Reviews W farms Chino Hills, CA out of a seller perspective?

[Cali_Horse_Girl]

Hi,

I am looking around for a sales barn in Southern California for my dressage gelding and while many different trainers and barns have popped up in my searches W farms has stood out and seems to have many happy buyers. However I can’t seem to see that many reviews from sellers? Any reviews or comments from actual sellers with W farms or if you know someone who used them would be highly appreciated before I make my final decision!

[Airfern]

I never sold a horse through W farms, I was just a potential buyer. As a buyer I can tell you the staff was helpful, communication was easy, the videos looked great and the horses shown to their best potential. From what I can see the cost to the seller was quite high for the service. For a lower end horse it may not be cost effective as most of the cost of the horse would go to the commission and the boarding. An upper end horse would get a better price because the horse is usually sold at a higher price and that would probably get you the price you are looking for after the commission fees. I have been horse shopping for 2 years in southern California ( it takes a while to find the right one) From the hundreds of ads I have browsed through I did not see W farms all that much. Maybe I was out of their target market, but if your selling a horse I would go to a sales barn that advertises on many websites to get your horse sold quickly, which will save you money in board. Sarah Lockman seems to market many dressage horses for clients and is very visible for potential buyers. She is near Chino Hills. I never sold a horse or bought a horse from her but I have communicated with Sarah and she responds quickly to inquiries and that is a plus.
If you know someone who can take a decent video you may want to sell your horse yourself. Facebook has many sites selling dressage horses, and some boards are only for horses in California, some west coast only and some are us horses only. Best of luck selling!

[Cali_Horse_Girl]

Thank you for your input Airfern! I think I have the same impression as you, beautiful facility and good training and honest representation to customer however expensive and limited marketing to their own website and facebook site. I have seen Sarah Lockman as well but was under the impression that it is her assistant training all sales horses who is not as experienced as Sarah? I want to make sure my gelding gets quality training by a Grand Prix level rider while in the sales program as we all know it usually takes time to sell a horse. But their prices seem great, and they do market very effectively on a multitude of sites! I’d love to hear from someone who’s actually used either program to sell a horse and what their opinion is, whether it is worth the cost of training/board together with commission or if there’s other trainers equally skilled and not a full on sales barn that could be a better option…

[Sandra30]

Would love to hear reviews from a sellers perspective as well as I am considering w farms for my mare!

[MADressage]

I have known the staff and owners of W Farms for almost 20years. I have also purchased many horses from them for clients and can say that they are extremely honest and each horse was a perfect match for each client. They are professional and courteous in every way. If they don’t have the right horse for you at the time you are looking they go above and beyond to try to find your perfect match. I would highly recommend purchasing and/or sending them your horse to sell.
I am an FEI Certified trainer, USDF gold medalist, and an FEI competitor.

[cinthia]

I sent a horse there to be sold, and it was a waste of time and money. This was 5-6 years ago. A lovely but rather lazy 6 yr old gelding with a very good show record at Training and 1st level. They upped his grain and limited turnout to make him more energetic, then he began bucking his riders off, a new behavior. At this point they recommended selling him as a hunter jumper and were having a jumper rider nearby ride him. They never did “finish” his video to put on their website. I think, like most training situations, it is very important to keep checking on your horse and his progress, no matter where you take him.