Selling advice needed please...

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marbens26

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Hi guys...am new to the forum and this is my first post so please be patient with me!

I have decided to sell my mare and need some advice on where to start as i have never sold a horse before (we usually keep them until their old age!)

I am worried that the market is slow at the moment and so want to get everything right to give her the best chance of finding a lovely home with someone who can have lots of fun and success with her....

So.. where do i start, where are the best places to advertise and what should i put in the advert?

Any help would be greatly appreciated :)
 
Make sure that your ad has all the basic information included. So age, height, colour and breed. Also is she a happy hacker, allrounder, SJ, eventer etc...? Has she been to any shows/competitions? What is her temperament like? Is she good to shoe/trim/vaccinate/clip etc...? Any vices or ridden vices? Is she good in traffic?

Then you need some good photos. I like a proper conformation shot and an action shot or two. If the horse is a SJ then you need a jumping shot, showing the horse making a good shape over the fence. A good trotting photo showing the horse moving forwards nicely is also good for an action shot.

It's always helpful to look at horse sales sites and search for ads for similar horses. What do you like about some ads or dislike about others? Which ads stand out to you? Why?

Horsemart, horsedeals, horsequest and horse&hound are good places to start looking. Some people also like to put ads on free/cheaper sites too (eg preloved).


Common mistakes.
*The horse is not the height in the ad. If in doubt - measure your horse. ;)

*The horse in the photograph is not the same colour as listed in the text ('palomino' haflingers, 'blue duns' that are actually greys, 'strawberry roans' that are bay roans and please don't put bay with black points).

*Horse has lots of potential (horse is actually over 12 years old and surely should have reached it's 'potential' by now?)

*Will go far in right hands (this just sounds dodgy).

*Not for novice (but no more info as to why. Is the horse young, sharp, spooky, forward going, nuts? :p )

*Don't put broodmare potential unless the mare really is super special.
 
I also hate it when people say "Good at X" and then add a photo of the horse being terrible at X! Really makes me think that the seller is either ignorant or trying to sell to fools.

Get some really decent photos done, a good photo really catches the eye.
 
YouTube videos are great and pretty easy to do these days. Yes it's essential to see the horse being ridden, but standing calmly being groomed, tacked up and mounted, washed, hacking out and having a tractor drive past etc gives you a much better idea of temperament and what it's like to own.

I saw far too many pictures and videos of horses being riddden with their noses hauled under them or jumped over a big fences in schools.

Paula
 
First of all. Be honest!
I've been to try out many horses who aren't what they say they are on the advert!

State all activities the horse has done, XC, SJ, Dressage, Pony Club etc and if competed state what level or height. Also state if the horse is good in traffic and hacks alone or in company.

State clearly the horses strong points and abilities. What type of rider the are suitable for such as Novice, Experienced, Not a novice ride etc.
Also if the horse is good to box, clip, shoe, catch and good to handle/good manners.

Don't forget age or height too!

As for photos like Faracat said - Conformation shots and if the horse specialises in a specific discipline such as jumping then an action shot would be great.

Horsemart is good. I got an enquiry per day on there.
Other sites are Preloved, Freeads, Horse & Hound, EquineAdverts.
There are quite a few Facebook pages for selling horses in the UK or around your area.

Good luck!
 
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