selling a horse on consignment

[Starhouse]

I am heartbroken, but I need to sell my horse

A trainer friend of mine offered to sell her on consignment for me. She is sending me a contract to review. I know and trust her and I think it’s great she wants to have a contract; that makes me feel like she’s got both our best interests in mind from the start.

The plan is for her to take her as of June 1, train and compete her this summer, and sell her in September. She will get a higher commission in lieu of training/board fees.

Can anyone give me a few tips on what to look out for in the contract?

From threads on that topic that I’ve read here, I know to look for the “what if’s”, i.e. what if the horse gets hurt in her care, what if she doesn’t pass a vet check, what if the trainer decides to keep her, etc. Also I know I should be the one signing the sales paperwork and receiving the cheque for the sale, and then cutting her her portion out of that. Any other things that should definitely be clarified?

This sucks…

[531]

If you’d like to PM me your email address I would be happy to send you my contracts to review/compare.

I use my training contract as my sales contract. Horses who come to me to be sold go into full training. Owners pay for training and board. Just as with training horses, they pay for shows and trailering to shows. They pay for shoes and vet care, routine and non-routine (shots and wound care).

I have CCC insurance but strongly encourage all my clients to insure their horses.

I pay for advertising on two paid advertising websites, and I let the owners choose - most choose dreamhorse and equine, but some have chosen others such as warmbloods.com or sport horse nation. I do video and photos (we have HD equipment and provide high quality footage). I post on my webpage and FB as appropriate. I communicate with all buyers, email, facebook PM, and phone calls. I arrange and am present for all meetings with potential buyers and all vettings. I communicate all potential buyers who come to try the horse. I help the seller market the horse at a price that I believe is realistic and will sell the horse, but they have final say on the asking price. I present my sellers with all offers and they have final approval of all sales prices. I collect a 10% sales commission.

I hope this helps, good luck in your sale.

[IronwoodFarm]

The problem with the OP’s arrangement is that it does not address what happens if the trainer can’t sell said horse. Maybe the horse is injured, can’t pass a vetting, or can only be sold for a much lower price – how is the trainer going to be paid if the only method of compensation is a higher commission? How will she be compensated for the training/board fees if there is no sale? Can the OP just remove said horse and owe nothing? Also, what time limit does this arrangement have? If said horse doesn’t sell for 6 months, that is going to eat into the trainer’s profit. How long is the trainer obligated to train/show for just commission. I would go through all the less than ideal outcomes and be sure I addressed them in my contract.

[Stacie]

Sounds like she is going to get a horse to compete over the summer for free and then try to sell it at the worst possible time of year.
The time to sell is NOW.

[fordtraktor]

OR it sounds like OP is getting someone to carry her horses costs if it doesn’t sell quickly. Few trainers will even take horses on consignment any more, though it used to be common. which means if it doesn’t sell quickly, the poor owners can spend more than the horse is worth in board and training fees trying to get it sold. Consignment is often a better deal for the owner than the seller.

I have sold a few horses on consignment and it worked out fine. One thing to look for is that if the horse doesn’t sell, you get it back no money owed. Not that you have to pay board and training fees if it fails to sell. the risk should be on the trainer; if she can’t sell it, she eats the $$.

Another thing that worked well for me was to have a price I wanted and to tell the trainer they could keep whatever they got on top. Everyone was happy with this arrangement.

Consignment motivates a quick sale; none of my horses took more than a month to sell.

[yellowbritches]

Consignment can be great. Your horse is with a (hopefully) respected name that will market your horse well. You won’t have to bother with fielding emails and phone calls, getting ads up, and dealing with the inconveniences that comes with selling a horse (just do a search of all the threads started on how rude potential buyers can be!). I sometimes think consigning a horse is good, too, when it is an emotional sale.

A few things, though…

I highly recommend spending a little cash and getting x-rays BEFORE you start having people look at her (especially if you’ve never done them or it has been a long time). There is absolutely nothing worse, both as the seller and the agent, to get surprised by a bad PPE on what you thought was a sound horse. Avoid the surprises and get them done first, so you know what to expect, how to market and price her, and so you know that if someone passes her up because of a “bad” PPE (And they aren’t willing to share why), you’ll have something to fall back on. It can also be a nice marketing tool to say your horse has recent, CLEAN x-rays (assuming they are clean!). If I ever got back into selling horses (Either my own or as an agent), they would all go on the market with a fresh set of x-rays.

Unless the horse is absolutely not ready to market (seriously out of shape), I would ask your friend to begin marketing her as of June 1 (or, maybe, if she needs a little tune up or conditioning, July 1). There is no reason to wait, and it is harder to sell in the fall.

Make sure the contract spells out EXACTLY what you will be responsible for. She may be covering training and board, but are you going to get hit with a nickle and dime bill every month she has her for mane pulling, whisker trimming, and the like? Are you responsible for show fees? What about paid advertisements? What if the agent wants to buy rights to pro photographs for advertising? Make sure it is VERY clear what you are responsible for and what the trainer expects to cover.

Make sure you are clear on what happens if the horse goes lame or the trainer decides she can’t sell it. Will you be responsible to pay for the time the horse is with her?

If there is a chance the trainer will want to keep the horse, I personally think she needs to pay you what you are expecting to get. I don’t know if that should be covered in a contract, but I do think that’s fair. She shouldn’t get her commission off the sale price if SHE buys it…because she essentially got a trial on the horse.

Good luck and sorry you have to sell. It can be the pits.

[asterix]

Listen to yb.

[Starhouse]

Thanks so much for the tips. I hope to get the contract today to review it and I will make sure all of these points are addressed. This is sad and stressful for me but I feel that if the contract is comprehensive and covers me well, it will be a positive experience.