Streamlining Horse Sales: A Comprehensive Guide to Preparation, Vetting, and Efficiency

The process of selling horses involves more than just listing them for sale and transferring money. It requires a significant investment of time and effort for a sale program to accurately represent and then prepare horses for potential buyers, manage communications, and coordinate trials within and around an already busy training barn environment. This process can become overwhelming and ultimately defeating for sellers without clear guidelines and efficient practices. This post offers practical advice on managing the sale process as a potential buyer, saving time, and understanding the vetting procedures buyers typically expect. I am writing this post on the tail of several frustrating sales experiences in the hopes of bringing to light the tremendous amount of effort and consequently the cost of valuable, irreplaceable time that ultimately preventable "failed sales" can cost an agent.

Preparing to Welcome Potential Buyers onto our Farm

Preparing a horse for sale starts long before the buyer arrives. It involves several key steps that ensure the horse is presented well and the trial ride runs smoothly.

• Health and Grooming, Facility Preparation

Horses should be in good health and well-groomed. This includes regular farrier visits, vaccinations, and dental care. A clean, shiny coat and trimmed mane and tail create a positive first impression. White wraps, white saddle pads, a clean barn aisle, arena drug. All of these things take more time than we care to describe. Anyone that has ever tried to keep a white saddle pad white, knows the pain.

• Training and Behavior

We try to make the horse as comfortable with basic handling and riding as practical, depending on its level. Buyers often want to see the horse not only perform under saddle but also on the ground, so we schedule ample time around the actual ride for people to spend time with the horses. We do our absolute best to highlight each sale horse's best attributes and also in the ad, at minimum allude to any negative traits they have. Any quirks, misbehaviors or necessary history is communicated to the potential buyer before they sit on the horse in question.

• Organizing Sale Materials

Photos - we organize a riding photo shoot of each horse. In which the arena should be groomed and relatively quiet. The horse should also be pristinely groomed and in white wraps and a white saddle pad.

Videos - Same expectations as the photo shoot for the arena, grooming and presentation of the horses. We try to highlight what the horse is good at and at minimum show all three gaits.

Phone calls - READ THE AD. So many people message or call us asking for information that is posted bluntly and concisely on the ad. Anything past that we are happy to talk to people about, ie: personality, what the horse would do in a certain situation, how they trailer, etc.

As a team, we create a detailed information section on our website for each horse including the horse’s history, training level, notable health information, and show or competition results. Clear photos and videos can supplement this information and reduce unnecessary questions.

Additionally, we prepare a detailed information packet for each horse that ships from our program which has all health, farrier, behavioral, dietary, turnout and management information on it.

• Scheduling Visits

We generally to try accomodate people's travel needs as they are working around flight schedules, work schedules, trainer's schedules etc. If we can, we coordinate trial times that fit within the our barn’s daily routine, but buyers' schedules are always priority. I give all my riders Sundays off. If at all possible, I try to avoid scheduling on Sundays so they can enjoy a day of down time. I appreciate when potential buyers confirm appointments in advance. We are always happy to help with travel suggestions - places to eat, stay, etc.

Managing Communication Efficiently

Read. The. Ad.

Let me say it louder for those in the back.

If the ad says "FEI power house with a bright future for a brave and capable rider" it does not mean that your timid 66 year old Adult Amateur student should come try it on the wrong posting diagonal. We try to advertise the horses in a clear, yet inviting fashion that gives a non opaque idea of what they bring to the table and what kind of rider they need and ultimately deserve.

Recently I had someone request 6 years of medical records on a horse I advertised. I provided them with those records, 7 business days before their scheduled trial appointment. They showed up to their appointment and tried the horse that they had recieved records on. They had a wonderful, albeit very long, ride on the horse. They came back and tried her again a second day. So that's two days of work disrupted, days stopped, free lessons taught on the sale horse with an intermediate rider. That evening, they contacted me and said they loved the horse and it was absolutely perfect and gave the rider confidence, however they were going to pass due to the medical history.

Due to the medical history. The medical history, which they had access to for a week before coming for not one, but TWO days to stop our work flow, and try the horse. I actually point blank asked them why they bothered trying the horse when they knew they were going to pass on it due to its medical history. The trainer told me "to give the rider a positive horse trying experience." Read: free lessons on a well-trained horse that was accurately represented that they had no intention of buying.

Transparency is key. For both parties. If the horse needs maintenance, we will tell you. If the horse has behavioral problems, we will tell you. If the horse prefers you to walk three circles and hold your left hand above your head before mounting, we will tell you. No one likes surprises, and in the end, the horse is the one that has to pay for a lack of transparency. I have lost more sales due to being upfront about what a horse needs than I care to count.

Likewise, if someone is not ready to immediately purchase a horse, I expect that to be communicated before we spend two business days with someone. Whether the circumstances are they need to sell their horse, they're waiting on a business deal to close, or they want to try several horses at different facilities before making a decision. We had someone try three of our most expensive horses, three days in a row this year and then tell me that they didn't have a stall open at their barn, but that they really enjoyed sitting on such well-trained and well-represented horses.

I'll just leave that there.

Appropriate communication with potential buyers before coming to try the horse can help prevent consumption of the sale program’s time. To keep this manageable:

• We Use Standardized Responses

We create templates for common inquiries about price, age, training, and health. This saves time and ensures consistent information. A lot of the time, we just copy and paste the link to the horse's sale page which has all pertinent information easily accessible.

• We Pre-Qualify Buyers

We ask key questions before scheduling a visit, such as the buyer’s experience level, intended use for the horse, and budget. This helps focus on serious prospects for each buyer. It also can help us keep potential buyers safe. Ie: we don't over horse them when they come for a trial ride.

• We Set Clear Expectations

We inform buyers about the trial process, what they should bring, and what they should expect. This reduces confusion and last-minute changes. Item to always bring: YOUR TRAINER. Truly - we have so many people that come to try horses without their trainers. Your trainer is the person who knows your skill set the most and can help guide you and again, ultimately keep you safe when you're trying horses.

Guidelines for the Trial Process

The trial is the critical moment when buyers evaluate the horse in person. Managing this efficiently protects the sale program’s time and resources, and also the buyers safety.

• We Try to Limit Trial Duration

We set a reasonable time limit for each trial. When we have multiple sets of people coming to try different horses, it keeps us from overwhelming the barn and our staff.

• We Provide Supervision

We always have an experienced trainer present during the trial to answer questions and ensure safety. And ultimately, we are there to protect the horse if needed. We have pulled people off of sale horses for forceful riding in the past.

• We Prepare the Horse in Advance

We try to set each trial up for as much success as feasible. For example, if we know we have a timid rider with a mounting block fear coming to try a horse, our trainers will focus in on making sure that horse does not move a milimeter at the mounting block in preparation for that visit. If someone tells me that their rider is loose in the tack and has messy hands, I will have one of our trainers to a "flop test" on the horse to check their tolerance for less educated riders. Again no one, including the horses, like surprises.

• We Gather Feedback Promptly

After the trial, we ask buyers for immediate feedback to understand their interest. It is not a pressurized conversation, but rather an information seeking mission. At the end of the day, we need to know how to schedule the horse's work for the upcoming time frame. Also, people that are paying us to represent their horse, almost always want to know how the trial went and how serious we think the buyer is.

A Clear Guide to the Vetting Process

Vetting is a crucial step for buyers to confirm the horse’s health and suitability. Understanding what to expect helps the sale program prepare and avoid unnecessary delays.

• Typical Vetting Steps

The vet will perform a physical exam, check the horse’s soundness, and may request X-rays or other diagnostics. We suggest a veterinarian who is not our barn vet, and who does not know the horse. There are some vets in the area who might be super good at high performance veterinary work but are not good at prepurchases. I will point blank tell a potential buyer that they are welcome to use the vet of their choosing but if it's one of the vets who refuse to "pass" serviceably sound, useful prospects, that they should save their money on the pre purchase exam.

• What Is Acceptable

This is a big one. Everyone has their own opinion on this matter. I have had so many people tell me about their one bad experience with a certain medical issue so it's an absolute deal breaker. Horses are absolutely individuals. I always put more value in the clinical and physical exam rather than imaging.

However, if we have knowledge of any medical issue, clear communication about this information beforehand builds trust and again will ultimately save us time. Vettings can take hours and hours of our valuable time, and this can be avoided by providing known information or avoiding vets who notoriously fail sound horses.

• What May Be a Deal Breaker

Active lameness, serious respiratory problems, or behavioral issues that pose safety risks often lead to a failed vetting.

Tips to Save Time and Avoid Wasted Effort

The sale program’s time is valuable. Use these tips to keep the process efficient:

• Limit the Number of Horses Selected for Trial

If you know it's not a good fit, but you want your student to "sit on something that passages," please do not. Select horses that could quite viably be prospects and please don't suggest your rider sits on everything we have.

• Use Video Calls/ Short Videos for Additional Questions

Short video chats can replace some in-person visits, especially for distant buyers. I would actually prefer this over someone acting surprised about a horses idiosynchrocies. However, if you're going to request additional videos, or a video chat, please have intentions of trying the horse. Again, these extra things take up so much additional time.

• Keep Detailed Records

Take notes, or voice notes about the horses you try. This will help you remember details about each one.

• Follow Clear Policies

We work to define trial rules, deposit requirements, and program policies upfront to avoid misunderstandings. Please respect these. And be respectful in general.

Final Thoughts on Efficient Horse Sales

In summary, we are happy to welcome potential buyers onto our farm and into our homebase, we just ask for a bit of understanding in regards to what all goes into showing someone a horse for sale. And also the risk we take every time we invite an unknown person to come ride our horses.

I've tossed around the idea of charging people to try horses in order to avoid people wasting our time and consequently putting unnecessary miles on the horses. In theory, maybe charge a lesson fee for the first trial ride. And if they wind up purchasing the horse, credit that lesson fee back reflected in the purchase price.

I think this would really leave a bad taste in my mouth, personally, if someone presented this to me. But the flip side of that is, if I was traveling to someone else's barn to try horses, I would be doing it with all intentions of purchasing a horse. Which is the exact opposite reason I would consider a policy like this.

At the end of the day, we want nothing more than to create happy horses with happy owners, and horse and human safety and positive experience is our priority.