and foals arrive already emaciated, injured, and sick, only to be sold off cheaply in bulk.
• Disease and Neglect: Horses displaying symptoms of strangles and other illnesses were left untreated and penned without water in 90°F heat.
• Cruel Practices: Handlers used electric prods to move terrified horses; foals as young as two weeks were sold alongside their weakened mothers.
• Kill Buyer Pipeline: The Springfield sale is entrenched in the slaughter trade, with confirmed links between New Mexico kill buyer Dennis Chavez, shipper Earnie Shankers, and Oklahoma’s George Baker Stables.

The presence of very young foals at Springfield immediately recalled the horrors we documented in our prior investigation of Chavez — babies ripped from their mothers, packed into disease-ridden trailers, and scattered across multiple states. That same suffering was echoed in the cries of the foals at Springfield.

Conclusion

The Springfield Horse Auction is a glaring example of how America’s misfortunate horses are funneled into a system of cruelty and neglect. With no veterinary oversight, no food or water provided, and kill buyers dominating the sale, this auction profits off the suffering of vulnerable animals.

Animals’ Angels has filed a complaint with Missouri authorities and will continue to monitor this auction closely. We will not allow the suffering of these mares and foals to remain hidden.