I have been working with a sale pony (large) that I have on the market. However, he hasn’t sold yet and now I am faced with an injury and a vacation. Unfortunately there is no one available to school him for me at the barn (no fault of his own, he’s an easy & fun ride). I’m contemplating a consignment barn because 1. the increased exposure. 2. Someone to ride him.
I’m looking for pros/cons of this and possibly some recommendations of some in the greater NYC area.
Very few do consignments anymore-that’s where expenses are taken out of sale profits. In today’s market, flipping short term, 60-90 days, is very, very unlikely and upkeep has skyrocketed to the point it exceeds any profit made on the sale if not the total sale price. In NY/NJ that would be especially true in show barns likely to have enough traffic to attract buyers. Haven’t seen any large scale “consignment barns” in a great many years.
You would need to pay upfront for board and trainer services (somebody needs to ride it), usually there is some sort of “sale board” to cover that but it’s more then straight board even if less then training.
Most active show barns handle sale Ponies. Just contact them. If he has a show record, they might be willing to evaluate him and maybe have a buyer in house or somebody interested in a lease. But you will need to pay at least board.
Might be better to look locally for smaller operations that run lesson programs, especially if he has no rated show record. These places have a client base looking for entry level type horses/Ponies to buy or lease and can often use them in their school program as short term leases for advanced students.
Before you shudder at the school horse tag? If you have to sell him it might be a good option for him and they might be more flexible finance wise.
