Pony not selling- what to do?!

BroadfordQueen

BroadfordQueen

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I know the market is rubbish at the moment, but my quality, talented and totally lovely young Connemara hasn't had a jot of interest since advertising her. I don't know if she is overpriced or people just don't want young ponies, but im now at the point of not knowing what to do with her. The options are:
Keep her, event her and try again later in the year
Drop the price right down and give her away
Keep plugging away as we are/spend more money on better advertising

I don't want to give her away really, as I literally don't have a bad word to say about her, but at the same time i could really do with her gone now as I am looking to move out of my parents home (where she is kept) and cant afford livery for 2 horses (other horse will never be sold and will come with me wherever I go)- mum will keep her at home if needs be, but I don't want to burden that on her really as its not fair.

I have entered her into an 80cm ODE in July. Will a good result here make her more sellable, or is it a waste of time/money?
Tried word of mouth but don't know of anyone who is looking.
I've never had a problem selling a horse before, and none have been as straightforward as this girl!

Her ad is in my sig (apparently thats allowed now!)- if you wouldn't mind having a look i would be really grateful. I could buy a couple of pro pics to use in my ad if you think it'd be worth it?
Any help/tips would be welcomed..
 
Is she really only 4? 5 next year?

I'd say the title is wrong, willing but safe ("but" is particularly wrong, "and" would be better) then you click and she is 4 is a bit off putting as its not what you expect from the title if that makes sense. She looks great but your ad lacks a bit of punch I think, the pics are good tho and I don't think she is over priced for what you have done with her.
 
Yes she is 4, 5 next year.
Will reword the title and have a shuffle round with the text, thank you :)

Mirage- i did try PC website, but again had no luck.
 
FfionWinnie said:
Is she really only 4? 5 next year?

I'd say the title is wrong, willing but safe ("but" is particularly wrong, "and" would be better) then you click and she is 4 is a bit off putting as its not what you expect from the title if that makes sense. She looks great but your ad lacks a bit of punch I think, the pics are good tho and I don't think she is over priced for what you have done with her.
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Seconding the above. If she was with me, and was physically and mentally ready I'd get her schooling to 90cm/ideally 1m, and selling her as having the ability to affiliate next season. That plus the corresponding dressage movements and a couple of decent unaff results would make her much more attractive to me as a buyer.
 
she is nice, I did wonder whether you had any better flatwork pics though I think that ad is good overall.
 
BroadfordQueen said:
Yes she is 4, 5 next year.
Will reword the title and have a shuffle round with the text, thank you :)

Mirage- i did try PC website, but again had no luck.
Click to expand...

I had another read through and the bit about being out a handful of times, it just sounds a bit apologetic and lack lustre, where you should be saying look, she is fab only been out 3 times and achieved xyz or whatever. You could maybe get better quality pics as well, they are a bit dark and considering she is dark too. She looks like a super type and I would keep her for a bit longer before contemplating dropping the price, if of course you have the time to keep achieving with her.
 
Jumping pics are good, confo pic could be better though - try standing her to look more uphill. A slightly better flat work pic would be good as well, as it just seems a bit flat and pony almost merges into the background rather than catching the eye.. Put actual breeding on rather than vague 'bloodlines'. You don't seem to mention whether pony went clear or not at the horse trials and clear round jumping so a cynical buyer would assume faults were incurred!

Agree about title - will draw in those looking for older types and perhaps not your target audience. Possibly something like '4yo Connemara - potential WHP/event'.
 
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It is her age, nothing you can do about it, that is stopping her going, the price is fair another year and she would easily be worth £2k more.
I agree get rid of the "but" it never sounds good if there is a but, I would put Outstanding competition prospect or something that sells her more, she is going to go to a competitive home most likely so sell her to them in the wording, you are almost trying to make her sound suitable for as many people as you can while missing the real target, bold and brave yet sensible at all times rather than willing, calm, safe.
Without spooking at anything is almost as if you were surprised, jumped spooky fillers sounds better.
The conformation photo is not great, she is downhill and is is very unflattering, the flat ridden is also poor, jumping ones are good but they are negated by the others.
Having pulled the ad to pieces, it is not that bad but does not sell her to the right people. A few tweaks will help, you didn't send me a pm before or I didn't get it, I am happy to look at any changes.
 
I've had a bit of a jig round with my ad but still not totally happy with it... Will have a play around tonight and try to improve it.
I will get some better photos- am planning on doing some dressage with her this weekend so will try and drag my dad to it to take some pics of her doing flatwork (took mum with me last time, gave her my iPad to video the test and all she produced was a photo of the floor..!).
 
She looks lovely.
Second the bit about actual results at comp... if they were good that is!
This is being super-critical but an honest bit of feedback (please don't take offence as you are a lovely rider in your other pics)... The flatwork pic looks a bit ordinary compared to the jumping. I'd like to see her tracking up a bit more and looking a bit more forward for you. I think that would make her appear a bit more established.
If you have something nice a video link would be a plus.
Good luck :)
 
Honestly dont mind the feedback, its really helpful thank you! Have removed flatwork and confo pic for now, will get a couple of better ones. Am also going to buy the pro pics from last weekend and get permission to use those as they are better photos than my dads (no offence dad!) and show her out competing.
I think I may hold back on readvertising her until after the event in July, where I will get my paparazzi to take a few good videos/pics from all 3 phases.
Thanks for all the help everyone. Fingers crossed she finds a lovely home soon..!
 
I think you are asking for too much as it doesnt have a whole load of expereince.
I would try and do a couple of 80cm and 90cm events over the summer and maybe some hunter trials and hunting if still not sold by winter but then thats a lot to ask a 4 year old but you would know the pony well enough to know if that is too much.

I would also get some vids of the pony showjumping and over some cross country fences at the events, people love videos these days!
 
I have a couple of videos to show people when they enquire, but they're not brilliant as mostly at the start of her education.
I don't want to push her too far, as she is the type of pony who will just keep going and going and I don't want to take advantage of her willingness. Its a tough one!
 
She is lovely.
What would put me off is her age and how it sounds like she has done quite a lot. In one respect that's really good as it shows how good she is but I would worry about early wear and tear on her joints etc. But that's just me! :o
 
The pictures are alright but none are really 'wow I have to have it' pictures. Also three pictures of her xc makes it seem like that is all she does. If she schools well then get a picture of her doing it, if she has good conformation then get a picture of her standing up properly, ears pricked, looking like she's got something about her. Also, try to get the pictures in a better light. She sounds like a lovely mare, get some fabulous pictures and I'm sure she'll get some interest. Good luck:)
 
She is lovely !!! I think her price is too low , I read the first few lines before looking at the price and thought connie = expensive !! And was very pleasently surprised.

Yes she is young so maybe keeping for another year and gaining more experience , also some flat work pics would be nice as I don't "do" jumping but would love something that can jump to give me confidence and yes she is four but appear to be a very sane four year old and looks nice over the jump.

Have you tried horse quest as from what I can see it appear to be aimed more at the showing,bsja, dressage more than happy hacker.
 
DabDab said:
The pictures are alright but none are really 'wow I have to have it' pictures. Also three pictures of her xc makes it seem like that is all she does. If she schools well then get a picture of her doing it, if she has good conformation then get a picture of her standing up properly, ears pricked, looking like she's got something about her. Also, try to get the pictures in a better light. She sounds like a lovely mare, get some fabulous pictures and I'm sure she'll get some interest. Good luck:)
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I did have pics of her doing flatwork/ stood up but was told in this thread they weren't very good, so have take them down until I can get some better ones! Will also replace the pics i have now with a pro sj pic and a pro xc (they are much better lighting!).
 
Have had another look and while its better, I agree with be positives title, top class conemmara still doesn't actually tell you anything and she is potentially top class, as she is too young to prove it yet :p. outstanding competition prospect is far better and catchier.

I'd take out the bit about her first ode entry, that makes it look like you expect her not to sell. Looking forward to seeing the new photos. :)
 
She's gorgeous! Wish I was in a position to buy, she'd be fab for me to share with my sister!

I think the problem you have is the market, it's easy to pick up horses now for so much less than they're really worth. If I were you I'd hang on to her for a bit, have a bit of fun with her and then try again when she's just that little bit older. Because of her size, it'll be experienced children and young teenagers that are your target market, who want to get some competition experience between ponies and horses. I think most Mums would read your advert and think that they don't want to buy such a young pony for their daughter/son. If they saw the number 5 they might be more interested.

Good luck!
 
She is lovely but you have a few things going against her
1 and probably most importantly is her age
2 She is doing a lot for some people and not enough for others
3 She is a she
4 Price is a bit low to be honest but others will say not
5 What grade is she as connemaras have to be graded for the proper passport
6 Is she vaccinated I assume she is if competing
7 She is grey sometimes not a popular colour although she is a lovely colour now
 
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Agree with you on all points entirely wind and rain. Im not sure what grade she is actually, is that in her passport? All i know is she is registered with a green connie passport!

I was wondering if it would be worth doing any M&M whps with her? Im not into showing at all, but had a few people email regarding her suitability for this and I have no idea! She's not as stunning as some connies, but she has a lovely jumping technique, would do a good show and has good confo etc.? Not my cup of tea but wouldn't mind doing a couple of local ones if it would help sell her!
 
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BroadfordQueen said:
Agree with you on all points entirely wind and rain. Im not sure what grade she is actually, is that in her passport? All i know is she is registered with a green connie passport!

I was wondering if it would be worth doing any M&M whps with her? Im not into showing at all, but had a few people email regarding her suitability for this and I have no idea! She's not as stunning as some connies, but she has a lovely jumping technique, would do a good show and has good confo etc.? Not my cup of tea but wouldn't mind doing a couple of local ones if it would help sell her!
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My exact point. NPS at Malvern in August, ponies uk at stoneleigh. Enter her and take an advert , put it up in secretary tent. I am down road from you , you may find someone rings whilst at show and wants to try.

All would enter picton qualifiers for NPS...... Try Herefordshire equestrian, Worcester, Merican riding clubs...... Also Bromgsgrove.......
 
Will definitely do bromsgrove as bissell is about 10 mins away from me. Will look into the rest, thought about doing ridden M&M at hanbury although thats quite a big show so will probably be quite outclassed (me rather than her, I have no "showing" gear or finesse..!)!
 
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