Birthday Bidder Takes Home the Horse : Auction: Animal Regulation Department sale draws 50 people interested in a paint mare, three goats and a cow.

Melanie Whisman didn’t horse around this year when it came to choosing a birthday present.

The Newbury Park woman turned 28 Friday, and the next day she was at an auction of the Ventura County Animal Regulation Department, bidding on a mare that she had been dreaming about for two weeks.

“It’s my birthday present to me,” Whisman said, after she purchased the 5-year-old, brown-and-white paint horse for $950. “I’ve visited her about 10 times, and fed her some carrots.”

Whisman’s horse was found wandering with a serious hoof problem and was taken to county animal control authorities, said Kathy Jenks, director of the Animal Regulation Department.

The horse attracted a larger than normal crowd for the event, said Sam Garvin, an animal control officer who auctioned the mare off in minutes.

About 50 people came to bid on the horse, a longhorn cow and three Pygmy goats. Bidding was quiet and quick, with little drama. Garvin gave a little descriptive speech about each animal before beginning the auction. In the case of the mare, he tried to insult the crowd into bidding higher when he believed the initial bids were too low.

At $575, Garvin frowned at the bidders and said, “Holy mackerel, you guys are still insulting this mare.” He was mollified moments later when Whisman topped off the bidding at $950.

The county has the right to remove an animal from auction if bids are too low, Garvin said. Usually money involved in housing and feeding an animal is more than the final bid. Whisman’s horse, for example, cost about $1,200 to feed, shelter and care in the months before the auction, Garvin said.

At Saturday’s auction, the cow was sold to Barnyard Rescue for $300, and two of the goats went for $15 each to different bidders. A third goat sold for $18.

Most of the people who regularly attend the auctions are farmers looking for a quick resale, members of a farm animal rescue group, or students looking for a 4-H club project, Jenks said. An auction is held whenever the department’s corrals are full, she said. Most of the animals are strays found along roads or in farm fields.

Roy Dyer, 53, of Rancho Santa Rosa said the goat he bought “will be eating a lot of weeds for me.”

Jenks said, “We aren’t able to say they have to be taken as pets so we have a hope that’s where they go. Usually with the goats we get 4-H kids, you can feel OK. They won’t be barbecue by Sunday morning.”

Times staff writer John Battelle contributed to this story.