So you have decided to sell your horse and your horse is ready for buyers to view. Before you book your advert, you need to know how to write a horse for sale advert that will bring the right potential buyers flocking to see your horse.
Simplicity is the key to writing a classified advertisement to sell a horse, but don’t be tempted to leave out any essential information. By putting more information into the advert, you are more likely to sell the horse at the first attempt.
Apart from giving your horse’s vital statistics, (see list below) the advert should draw attention to anything that makes your horse sound special. A horse’s breeding can attract interest from buyers, so it’s worth mentioning a famous or successful sire or dam sire.
Photographs and video are key to helping a prospective buyer decide if your horse may be suitable and can cut down on time-wasters, but it is important that they show the horse at its best. NB: Professional photographs can only be used in adverts with the photographer’s permission due to copyright, even if you’ve purchased the picture for your personal use.
Most buyers have a budget and many are put off if a price is not given or if “substantial price required” or POA (price on application) are used. There is no point in people responding to your advert if they do not have the funds to match your asking price. Not giving a price will also exclude your advert from online searches for horses within a specific price range.
Adverts on facebook will sometime reference carrots when describing a horse’s price to try to avoid the platform’s rules prohibiting selling animals eg: 8 followed by three carrots will normally mean £8,000. Sellers will also say things like “low five figures” but that could mean anything between £10,000 and £25,000, so it’s not that helpful.
To decide on a price, check out other similar horses being advertised in your area on the internet. Bear in mind that these are asking prices and most buyers will try to haggle. Pricing horses too high is the most common reason for horses remaining unsold, so if you need a quick sale, don’t be greedy! If you are including tack and rugs in the sale, do mention that in the advert.
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Remember to include the area of the country that you are based and provide a phone number, as well as an email address, although if used online you may end up receiving scam emails.
Once you have written the advert, ask yourself: “would I go and see this horse?” If the answer is no, you may want to rethink the advert, although honesty is always the best policy to avoid issue further down the line.
When booking the advert online, check it carefully for spelling mistakes. If you are requesting an advert over the phone, ask the person to read the advert back to you to check they have got the spelling correct.
How to write a horse for sale advert: key things to include
The vital statistics which you should include in any advert include:
Height
Breed
Sex
Age
Price
Telephone numbers
Area in which you live
You could also consider including the following information:
Colour and markings eg: stunningly marked skewbald
Level of fitness and training eg: working at elementary level
Competition results/winnings eg: Won £300 BS
Name of trainer/rider if famous eg: competed/trained by . . .
Breeding if by famous stallion eg: by Clover Hill out of TB mare
Trial facilities eg: Good trial facilities/seen at livery
Reason for sale eg: sadly outgrown
Veterinary status eg: recent vets certificate
Vices eg: no vices/cribs at feed times
Opinion is split on whether or not you should include phrases such as “not novice ride” and “needs experienced handler”. My own view is that being more specific about why a horse is not a novice ride will help everyone, for example: “green horse needs further schooling therefore is not suitable for a novice rider”. Being clear about the type of owner/rider the horse will thrive under may cut down the number of responses, but ultimately should result in less time being wasted with unsuitable viewings and help the horse find their ideal home.
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Carol is an experienced journalist and editor, who is also a passionate amateur rider and dedicated horse owner, having ridden since childhood. She has a particular interest in the emotional well-being and ethical training of horses, alongside veterinary matters, having garnered extensive first-hand experience of numerous equine health conditions through more than 30 years of horse ownership.
