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Horses Advertising
Effectively Marketing Your Sale Horse
Effectively Marketing Your Sale Horse
By Donna Sabatine
Copyright © 2010
In today's market there is a lot to be considered when placing your horse for sale. Of course, we all want to get a good price for our sale horses and typically we want them to find the best home possible. Both of these concerns can be a real challenge when faced with the plethora of low priced or sometimes, free horses available today.
The challenge of course, is to make your horse more desirable than all of the other sale horses out there. How do we do that you ask? Well, by presenting the horse so that he stands out in the crowd, and presenting the seller as someone prepared, honest, and as someone who potential buyers feel comfortable doing business.
Text Based Classified Ads vs. Picture Ads
By far the cheapest way to advertise your horse is with a simple text ad on any number of free classified sites. These sites usually allow you a certain number of words to describe your horse and are pretty user friendly. You supply things like age, sex, breed, training and sometimes pedigree and it formats an ad to be published on the site. The problem with text only ads is that they are dependent on what you write as a description for your horse. The potential buyer has to get a picture in their mind based on how you describe your animal. Write a description to spark interest in your horse by being descriptive, honest about quality..
One other thing to be careful of with text based ads is spelling and grammar. Yes, I know… really? Keep in mind that you are trying to generate credibility with a buyer, and misspelling words like "conformation" for example, is going to get you the wrong kind of attention. Abbreviations that are sometime seen like "¼ horse" are extremely distracting and lead to much guessing, "what is the other ¾ ?" Also, while it is generally ok to abbreviate breed associations like AQHA but if there is any doubt, spell it out as some acronyms could mean several different things. Again, be sure the association name is spelled out properly and without spelling errors. Google is your friend and is full of useful information on correct spellings for words.
Picture ads are also offered several places in print format as well as on the web. These ads allow you to add a picture, or a series of pictures for a small price. These can be used to highlight your horses training, disposition, good looks and attractiveness to a buyer. Pictures should include a clean horse that is well groomed and conditioned, with appropriate tack for their discipline and not show a horse grazing in a field, unless of course you are selling a pasture ornament. Tack included in the picture should be clean and fit the horse well, the rider should be dressed appropriately and while this doesn't mean they should be in show attire, it definitely would not hurt if you are marketing a show horse.
How the rider or handler is dressed is very important as well. Simple things like riders in shorts, flip flops and tank tops, while fun to wear on trail rides and swim in the lake, are not the best impression to make on would be buyers, Helmets are a personal choice, but if a junior rider is featured in the photograph then it is generally a better idea to include a helmet as again, impressions are made with this moment in time. I doubt you will find anyone to say they were ever turned off by a rider wearing a helmet on a horse, but you will definitely find those buyers that relate it to seller responsibility and make an impression based on it.
The background in pictures also gives buyers an impression of the type of environment where the horse is kept. Clutter and trash in the background of a picture is distracting and takes the focus of the picture off of the horse. Keep in mind that the buyer is making an impression of the horse and facilities from a picture and forming an opinion based on that picture. First impressions being what they are, your facilities and maintenance habits are reflected by the giant manure pile in the background, or the clutter of garbage left over from stable cleanup day the weekend before. Things like this we don't think of as owners because we are familiar with it, but to a potential buyer it's a forecast of the type of care the horse has received over the last few years with the now seller.
A background with a fence line works well generally in riding pictures, but be careful of the errant fence post giving your horse a "5th leg" appearance, or a fence line that needs repair. A tree line, open field or even in a paddock so long as the background is not cluttered and distracting, will go a long ways towards making your horse the star of the photo and draw interested buyers.
Video Footage
Today it is easier than ever to get good video footage of horses for sale. Small, hand held video cameras, digital cameras, even some cell phones take passable video footage that can be transferred onto a computer and edited. The same rules for photographs holds true for video and a clean horse, well fitting, clean tack and a nicely dressed rider are important.
Peruse any video on any of the popular video sites on the web and you will see dark, distorted, wobbly videos sometimes with voices in the background or a video maker that walks with the camera for better positions. Please edit these out in your sale video. It is preferable to use a tripod for your camera or a very steady hand to get steady video footage. Edit it ruthlessly so that your horse is presented at his very best.
More and more people are asking to see not only riding or showing video, but ground manners, views of legs and feet and a clear shot of the horse walking and trotting to and from the camera. These are not required of course, but are a nice touch that shows you have nothing to hide with your horse and are proud of how well he's been handled and the care he's been given. A descriptive title, appropriate music and ending on the video is always a nice tough and gives your video that air of professionalism that again, speaks of your credibility as a seller.
If you are advertising on a site that does not allow video uploads, be sure to include in your text description that video is available! A quick upload ahead of time to an online video hosting site such as YouTube will allow you to include the video footage in your ad, but be prepared to have it in DVD format so it can be mailed to those that cannot view these sites due to slow internet service or older computers.
The Horse Itself
The star of the show, so to speak, should be freshly bathed with their manes and tails groomed and clean. Decisions like braiding for a hunter, banding for a stock breed or leaving a long, full mane loose is entirely based on what discipline or niche you are marketing your horse. Feet should be neatly done and while it's not important to have them shod, it will present a more finished image if they are at least even and not due a trim. Clipping is another decision like braiding, that really depends on the individual horse. It is not always necessary to do a show clip, but if you are marketing a show horse it gives a more polished appearance.
Condition of the horse itself is important as well. Make sure they are fit and conditioned, with a shiny coat and good weight. Presenting a horse with a rough coat and that is underweight is not going to win you any admirers in the buyer market. It might earn interest, but probably not the kind of interest you want to attract. Also, it is always a better idea to take sale pictures during the months when the horse looks their best with a shorter coat. As the circumstances do not always lend themselves to spring or summer photos, and during the winter months it is not always feasible to do a body clip, the horses coat should at least be shiny and well groomed.
Honest Evaluations of Your Sale Horse
Let's talk for a moment about pricing your horse for sale. In today's economy it is truly a buyer's market with horses being sold far below their original purchase price due to job loss, family struggles and the need to downsize entire herds sometimes. Good, solid show horses and trail horses still have a fairly good market, but it is important that you don't price yourself out of this market by over inflating your horses true worth. Searching the internet for horses of like disciplines, training level, and breeding will help you determine a fair and honest price for your horse. A good equine appraiser will also help determine a fair market value for your horse if you are willing to pay to have this done. This will also help buyers locate insurance if desired for a new purchase.
The exception would be young horses of known, successful parentage with a strong potential for achieving the same or higher level of winning than their parents did. Knowledgeable buyers that are seeking out prospects will be the market niche for these young horses and the demand for these is good. The trick is getting them in front of the right people. Again, determining the correct market niche for your well bred youngster is important. Advertising a stock breed reining prospect in front of the hunter crowd is probably not going to get you the exposure and the interest that you want.
Family horses and young, untrained horses typically fall into a lesser category. That‘s not saying that the family horse or the untrained, older horse doesn‘t have any value, in fact they are worth their weight in gold to a buyer that is looking for a babysitter horse, or a reliable trail mount! Let's be honest though, they just won‘t have as much value to a buyer who wants to show as a show horse that is trained, fitted and conditioned for show with sometimes many months of professional training. Research again to determine what these types of horses are selling for in your area and price your horse accordingly. Again, it is important to get them in front of the right people and your ad headline and text should be geared towards getting the attention of the moms and dads out there that want a safe, reliable horse for their children or grandchildren.
Whatever your market niche is for your horse, the same principles apply as outlined above. Good pictures, good video, a healthy, well groomed horse and a good impression of the owner will do nothing but help in a very competitive sales market today.
Communication with Potential Buyers
So you've worked hard on your ad, you have your horse priced within market, he's clean, groomed well and healthy, you have good pictures which represent him well without background clutter. You have a good rider on him, or a good handler that can present him in photos and video in a manner that shows what makes your horse more desirable than any others out there. You check your phone or email box and you have your first inquires, now what?
Communication alone probably loses more sales for people before they even have a chance to discuss the horse, faster than any other item on the above list. Be prompt to respond by email or with a return call, keep in mind that especially in written text you are reflecting yourself and your credibility so avoid things like "script talk" where "itz not kewl 2 tlk same as u wud 4 ur bff". You are attempting to trade your horse to this buyer in return for several thousand dollars of their hard earned money, so be sure to present yourself in the best possible light as well. Be mindful of spelling and grammar, be to the point and brief without being short or appearing annoyed with their inquiry. Ask if there are any questions they have about the horse that you can help them with and if they would like to see further pictures, then have those pictures ready to go!
A buyer that has to wait days or weeks for more information, a return email or call, more pictures or video is the buyer that is still out there looking. They very well may come across another seller, also with a great horse, that has all these things ready to go and by the time you get back to them, the sale may have gone to someone better prepared.
Expectations of Advertising
As a seller, you are out there in competition with a myriad of other sellers that also have done their homework and have their horse prepared as well as a game plan for a good sale. Choosing your advertising site so that you get your horse out in front of the people that have an interest in what your horse has to offer is important. As is advertising on several different sites to get as much exposure as possible. You only have a few seconds to catch someone's attention as they flip through the various classified ads. Making sure your pictures are good, the ad text is well written and without spelling errors and that you have all the tools available to buyers that are looking at your horse for sale will help make your ad stand out among the thousands out there competing against yours for attention.
Today's market being what it is, even well prepared sellers are having problems at times moving a well trained and otherwise desirable horse. Don't get discouraged if it takes some time to sell your horse. Being open to offers and suggestions, such as a lease with a proper contract, can help get your horse in the right position for a sale. Many sellers will do terms or payments on a sale horse but these, like leases, should be well thought out and with a good, solid sales contract in place.
Believing in your horse and their abilities, and ultimately in their worth so long as they are priced within what their specific market niche can carry, will do nothing but help you in the sales process. Be firm in your beliefs, honest in your communication with potential buyers, flexible in your price to a point and with the correct tools at hand selling your horse will be a much easier process.
About the Author
Donna Sabatine is a freelance writer for PerfectSteed.com Wher you can find horses for sale, stallions at stud, and horse trailers for sale.
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