Posting your horse for sale on the internet is actually easy once you learn where to list an advertisement. Follow our steps to decide where to list and how to create an ad that’ll capture potential buyers’ attention.
Where to list.
The world’s largest horse marketplace is equine.com, which offers free advertising placement. Alternatively, you can select one of equine.com’s paid ad types, which place your listing directly in front of buyers. Along with equine.com in the horse marketplace are other general classified sites (such as horseclicks.com and equinenow.com), as well as discipline-specific ones (such as barrelhorseworld.com and reinersworld.com).
Creating your ad.
Once you’ve selected where you want to list your horse, you will follow the instructions provided by the site to place your ad. The more information you provide, the more likely you’ll be to receive messages from interested buyers. When describing your horse, think of all the information you’d ask if you were in the purchaser’s position—price, location, age, height, sex, color, markings, experience level, pedigree, etc. Make sure it’s an accurate representation of your horse—buyers don’t want to show up looking for a finished trail horse only to discover yours has only had a few rides in the round pen.
Photos and videos.
These will also help buyers determine whether your horse will fit their needs before making unnecessary inquiries. High quality photos that show your horse’s conformation will be more likely to catch a buyer’s attention than a blurry photo of you riding your horse in the field. Good action shots are great; just be sure, if they’re professional images, that you have permission to use them. Any video you include should be concise and move briskly, so you don’t turn viewers away by walking your horse in a circle for 10 minutes. Include the basic walk, trot, lope, and any other maneuvers your horse can perform. Make sure the video is clear and shot close enough for viewers to see your horse clearly.
[Click here to learn how to take a sale photo of your horse.]
Using social media.
Once you’ve created your ad, share it on social media, too. Joining specific horse groups will help your ad reach an audience sure to be be interested. (Note: Facebook has placed restrictions on selling animals, so it has become more difficult to post ads.)
Responding with care.
It’s important to know that while listing your horse online can reach a broad audience, you may also deal with “tire kickers” who ask questions with no intent to purchase. Also, if you post your horse on social media, be cautious of negative comments and do your best to respond in a professional way—you don’t want to discredit your ad.
