Selling A Horse: Part One The Sale Ad

Selling A Horse: Part One

The Sale Ad

In my years of horses, I’ve come across numerous sale advertisements for horses. Some of them great, some of them average, and some of them made me wonder if the horse was ever going to sell due to lack of information, or even correct spelling. We’ve seen some of the more famous sale ads such as the “Devil Pony” that was a media sensation for quite sometime. Recently I saw an advertisement for a “child’s-size pony, which hates children”, these border on hysterical at times. In all seriousness, by paying attention to a few key items you can help put your sale ad on the next level.

1. Important information- this includes age, sex, training level, breed, etc.
2. Get to the point- adding a lot of fluff and anecdotes really distract serious buyers.
3. Check your spelling-I cannot stress this enough, if you have glaring spelling and grammar errors, they can deter buyers from contacting you.
4.    Emphasize the good traits of the horse- For example, if you have a horse that might not be a great loper, market him as a walk/jog horse.  Or perhaps he might require an advanced rider, be honest about these needs of the horse; however, I would not recommend pointing out all of the negatives to start the ad.  Use the great attributes to catch the attention of potential buyers.
5.    Be honest-If the horse needs special care, or has a certain vice that can cause potential concerns to the new owners. No horse is perfect, no matter how much we believe they are. They are as individual as we humans are; all of us have our quirks.
6. Awards/qualifications/positive traits-Market these! If your horse is an excellent kids horse, or excels in 4H programs market these aspects of the horse. Likewise, if the horse has won any awards, or reached certain training qualifications, again, market those! Buyers can be really drawn to these aspects in a sale ad.
7. Registered vs. Grade- For some, a grade horse is perfect for their needs. For others, they will only ever entertain the idea of buying a horse that comes with registration papers. If your horse is registered, this can increase your market base. Buyers sometimes will have a certain breeding in mind that they would like to purchase which can increase the opportunity of your horse being purchased if you market the breeding as well.

Selling horses is not for everybody, and some of us may never have to make the decision to sell our beloved horse. The circumstances might be that we have a horse that we just don’t get along with, which is a fair decision to sell the horse to a home that’s more suitable. Regardless, if you are faced with writing a sale ad, make sure you read plenty of other ads to help yourself to create a better advertisement. Be sure to check in next week when I cover the basics of taking photos and videos for sale purposes.

-Emily Bomgardner