First time selling a horse - how much should my trainer get?

[riverinthewoods]

So the time has come for me to sell one of my horses and while I was hoping to hold off and wait until fall it’s likely I will start reaching out to people’s ISOs, making an ad, and starting to market now.

As a first time seller (this was my first horse) I am aware of what she is worth and how to market her based on discussions with my trainers. But when it comes to my trainer getting a cut of the money - I’m not too sure how that will go… I’m hoping for some insight here before discussing that part with them.

I know they have sold horses for clients before and received commission but that was with the client not doing a thing. In my case, I would be posting the ads and marketing the horse through social media, sending pics and videos, etc. The trainer(s) would probably tell others by word of mouth, if anything at all, as we don’t currently have anyone at our barn who would be interested.

That being said - my horse has been in professional training (training board) with them for the last few months and will be until she is sold. If someone were to come see/try her, they would be riding her and it would be scheduled based on that.

I’m thinking I would have to pay for them to ‘show’ her to someone unless that’s included somehow. But how should I go about once she is sold? Would I give them a percentage of the selling price?

Hopefully this makes sense. Thank in advance!

*Adding in that she is competing at lower levels eventing and has the potential for upper levels…aka posting in the eventing thread

[SonnysMom]

You need to start by asking your trainer how much they expect to be paid. CoTH is probably a good start for what is “normal”. However seems to vary. I see 10%-15% range for when the trainer does everything.
The bottom line is to get it in writing with your trainer now so there are no surprises when the horse sells. You need to figure out if you think that is fair before they start to do any work and before you sign on the dotted line.

[LadyB]

My coach requests 10%

[gottagrey]

and make it clear you are only paying 1 commission to your trainer and to your trainer, the buyer can pay their trainer a commission based on their agreement. Bottom line the amount you pay in commission is whatever you and your trainer agree upon.

[asterix]

If you are mostly managing the marketing side and trainer is showing horse to potential clients, I’d agree that 10% sounds about right.

[galloping-gourmet]

In my experience 10% is standard…and reasonable, since you are also paying full training board…

[GotSpots]

I’d put together a firm contract that sets out what your trainer is responsible for in marketing, showing the horse, arranging vetting, etc., and that lays out the commission. I’ve seen 15% sales commissions when the trainer does all the marketing, videos, ads, etc. For 10%, I’d still want to know what the trainer is actually doing to earn that fee. If all they are doing is sitting back and letting you do all the heavy lifting, might consider what they’re actually earning…

[GraceLikeRain]

[QUOTE=GotSpots;8684899]
I’d put together a firm contract that sets out what your trainer is responsible for in marketing, showing the horse, arranging vetting, etc., and that lays out the commission. I’ve seen 15% sales commissions when the trainer does all the marketing, videos, ads, etc. For 10%, I’d still want to know what the trainer is actually doing to earn that fee. If all they are doing is sitting back and letting you do all the heavy lifting, might consider what they’re actually earning…[/QUOTE]

Ditto. If they are expecting X% they should be able to clearly outline what they provide in return.

[Snugglerug]

“my horse has been in professional training (training board) with them for the last few months and will be until she is sold.”

I think you need to make sure that it is more profitable for the trainer to sell the horse than it is to keep it in full training, especially if the trainer is the one showing the horse to prospective clients. Every month the horse doesn’t sell is a month he’s costing you money–and making them money. They need motivation.

[Jleegriffith]

Honestly, just because they aren’t doing the marketing doesn’t mean they aren’t working hard for the commission. Showing horses to clients is really NOT that much fun (coming from someone who sells upward of 30 horses a year) and it is a lot of work. You have to constantly rearrange your schedule to meet with people. It takes way more time to show horses to clients that if you were just doing training rides. There is more prep that goes into it in terms of making sure the horse is prepped for buyers. It also has the ability to undo training very quickly so you have extra work. I have seen 10-15% being standard on top of training board.

[riverinthewoods]

Thanks everyone for your input.

Jleegriffith - I wasn’t by any means implying that by marketing the horse myself that they aren’t working hard for their commission - I would just prefer to handle this myself per say. But I am taking their guidance on what to say in the ad.

After speaking with them about it, we did decide on 10% and that as part of the ‘training board’ agreement - showing the horse to clients is included.

[IronwoodFarm]

I take a 10% commission or $500, whichever is greater. I have a standard consignment contract that spells out everything. I don’t recommend consigning without one.

I would not take a horse where the owner handled the marketing. All too often the information provided and photos are not great. I also need fresh videos. The last thing I want is a seller who sticks my name on an ad so I get calls about an ad I didn’t write. I also don’t want a 3rd party scheduling my time when I can show the horse. It really complicates matters unnecessarily. If I had a seller who wanted to do more than word of mouth marketing, I would walk. I just deal with everything from marketing, to showing the horse, to the PPE, and to the final accounting/transfer of registration.

If the OP wants to be involved because she wants to know where the horse ends up, then be assured that the agent has to have the seller’s consent. I always contact the Seller in advance with information about the offer and the prospective buyer. The Seller must agree to the sale and I have walked from offers based on the Seller’s decision.

[riverinthewoods]

[QUOTE=IronwoodFarm;8686900]
I take a 10% commission or $500, whichever is greater. I have a standard consignment contract that spells out everything. I don’t recommend consigning without one.

I would not take a horse where the owner handled the marketing. All too often the information provided and photos are not great. I also need fresh videos. The last thing I want is a seller who sticks my name on an ad so I get calls about an ad I didn’t write. I also don’t want a 3rd party scheduling my time when I can show the horse. It really complicates matters unnecessarily. If I had a seller who wanted to do more than word of mouth marketing, I would walk. I just deal with everything from marketing, to showing the horse, to the PPE, and to the final accounting/transfer of registration.

If the OP wants to be involved because she wants to know where the horse ends up, then be assured that the agent has to have the seller’s consent. I always contact the Seller in advance with information about the offer and the prospective buyer. The Seller must agree to the sale and I have walked from offers based on the Seller’s decision.[/QUOTE]

We aren’t necessarily a huge buying and selling barn per say and based on how they’ve marketed in the past I would feel comfortable doing it a bit more myself with their guidance. Photos, videos, and wording will come directly from them but I will likely post the ad via social media and classifieds.

[stoicfish]

[QUOTE=galloping-gourmet;8684814]
In my experience 10% is standard…and reasonable, since you are also paying full training board…[/QUOTE]

I don’t really understand this.
Unless the trainer is doing the work to sell the horse how is 10% standard?
If someone does their own marketing and video, and pays the trainer for their time to show off the horse, then why do you owe them anything from the sale. If they use their contacts and show the horse off and spend the time arranging the sale, then 10% may not be enough as it depends on the price of the horse.

I know of some seriously shady deals on horse sales and have to wonder why people got the money they did. On a 100k horse, if all you did was make a call and show the horse off twice, then that is 10k… :eek:

So to be fair, why not consider the time and value of the trainers connections. Put it in a contract as to how much it is worth for everything. Connections are worth something if the connections pan out.
Good luck with your horse.