Help & Advice Needed

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mandk

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<font color="blue">It breaks my heart to say this, I am selling my beloved mare this summer. I am after all the help with her advert and advice on selling etc I can get (I have never sold a horse before). I can give you all the info you need, if you tell what you require.
I also have some things in mind which I am unsure of......

* I want to find her the best home I possibly can. What is your advice &amp; tips for this?
* I would like to 'vet' the future home, when do I mention this to a buyer etc?
*I have been advised to sell with fitted tack (worth nearly £1,000) non neg, simply so that she will not be bought back for bucking etc after having had badly fitting tack on. She has never behaved badly in this respect before, but her tack has always been fitted. Do you agrree with this?
*Naturally I do want as much money as I can get for her.... she is worth £1million to my heart so the price &amp; home must be right. What do you advise?
*She has not been worked for about 2 years now (she is in no way over or under weight, just obviously lacks toned muscle- show condition weight), due to me having my first baby. Will this effect her value... if so how much by &amp; what do you advise?

ANY tips &amp; advice at all is very much appreciated.
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I wouldn't be interested in buying a saddle fitted to an out of conditinon horse, knowing fully that once she muscles up the saddle won't fit and I would be left with a useless, expensive saddle... and have to fork out for a new one.

If the horse is not in work then expect to sell it for a lot less.
This is because....

1 They won't be able to try her out at everything they would want to do. For example if they were in to XC then they woud want to ride her xc before buying and she would be incapable/risk serious injury if she did this unfit. Buying it would be a gamble.

2 There is no evidence that she is up to work. A fit horse in work hasn't broken down on the way to fitness so it is proof that it is up to the job.

3 Fittening takes a minimum of 6 weeks. In 6 weeks time the summer will be on its way out. It is a lot of hard work for someone... who could easily buy a different horse who is up and running.

I never bother vetting homes. If the people seem fine I go by them. If someone wanted to decieve you simply to be allowed to buy the horse they would hire a bx for a week at a posh yard, show you it.... then move the horse to the s*it hole they always planned on keeping it at. This happens more often than you think.
 
I don't mean to criticise but it looks from what you've written that you don't really want to sell your horse. If you are advertising a horse for £x then ultimatley, it's a buyers market, and if you really need to sell her then its up to them, not you regarding tack, where its going to be kept etc etc. You can't really expect to sell a horse as if you are trying to set it up on a date.
I'm not critising at all as I've done this myself before with my horse ( I still have him and am resigned to being the worlds worst horse salesman so he will stay with me till the end of his days now!). Perhaps you should look to loan her out, that way you can have more say in her future. Ultimatley if you sell your horse, you can only hope for the best for them, but it's really out of your hands once the cash is handed over.
 
If someone told me a horse had not been ridden for 2 years. My first instinct would be to think there was something wrong with the horse and I would be very hard to convince otherwise, so that would affect the value a great deal.

I doubt your tack is worth £1000. A brand new saddle and bridle might cost you £1000, but second hand values are way below this.

Unfortunately once you decide to sell your horse you are giving up your rights to how or where she is kept. So saying your want to vet the new owner is a bit cheeky.
 
I am selling due to having no time at all and she has not done anything for 2yrs, so its not fair on her wasting anymore time sitting in the field and a waste of money for us keeping a very big pet doing nothing with her.

Her tack should be fine. It fitted whilst she was at peak fitness - dressage &amp; jumping and fitted her about 3 months ago....... it is checked every 6months by a QSF. But I understand what your saying and potential buyers do not know if it is true or not.

I have been told to ask £7750 with tack for her. Her sire won HOYS &amp; there is show potential there too. I am not sure how much to ask with her not being worked.

My other option is place her on loan until next summer and hope the person who loans her gets her to some level of fitness.... but with this I worry about them ruining her???? Also, she is 8 years old now, if I wait until next summer she will be 9 years old.... will this reduce her value?
 
I don't think going from 8-9 will decrease her value much (still single figures) If you find the right loan home then you can only add value as she will be in work. I would be very wary of an 8yo that has done nothing for 2 years and certainly would pay nearly £8K for one!!!!
If you need to sell soon then I would send her to someone to sell they can get her fit and then sell her. They may do it for a percentage of the sale and I think you would make it back in teh higher price you could ask.
For an 8yo that hasn't done anything for 2 years I would not pay more than £2500 and that was if it was amazing and seriously well bred.
Remeber if you loan her then you can always have her back if you discover you have time again in the future.
 
I'm sorry but what makes you think she is worth £7750?! Just a price pulled out a hat?! She may have good breeding lines but many horses do. She hasn't done anything for 2 years? Why has she been out of work for 2 years surely if she is such a lovely horse and worth that much there would be people queing up to ride her.
I appreciate it is hard to sell her as I would find it very hard to sell me mare.
With regards to vetting the home - i think this can be doen but u won't have a clasp on her in the future. A friend of mine bought a pony for her daughter and the previous owner came to see the yard she was bringing him to.
 
personally the fact that she has done nothing for 2 years &amp; you have not mentioned any proven competition results would put me right off , unless i saw a picture that justified a £7750 price tag i would be choking on my cup of tea! i would expect her to be cheap , &amp; i wouldn't want to be paying top wack for tack that may well not fit once she had come back into work

if you want to achieve a good price for her i would advise that she needs bringing back to fitness &amp; ideally some compeition results
 
Every horse/pony that I have had from a private home, I have always offered and invited the sellers to come and vistist when ever they want, even just turn on the door step if wanted to un announced I'd have nothing to hide.

Regular contact between the person selling and the buyer usually says a lot about the horse, its past and its future! a good horse is never forgotten but can be sold, past owners will always want to know how they are doing if they don't that set my alarm bells ringing straight away.

I always state straight away on the phone, better to be straight and upfront about these things I think, sorts the chaff from the wheat.
One of the first things I mention, I want to see where the pony is going, I don't care if I had to travel 200 miles in 2.8 TB Pajero (don't ask!) and remorgage my house....I would, just to make sure I saw where my horse was going. I have also even checked out their numbers and address if I'm not entirely convinced (this is just me being finiky...not recommending anyone goes that far lol) but being extra 'fussy' has discovered definate no no's and people giving false address/names and livery yards that don't even exist when offering to deliver the pony!

You might be better putting your horse on loan (personally I think) while he gets fit and you can get more of a idea of how much he is worth (not disputing the price you said, as that is a separate issue and in no position to dispute the price of a horse without seeing it) but perhaps if you horse does have potential, perhaps getting someone to compete him might help you with a future sale? Plus you never know, when things settle with your baby or should your personal situation change for the better, you might not actually want to sell her.

Although honesty is the best policy, I'd avoid telling people she has to be sold with her current tack (even though I appreciate what you saying) it might just put people off if you metion bucking etc...just a thought.

Ultimately, find the best home is a priority, even if it mean not quit getting as much as you'd hope for her, remember there are lots of experienced people who are willing to completely doat on a horse and give it the best home ever and the best care....but might not have 5,6 7 grand to spend on a horse...just another thought.
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<font color="blue">Thanks, that has given me a lot to think about. Esp peeps who answered my queries and not dispute them.

To clear up a few things, not that there is any reason you need to know, but......
......Her value is from top studs of the same type of horses - which show &amp; event. She does have proven showing &amp; dressage results herself + her sire winning HOYS. She has been out of work due to my pregnancy &amp; having my baby as mentioned. Her tack has been valued by a master saddler asso saddle fitter who has fitted and check her saddle for over 4years.

I have done as much research as I can and just wanted some friendly advice from people who have sold treasured horses before themselves. As it is a hard decision and it will be even harder to bite the bullet. So, thank you for everyone who has been helpful
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At £7k you are priceing her not to sell - especially at 8 years old, having done nothing since 6.

Good luck finding a new home for her. It sounds like a very difficult decision.

However, I'm not sure that babies stop us from having horses does it???
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Who's daddy? (the mare that is....)
 
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At £7k you are priceing her not to sell - especially at 8 years old, having done nothing since 6.

Good luck finding a new home for her. It sounds like a very difficult decision.

However, I'm not sure that babies stop us from having horses does it???
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Who's daddy? (the mare that is....)

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Totally agree - £7k is not the right price for this horse. I can understand that you are defensive about this as she means a lot to you, but you will get no takers at this price.

I sold a phenomenally well bred 8 yr old gelding last year who had done medium level dressage, was fit and ready to go. Could have won showing classes but I hadn't taken any him to any. His sire was a grade A /international SJ-er. He went for £6k

I would advertise your mare for about £3k and expect to take about £2.5 for her. She looks a beautiful horse but if you are serious about selling her then you do need to be realistic. Due to finances at the moment a lot of people are not buying.
 
Of course, the other thing you could do is to approach her breeders and see if they want to buy her back as a brood mare.

She could possibly have a broodmare value of around what you want if she is good enough.....
 
I am not defensive at all about the horse, I am really not. I am just saying what I have been told by prof, they breed and sell for a living etc etc. I am not a breeder and never sold a horse, which is why I look to the people who know and ask to pick the brains of people with experience.
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However, AMYMAY, I am very very defensive when it comes to my private life and family and your incredibly unappreciated comment about having babies and horses..... NOT welcomed and un called for. YOU DO NOT know our situation at all.
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We actually have 4 horses. 3 of which we are keeping for valid reasons. I can not believe the response to my post asking simple questions and help and advice on selling a horse?! It is quite shocking really.
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I realy dont think she is worth anything like 7K, I can get a show horse that has been properly produced by a proffesional, with a few wins at county shows and a proven record in the show ring for that much, it might not have been to HOYS or qualified yet but it has proven it can hold its own.
 
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However, AMYMAY, I am very very defensive when it comes to my private life and family and your incredibly unappreciated comment about having babies and horses..... NOT welcomed and un called for. YOU DO NOT know our situation at all.

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Oh relax woman - it was said very much tongue in cheek.

I was thinking about this last night funnily enough - looking at the wonderful broodmares and youngsters at my place (not mine I hasten to add).

My experience of 'professional's' is that they will always inflate prices. For instance, put a perfectly nice ordinary little horse with a professional rider to sell - add 5-10k. It's the nature of the game. So whilst they may have given you what they consider to be a realistic price in their market - it is the public market I assume you aim for - which would value your lovely little horse considerably less.

Looking through Horse and Hound last night it was interesting to see how many super horses were being advertised having done quite a bit - for less than you want for your horse.

I wish you ever success in finding a super home for your much loved horse.
 
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