This is not an ad I have a really nice young hunter prospect. So far he’s been posted on some facebook groups. Any other avenues to get the word out? He’s in the 6 figure category. I’m just looking for advice.
Ask your trainer.
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In my experience, horses in that price range sell through word of mouth and connections rather than social media. If your selling it yourself, reach out to your network and see what folks are looking for. If you don’t have those connections, enlist a good trainer or reputable sales barn that regularly moves hunters on the A circuit.
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For that money horse needs to be presented with someone who is a credible seller, using good videos showing horse “can do the deal” for buyer. Such a person will also have lots of contacts to tell about how wonderful he is! Very unlikely to sell him on FB advertising alone, too high priced.
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Thirding/fourthing your trainer and word of mouth.
You can list places like ProEquest and those sort of sites as well.
However, horses in the six figure price range are rarely sold on FB, because the people shopping with those budges have a trusted professional.
Your other option would be to consign him and/or send him down the road with your trainer to the major shows. Lexington is a big buying/selling hot spot in the summer during the circuits there, as well as the summer circuits on the East Coast.
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What about BigEq.com?
But overall, I agree it’s very rare for a horse in that price range not to be repped by a trainer or to go through a sales barn.
Any other details about why the horse is being sold at that price but only advertised on Facebook?
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Agree with BigEq. Many 100k+ horses there that get sold. Trainer and connections will help get the horse sold first, most likely.
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Definitely get a sales agent if your trainer doesn’t have experience. At this price point…you’ll want someone who can execute a solid contract and be an intermediary during any test rides as well as the vetting process. You’re marketing to people with their own lawyers on speed dial.
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I will never advertise with BigEq again. I’ve listed many, ranging from $10k to $100k and never get more than one or two inquiries per horse.
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WEC Summer Series may change that - likely to be more traffic in Ocala than there would otherwise be without a USEF rated summer series. Starts this week and runs through the next couple of months - air conditioning for the win!
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Selling a “prospect” for 6 figures will require some professional input and connections.
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A professional agent or a well known trainer with a business reputation - and make certain you have a watertight contract with them with all costs and percentages clearly laid out so as to avoid any unpleasant surprises during and after the sales process.
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All the above. Find a trainer that sells horses like this (or buys and sells for clients in the price bracket, even if they don’t do “sales” necessarily). Or a reputable sales barn - plenty of people here know some good ones, if you can post a general area you’re willing to ship to.
Not many people with this kind of budget are going to look at horses from a private seller they don’t personally know. And not many trainers are taking their clients to look at them either - they’re going to source horses from their connections, as that offers a degree of confidence that the horse will be as advertised, as well as builds their network. Trainers and agents like to work with trainers and agents; it’s easier to play the game when everyone knows the rules and has the same expectations.
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Agreed. It better have changes or almost finished changes, and been doing at least the baby greens.
Even then… it’s a tough sell without the right agent and right positioning. Things have changed dramatically since the frenzy of last year and years prior. There’s still a lot of big figure money being exchanged, but I think it’s more likely from reputable agents and proven talent.
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Hmmm… yes and no.
There’s a lot of FL people that went up north to Traverse City or are at Tryon. Plus KY is also this week.
With Jr Hunter Finals/Gladstone Cup and Pony Finals, it’s a crapshoot where people will be going.
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But having said that, any of those places will have the type of market the OP is seeking so definitely a situation where a trainer is valuable.
OP—if you’re serious about getting your horse sold for that, get them with a trainer who can demand those kind of prices. I didn’t, with a supremely nice young horse last year, and paid the price dearly—literally. I kick myself to think what my current trainer or the right program could’ve brought for him.
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Also Aiken is sold out the next two weeks (a number of barns went from Upperville to there), so there are definitely a lot of options in June, but I still think it’s true that there will be more sales traffic in Ocala than there would have been without a USEF rated series. Entries are lighter than winter (especially light at the higher fence heights in the hunters), but even in this first week you still have 30+ entries in the WEC 2’6 and 3’ divisions mid-week, and my guess is it will pick up more between JHF and Kentucky.
And separately, I agree completely with your points that the market has softened compared to the covid-era feeding frenzy, and the six figure sales are going to involve a reputable agent.
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Agree with most everyone that a six figure prospect is going to require the involvement of a pro sales agent that regularly sells that type of horse. That’s not the kind of price Jane Amateur can typically get on her own, even if the horse is nice. Also this may indeed be a six figure prospect but it also may not be and an experienced pro will be able to say.
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Definitely worth getting him connected with a respected trainer as so many other posters have said. For people who can easily afford to snap up babies 100k and up to add to their lineup, I’ve found zero softening of market if the horse moves well and seems to have a good jump in there. 150k easy for a good horse exchanged between two known trainers that’s been around a baby green course or ticketed warmup with an OK lead change. 200k or 225k for a truly excellent prospect. The people who can afford these horses and buy them without any notice, all cash (while having several or many many more) are not getting any poorer, they never will.
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Agree, @Foitin . That market doesn’t soften, and those horses don’t even have to have done baby greens or ticketed to command those prices depending on who is sourcing them! Where I’ve seen the softening is in the market that used to be mid to high fives but became high fives to low sixes in the feeding frenzy of the last couple of years. Those seem to be becoming a little more negotiable and you see it leveling off a little bit, plus people imported so many to take advantage of the hot sales market that there was a lot more supply than you saw during covid times.
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