As some of you may know, my hubby has decided to rehome his horse as he no longer has time to ride and wants to find a good home for him.
This adventure started in January and has been a rollercoaster since. I won’t go into the details here, that will be for another post, but I felt that sharing what we had figured out so far from our experience and from what we have seen other people do would be important… and help others avoid some mistakes.
What not to do
⊗ Ask your hubby to take pictures of the horse while you are holding it.
⊗ Ask your hubby to hold the horse while you are taking pictures.
⊗ Forget said pictures when selling – A block of text won’t sell a horse.
⊗ Send your horse out on trial with a friend, without investigating intermittent lameness issues first – This can create lots of issues and put your friendship in danger.
⊗ Lie or make exaggerated claims – Duh!
⊗ Forget to put your post as public on your page – If your Facebook post asks people to share, make sure the privacy settings are set to Public. The pesky “I can’t see what you shared” gets old fast.
⊗ Forget details like vaccination status, farrier, bad habits, or vices etc. – For example, if you are selling a trail horse, it might be important to say he trailers well (and he better do just that!). Or, if your horse cribs, you may want to warn your buyer.
⊗ Have only a verbal contract. Write this stuff out! – This goes without saying…
⊗ Not answer messages regarding your ad or be available for viewings – Nothing is more frustrating for a buyer than an unresponsive or rude seller.
⊗ Stop working your horse as usual – You want to make sure that your horse is in the proper condition to do the job your selling it for. Don’t stop doing your usual stuff for the horse just because you’ve decided to sell it.
⊗ Say how difficult this sale is for you – Potential buyers do not want to buy your drama or get into a situation where you might change your mind about selling it. If you can’t sell the horse without keeping it personal, ask a friend or your trainer to do it for you.
Additional resources
Here are some additional Canadian resources for when you are selling your horse.
- Laws for Buying and Selling Horses in Canada – Horse Canada
- Equestrian Canada’s Best Practices Guide for Buying and Selling a horse – Equestrian Canada
Good luck!