Selling horses at sales??

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CherryB

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Ive got to sell my mare, and have had a few people come to see her and 1900+ views on her online advert and still haven't sold her. I have been told to take her to the sales. Normally i wouldn't, but sadly i dont have much choice. I will put a reserve on her so she doesn't go for meat money as im not that evil!
Basically am looking for advice on selling at an auction, what should i expect as a seller? and is it really as bad as people say? As we have brought horses from sales before and they have had lovely homes. she is unbroken, but will she need to be trotted up etc? It will be probs be melton mowbray sales.
Thanks
ive attempted to add a picture of her which i plan to put outside her stall. Poor girly! :(
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Have brought and sold many horses at sales, a mostly positive experience - and it does demonstrate real market value.......personally I have found in the past that if I have a nice genuine horse, it sells well at a sale - we recently sold a V green 14.2 TB (not eligible for pony racing) for £1K at auction........Youngsters often do better than the capable of being ridden away......Many years ago when I was dabbling in horse dealing, those were the ones I bought - because one had a nice young horse to work with, rather than potentially inheriting someone elses problem.
 
I personally wouldn't take a horse like her to the sales unless you want her to end up in the wrong hands as i don't think anyone would want to buy her for the same reasons why they have'nt already due to her lumps on her leg isit? Someone i know went to view her and said she bolted across the yard and has/had a lump or something like that on her leg? Isit really fair to put the poor thing through the sales?

Can you not loan her with a view to buy so people can see that the lumps or whatever it is isn't an issue.
 
RoyalPolo said:
I personally wouldn't take a horse like her to the sales unless you want her to end up in the wrong hands as i don't think anyone would want to buy her for the same reasons why they have'nt already due to her lumps on her leg isit? Someone i know went to view her and said she bolted across the yard and has/had a lump or something like that on her leg? Isit really fair to put the poor thing through the sales?

Can you not loan her with a view to buy so people can see that the lumps or whatever it is isn't an issue.
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Where did this lump on her legs come from.....insider knowledge? Is that the reason why she is not selling, despite how ever many viewings? Why do you think that horses at horse sales are only go to ghastly people? Generally dealers buy horses that they think they can add value too - and make a small profit on, I know of very few (and many of them our good friends of mine) who view them on a downward spiral.......Lets explode the myth here - the meat market has very low margins.......I used to buy young horses from sales - keep them up to a year, add value (in breaking them, taking them to comps / pony club camps etc. with my own children - then sell them to very nice homes, many who are still doing the rounds within pony club) I once paid £180 for an unbroken slightly 'riggy' gelding - who we broke in, had him for 6 months, sold him for £360 - and last month I heard that, now aged 12 years - he is on his 4th PC home and made £3.6K !!
 
yea she has a lump on her leg, which is v obvious but doesn't effect her soundness or performance, and i dont really know what people expect, its not like im asking much for her. I know there are a few dodgey people at sales but most people i know that have brought from sales have been nice people looking for a project pony, and give them a nice home and lots of time, which is what she needs. When she first came she was a bit of a handful and yea she did bolt down the yard that day but hasn't done anything like that before or since but im not saying she's totally easy. I dont want to loan her, as i brought her to sell and even if i sell her privately she may end up in the wrong hands. So think ill just take her and see what happens.
 
dressedkez said:
Where did this lump on her legs come from.....insider knowledge? Is that the reason why she is not selling, despite how ever many viewings? Why do you think that horses at horse sales are only go to ghastly people? Generally dealers buy horses that they think they can add value too - and make a small profit on, I know of very few (and many of them our good friends of mine) who view them on a downward spiral.......Lets explode the myth here - the meat market has very low margins.......I used to buy young horses from sales - keep them up to a year, add value (in breaking them, taking them to comps / pony club camps etc. with my own children - then sell them to very nice homes, many who are still doing the rounds within pony club) I once paid £180 for an unbroken slightly 'riggy' gelding - who we broke in, had him for 6 months, sold him for £360 - and last month I heard that, now aged 12 years - he is on his 4th PC home and made £3.6K !!
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I know someone who went to view it with the view to buy it and sell on eventually thats how i know the small amount of information but horses/ponies dont seem to be selling and theres page after page on the net so when you can pick from a perfectly healthy one why bother the price being asked aswel imo wasn't cheap enough for anyone to take that risk that it could go lame maybe due to the lump all be it i dont know the history or pony/owner only what i was told from a friend but its a risk none the less.

I did not say that everyone who went to the sales was ghastly i know of a few people who have gone to buy or just come home with things that they feel sorry for who do offer there horses good homes but the majority of people at melton when i've gone i wouldn't sell a rabbit to let alone a horse i also know of people who go who do not offer there horses good homes who let them get wormy and neglected who think they might be able to make a quick buck but never do.

Unfortunatly i know of people who also off load there "crappy" horses at melton also.

I just feel sorry for the horses as i believe this mare hasn't been in her current home very long anyway and is apparently very attatched to another horse so hardly fair on her either.
 
CherryB said:
yea she has a lump on her leg, which is v obvious but doesn't effect her soundness or performance, and i dont really know what people expect, its not like im asking much for her. I know there are a few dodgey people at sales but most people i know that have brought from sales have been nice people looking for a project pony, and give them a nice home and lots of time, which is what she needs. When she first came she was a bit of a handful and yea she did bolt down the yard that day but hasn't done anything like that before or since but im not saying she's totally easy. I dont want to loan her, as i brought her to sell and even if i sell her privately she may end up in the wrong hands. So think ill just take her and see what happens.
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Well i hope for your horses sake she finds a nice home. Good luck.
 
that is sad especially if she has a lump on her leg as people buying at sales will not have the chance to talk to you to know that it does not affect her performance they may think the reason that she is not lame in the sales ring is that she is on bute and decide not to take a risk on a horse that has a unknown lump.

has the horse seen a vet so that they can confirm that whatever the lump is it is benign and not going to get worse?
 
SO1 said:
that is sad especially if she has a lump on her leg as people buying at sales will not have the chance to talk to you to know that it does not affect her performance they may think the reason that she is not lame in the sales ring is that she is on bute and decide not to take a risk on a horse that has a unknown lump.

has the horse seen a vet so that they can confirm that whatever the lump is it is benign and not going to get worse?
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well i plan to stay with her so anybody viewing her can ask me about her and ill just be honest...im not gunna just dump her there. yes she has seen a vet and i have a report on it. wish i hadn't posted this this cos i feel really guilty and ppl have made me out to not care about my horses... :(
 
thanks nativeponies,
i will take her with a reserve and stay with her and if anyone that looks really horrible asks about her ill try v hard to put them off. lol
thanks all
 
If you stay with her you have a really good chance of finding your mare a good home, there are so many there that get dropped off and lead in by the staff that a genuine horse with its owner is abit of a novelty sometimes and attracts more private people. Even if you think your horse will be with you forever, anything can happen and things can change overnight, with the market the way it is I am sure lots of people are finding themselves in a similar situation to yours. I sold a pny many years ago at Melton and the people kept in touch for years to let me know how she was getting on.
Unfortuately there are no guarantees what will happen to your horses future no matter how you sell them x
 
nativeponies said:
cherryb...royalpolo has always been a little melodramatic.

just take your mare to sale..with a reserve unless you want her gone.
best wishes
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Lol "Melodramatic" I would'nt go as far as saying that i just feel that i am a caring person who has high morals for her horses.

If the horse didn't have the lump i wouldn't have commented as i wouldn't of been concerned as i am sure it would of stood a higher chance of a better home but i imagine it would put most people off like someone else has said above ie maybe being buted etc.

I was only looking out for the horse.

The person i know who went to see it probably would have bought it if it wasn't for the lump from what they had said.
 
I agree i am worried about the lump putting people that know what they are on about off, as it has so far, but ill take the vet report (not that its very helpful) to show people if they ask. Yea its obvious to anyone with half a horsey brain cell but it is unlikely to cause problems. Only as likely as it is for her to injure herself in the field the first day they buy her and go lame!
 
LOL I bought a horse with the biggest lump on his leg at Melton and it put a lot of people off, I bought a very good horse at a very cheap price as was sure it wouldnt affect him, and a year later it hasnt.

If you can warrant her sound, so a buyer has a chance to get her home and checked, it will increase her price.

Best of luck. Not all horses from Melton end up at the meat man or in bad homes ;).
 
When you enter her at the sales office they ask you if she is warranted or unwarranted. Warranted horses go in first and always fetch more, but you dont get paid for a week, unwarranted horses you get paid out on the day of the sale.

It took me ages to work out why there was very few warranted horses, but it is down to payment, if you need the money on the day then you dont warrant your horse.
 
Horse in sales have a warrenty depending usually on price, so check the conditions of sale. Usually if its over £500 you have until Monday to inform the auctioneer and return it, so you have to book the vet for a Saturday. Some bigger sales have a vet present to do this, and if they fail the vet the vender can decide to put them thru the ring with no reserve. When they are sold without reserve the autioneer usually says this at least twice as a buyer can not send them back.
Melton used to be a really good auction, at the end on the hunting season some really nice horses went thru. I haven't been for a while but it wasn't as good last time I went, but a women selling a family pony got more it through the sale than she had advertised it locally with no response... Do not be worried about dealers if you put on a reserve, they want them dead cheap and most of them have too many horses at the moment. I know a dealer and people are giving him horses and he doesn't want them.
People are wary about why they are there and if you are about to answer questions all the better but do think hard about what price you are going to let her go for and realistic. The auctioner will want you at the back of him when she goes through the ring in case he needs to ask questions and if you want to lower the reserve.
People who buy horses from sales are not bad people and most have a lot more knowledge than the average buyer as you need to be knowledgable to asses a horse quickly. Its a great place to see alot of animals in one place and the seller gets it over and done with quickly. I have only ever bought one once who turned out to be lovely, a gentle giant, but the people that sold him disappered so I had no chance to find out his history which I thought was callas.
Any way good luck and I think its good you made a decision
 
yea it wasn't a pleasent experience, and i hated all the idiots going into her stall and poking at her. but i stayed with her all day ad gave her a massive hay net and she was ok. She didn't get the money i would have liked but went to a nice home as a broodmare to people that had been interested in her all day and i had had a good chat with them. s not all bad.
 
Well done. I think you did the right thing by her. People forget that even when you have sold a horse privately that the new owner may not be the best as sometimes they lie. I have had this happen to me.
 
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