ST. LUCIE COUNTY — A 22-year-old horse abandoned by T&T Land Ltd. after the company’s 29 acres were acquired by St. Lucie County International Airport will be sold to a qualified bidder at an auction next month.

The horse was left behind when the property owner moved on Aug. 17 after saying he had tried but was unable to find a new home for the horse. The county agreed to find him a home.

In the meantime, the horse is being well cared for, even spoiled, by airport workers and other county staff members who are experienced with horses, said airport director Diana Lewis.

“He’s a nice horse, and he is very friendly to my staff,” Lewis said. “We’d like to get him into a good home.”

The horse, a sorrel color male temporarily named Wildfire, is small, and might make a good pasture companion for another horse, said Assistant County Attorney Heather Young, who has a horse of her own.

A vet has given the horse a clean bill of health, and he appears to be in good condition, she said.

Advertisements seeking qualified bidders will appear in the newspapers Oct. 1 and 8, Young said.

“We want to be sure he goes to someone who will take good care of him,” she said, “so we are having bidders fill out an application first and we’ll be checking them.”

The auction is set for Oct. 23 at 10 a.m. at the airport on St. Lucie Boulevard north of Fort Pierce.

Bidders must provide information on where the horse will be kept, whether they have experience with horses, whether they have experience with stallions, and what they plan to do with the horse.

They must also agree to keep the horse for at least a year, allow county inspections of both horse and location, and notify the county if they decide to move the horse to another location.

TO BID:

Starting Oct. 1, pick up an application at the county purchasing department, 2300 Virginia Avenue, Fort Pierce.

Fill out the form, return it by 5 p.m. Oct. 15 to purchasing. Qualified bidders will be notified by telephone by noon on Oct. 21.

The auction, for qualified bidders only, is Oct. 23, 10 a.m. at the county airport on St. Lucie Boulevard north of Fort Pierce.

For more information, call county attorney’s office at (772) 462-1400.

Susan Burgess

Tags: auction, bid, horse, st. lucie airport

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