Conference noted::equitation

    I recently sold a nice older mare to a very good home for a fair
    price; here are some ideas. First you must establish what sort of
    an owner whould best suit the animals temperment and skills. The
    price should always be negotiable but you can set a range by listing
    a price slightly higher than what you want and then say or best
    offer. Advertise in as many ways as you can: post a picture and
    discription at all the local tack shops, take the horse to shows
    with a for sale sign on it, put an ad in the paper, contact local
    horse and pony clubs. I watched prospective buyers ride the horse
    to see how they treated it. If a rider grabs the reins and jumps
    on ready to run instead of collecting the reins and settling gently
    on to the horses back and warming the horse up before asking for
    more I wouldn't sell them the horse for any amount of money.
    In reverse never show a buyer a dirty horse. The horse should look
    like it is ready for the show ring even if you are selling it as
    a backyard pet. Trimmed feet, bridle path and pulled mane if
    appropriate will help get a good price. Also provide a good place
    to put the horse through its paces, nothing is more frustrating
    than driving to see a jumper and the owner not having jumps to try
     it on. Likewise if selling a harness horse you should be ready
    to demonstrate him under harness. If you have a really nice horse
    and no place to show him sometimes it is worth it to move him to
    a boarding stable for the time that you are selling him. If registered
    have copys of the papers with you, that way a prospective buyer
    can ask friends about the bloodlines by having a copy to take with
    them.
    Sandy
    

    
    Is it easier to sell a COLT .... or a GELDING?
    
    		What are the pro's and con's of gelding a sale horse?
    
    

    As far as gelding or not gelding...one needs to decide, in my opinion,
    whether or not the horse is good enough to be a stallion.  Some are
    and some aren't.  It also depends on the party you are selling to...
    geldings are much better for first time horse owners, children, etc.
    There are so many factors to consider now...trained horses usually sell
    for more, etc.
    Good luck...
    

    
    	RE to geld...  I agree with Kathi (or was that Bob?) anyway.
    	Good stallions will make great geldings, and there are (in
    	my opinion) VERY FEW colts who are true candidates to consider
    	for being left entire....  there are far too many stallions
    	in the US - all breeds are guilty - there is a tremendous
    	market for geldings across an extremely broad base.
    
    	just my .02 cents 

	 Another factor  to  consider  is  that if the future owner must
     board  the  horse,  not  all  barns  will  accept  a stallion.  For
     example,  only  geldings  and mares are allowed at the barn I board
     at.   They  have  brood  mares,  foals,  boarders horses as well as
     geldings  and  neither  want  or  need  the added responsibility of
     managing the stallion in their day-to-day work.

	In that resect, a gelding would be more marketable.

	 My personal  opinion  is  that  unless a colt is an outstanding
     example of his breed, he should be gelded.  As adults, geldings are
     generally more tractable than stallions. 

    
    I am going to geld my colt after fly season...thank you everyone
    for the information, I just wanted to make sure there wasn't any
    reason why I shouldn't go ahead and geld him as planned because
    we intend to sell him!
    
    	I still want to know what do you tell perspective buyers who
    come to look at horses about each sale horse? Do you highlight 
    their good points? Do you relate subjective feelings you have about
    the horse ...or do you keep to the facts? Do you speculate or talk
    about the horses potential uses? Do you wait for the buyer to bring
    up the topic of price?
    
    			Thanks, Nancy
     

    You would always want to highlight to animals best features. As
    to expressing your feelings as to the potential a horse has, you
    would want to play it by ear. I always make a point to ask the
    buyer what they want the animal for, and then decide what points
    to focus on. You can never go wrong being factual and honest, but
    every horse has good points and bad points. Someone looking at 
    young horses is going to be more interested in potential and manners
    whereas in older horses more training is expected.
    Sandy
    

    
    Margaret Gardiner of Maine wrote a *very* funny book on this 
    subject called "Losing Less Money Raising Horses". I think
    she has Morgans...
    

	I put a note in the FOR SALE topic about getting rid of my horse.
I bought the horse about 4 months ago and was mismatched. How do you go
about selling a horse and are there places I can go to trade him in for
something else ?

	-Steve-

    If you are not to the point of actually being afraid of the horse, why
    not get an instructor to help you, and let the horse train you?  Some
    of the best riders got that way by persevering with difficult horses.
    You have to know what's right to do, and what's wrong and not to do, so
    you will need an instructors help once in awhile, but if the horse
    knows his stuff he'll teach you.

The way you phrased your sentence made me laugh out loud...
Whatever you do, when you place an ad for your horse, don't
say you want to 'get rid of it!'
:^)
I'm still laughing... 

Ok, I read your ad for the horse you're trying to sell.  Since you
have had a trainer ride the horse, you might ask him for advise
on selling it (ie who you should target the sale toward). Be
aware his assistance may introduce a commission.

If the horse 'is too much for you' you might want a trainer's
evaluation as far as whether he would be 'too much' for the
average beginner, intermediate, or advanced rider.  Most ads
will read 'needs experienced rider' when a horse can be
difficult.   Did you video tape the 2 hour session when 
the trainer rode him and he behaved 'perfectly?'  This
is a useful sale tool, especially when you yourself can't
present the horse at his best.   

Have you advertised elsewhere?  If you're in NE, I would
recommend advertising in the Yankee Pedlar and/or the
Equine journal.   

Also, spread the word to your horse friends... mention it
to your blacksmith, your vet.  Hang up an ad at your
grain store, and tack shop.   Good luck.

Melinda

    If your in N.E., the Want Advertiser also can help you
    sell your horse.  They do charge a fee if you sell your
    horse through them, tho'.....
    
    

    The Want advertiser is available at many convienience stores,
    BTW.  You could put in an ad to run for 3 weeks for a really
    small fee that describes your horse, etc.....
    
    For sale or trade:  Registered QH gelding, blah, blah, blah.
    needs more experienced rider.  Will consider trade for a horse
    more suitable to my riding needs.   Asking $1500.00 
    
    ALWAYS ask for more than you paid.  That way, you have some
    bargaining room....
    
    L-

	The manager at my stables has called around to various places that train
and sell QH for western riding. We are either going up this weekend to New 
Hampshire or the next. She said they will take my horse in trade for somewhat 
less than what I paid. She also keeps telling me, "Steve, you get what you pay
for". The horses that we are going to look at are between $3000 and $5000. Thats
alittle tough to take but maybe that is what it takes ?! This time I'm going to
take alot longer look at the horse before I buy. I'll post a reply after I check
this place out.

    Sounds like your stable manager is taking you to a place where they
    sell show horses.  There are places that will sell your horse and take
    out a commission for their part.  There is an auction at Heritage
    Farms in EastHampton that will auction your horse for a consignment. 
    The sons ride real well and can really show off a horse....you might
    not get all your money back but you wont be trapped into getting a
    horse from a place that took your horse in trade. 
    
    	Heritage Farms:  413-527-1612
    
    I know of a couple of paints and QH's looking for good homes (owner
    went belly up).
    
    Michele
    

    I agree w/ Michelle about the price sounding more like show horses than
    trail/pleasure horses. There's a little sale magazine out here in WA
    that is distributed through feed stores. Almost all the horses in it
    are being sold by their owners and priced at $2,000 and below. Mostly
    less than $2K like $1,000 to $1,500. 
    
    While it's true that you frequently get what you pay for, times are hard 
    now especially in New England and the horse business. There are lots of 
    decent horses being sold for prices well below their real value. One 
    example from that sale magazine is a Warmblood broodmare & her foal that 
    was offered for an asking price of $3,500. The owner claimed that they 
    had paid $80,000 for her and that her first foal had sold for $30,000. 
    She wasn't very old either 8-10 years if I remember correctly. Nearly any 
    healthy broodmare and foal combination is worth that kind of money even 
    if the owner were exaggerating her history.
    
    One thing I think you ought to ask the person who is helping you look
    for a horse is whether or not they are getting a commission from the
    seller. When that first became a practice some years, lots of
    trainers/managers wouldn't take their clients to see horses at farms
    that didn't pay commission. If you're paying them to help you find a
    horse, then getting a second commission from the seller is in my
    opinion a conflict of interest and unethical. 
    
    Keep looking and keep asking questions. Not just here but ask probing
    questions of the people you're dealing with and if you don't like the
    answers walk away from the deal. There are plenty of horses available
    and one of them will suit you.
    
    Good luck
    John

    You get what you pay for? (said in a sarcastic tone) 
    
    I'm sorry, but $1200 can buy quite the nice horse.  My second
    horse was "free", and is one talented gelding.  You just have
    to know what you want, and be able to recognize it when you
    see it.  $3000-$5000 will not guarantee you a dream horse.  
    A woman where I boarded paid that for a fully trained Reg
    QH.  She ended up with a concussion when he spooked. If someone
    is helping you find what you want, that's fine.  But, I'd set
    a fee for services rather than commission.  Say, $150 fee to
    be paid upon acceptance that the horse purchased is right for
    you.  If it's a QH you want, I can call my trainer & sister in
    TX and get you *exactly* what you want!!!! (-:
    
    Also, see if you can get a 30 day trial on any horse you are really
    interested in.  That way, you don't have to worry if the horse &
    you don't work out....
    
    
    
    
    

	Actually, I don't care what kind of horse it is. I just want a horse
that I can go trail riding with thats not going to need to be held back all the
time. I also don't want a horse that won't run either. I want it to be good
looking at I do like a tall horse better, 16+. The horse that I would kill for
was in the movie Robin Hood. The one that Robin rode bare back that got shot in
the butt !

	-Steve-

    
    
    re.18
    
    3k-5k you can get an ok horse..
    
    people i know have their own place, their trainers in texas and
    they just bought a mare for 32k..
    
    they feel anything under 12k isnt worth showing :*)
    
    They sid that *after * i quit showing my mare and *after she was sold
    to someone else. ;*)
    
    
    		wendy o'
    

How does that expression go... 'One man's garbage is another man's treasure?'
I know I found a treasure 2 years ago when I bought my horse, but his
price made him sound like he was 'One man's garbage.'  I'd love it for
that person to know what my horse has been doing competitively for the
past 2 years.

Melinda

    I agree...if you really look and know what you want they are there and
    not for 3K.  I have given away horses that are perfectly sound and
    suited to the person...any horse that I put out can come home if
    the person feels the horse doesn't suit them.  They also usually go
    out on a trial period (with stabling approval) prior to final sale.
    
    My opinion only but I would rather find a home for a horse I no longer
    needed than put it through an auction...there are good and bad auctions
    I know.
    
    Good luck...