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It was much like any other horse sale, said auctioneer Dean Edge; chatty farmers and ranchers packed the bright blue stands to watch about 60 horses be led across a thick sawdust floor to be sold to the highest bidder.

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Sales in the small auction house are much as they’ve always been. Cowboy hats are still a common sight and a good market is half social event, half business. The only thing that’s changed is the price.

These days, the only people making a profit seem to be the line cooks handing out fried foods at the concession stand.

“It was a good night,” Mr. Edge said after the crowd had left. “But it’s like pulling teeth trying to get someone to bid.”

Of the five dozen horses that went up for auction, Mr. Edge predicted about 50 were sold for meat. And not for much, even at that.

“It was definitely lower. The prices were 20 cents a pound lower than a month ago.”

That’s another bad week, and Alberta’s horse breeders have had plenty.