Selling A Horse

People sell horses for many good reasons:

• Financial reasons
• Horse is no longer suitable for the rider’s interest
• Horse doesn’t have the skills to take the rider to the next higher level in an event
• Rider is no longer available to ride the horse
• Horse is too “hot” for the current rider
• Horse has vices or behavior issues with which the current rider can no longer safely deal

The key to successfully selling a horse (financially & ethically) is to be accurate in your assessment of the horse, identify the best type of rider or event, advertise to that market, and price you horse to sell into that market.

Two points of discussion that will help you be objective and positive about your horse’s assessment and your decision to sell the horse:

• Just because you have difficulty with some aspects of the horse does not mean that you are a failure. Or that you need to keep the horse and continue to work on the problem. For recreational riders, owning a horse should be enjoyable. . . for the rider and for the horse. Sometimes there simply isn’t a match between the rider and the horse. It can be best for the horse - and safer and less stress for the rider - to sell the horse to someone else. . . who would enjoy that horse’s personality type, level of dominance, or other aspect.


• Just because you have difficulty with some aspect of the horse does not mean that another rider with a different range of experiences and skill level will have the same problem. An analysis of what the horse is good at and what the horse enjoys can re-direct your sales effort.

We can guide you in your analysis, help you write advertising, and suggest appropriate locations to market your particular horse. This process can take between 2 – 4 hours. Contact us to make arrangements.