I see hundreds of Fb posts for horses plus there are numerous websites and online magazines with For Sale ads.
What is working on not? How much more efficient is it to find what you are looking for? Is there a more efficient way?
15 years ago several major sales websites dominated the market. They were fun to window shop because they were centralized. . Since then sales have moved to the very fractured FB groups despite FB banning animal ads.
If I was looking to buy in my breed of interest I would start by researching breeders and putting up ISO on the breed FB groups.
1 Like
Facebook is great as far as networking, and video is much easier than in the āolden daysā but because horse sales are technically not allowed itās led to some really annoying trends, most notably not having any idea if the horse advertised is even in the same ballpark as the buyerās budget.
It was annoying enough when people started just saying ālow 5sā instead of ā$25,000, may be negotiable to excellent show homeā ā¦ but apparently Facebook has begun flagging/banning that as well so many times nowadays there isnāt even a hint as to whether the horse is 20k or 80k.
The wider networking and the fact that more people are willing to buy a horse sight unseen off a video and PPE has also driven horse prices up like crazy ā¦ good if youāre a seller, I suppose, but not good if youāre a buyer. Itās insane that a nice-but-not-spectacular 2ā6ā hunter now costs as much as a luxury SUV.
4 Likes
To add onto this - sellers know this too, and thereās more than one unscrupulous seller who will take advantage of it. When sellers were a bit more dependent on their network to buy/sell horses, they had to maintain their reputation. Knowingly selling a lemon to someone meant that everyone in town would know about your shady tactics and they likely wouldnāt buy from you again. Now, even if someone gets burned on a FB sale, the seller doesnāt necessarily lose any more potential clients - they just head off to the next FB group that lets them join.
Obviously thatās only a percentage of sellers, and I like to believe that most people have at least an ounce of integrity to their name, but know that there is less and less incentive for sellers to be straightforward with you, so just be sure you do your homework.
3 Likes
i still find my horses the old fashioned way. word of mouth.
i browse a lot on FB, though. just havenāt ever pursued anything that way. I did find a horse in 2013 when I reached out about one on BigEq.com that turned out to be out of my budget. The seller had others and one of them was my perfect match.
Iāve had people try to āshowā me horses that Iāve already seen on the internet. I wonder how all those commissions get worked out.
1 Like
Ask your farrier, vet, and other equine workers. They usually know whatās around thatās for sale.
Instagram and TikTok are now being used for sales ads.
I hate that thereās no prices on Facebook anymore. Some people are getting around it by putting the price in the front of the YouTube videos they link.
Iām honestly quite surprised to find that not naming the actual price was not the standard all along, but instead giving vague ranges like āmid-low fivesā āupper fours/low fivesā etc.
This is the first time that Iāve actually been in a place to even think about window shopping so I just assumed that was the normal this whole time.
Low priced horses are often given a Specific amount, higher priced ones vaguer. Lets everyone bargain up or down or factor in commissions with no embarrassing public record of the asking price.
Despite the fact that prices arenāt posted on FB, I do think itās great that there are so many different niche pages dedicated to marketing specific types of horses. If you want lesson ponies, ranch horses, foxhunters, chestnut Arabian mares, thereās a Facebook page out there where you can find or market your horse. So thatās good.
Whatās bad? As a buyer, it annoys me when a video is not posted or linked in the ad. If youāre savvy enough to post your pictures on fb with your smartphone, for goodness sake post at least a short video. Walk trot canter and if it jumps, just a few jumps. Donāt make me āPM for videoā. If you have video, please put it in the ad or at least in the comments. It will save both of us time and trouble!
And speaking of video, I do not need to see your horse walking for ten minutes and trotting for ten more. Just a couple laps is fine really.
If youāre selling the pony as kid safe, please put a kid on it! A real kid, not a pro pony jock! Whatever youāre advertising that the horse can do (perfect lead changes! jumps a 10 every time! tons of show experience!) a little clip or link to its record/USEF number/Jockey Club name etc shows me that youāre transparent and honest about the horseās background. Some people do all of this and it makes buying so much more pleasant and simple.
11 Likes
Iām in Arizona and Iāve been looking for a young Paint horse with the quality to do the bigger APHA shows. I had a good amount of money to spend, but my trainer told me thereās a lack of fancy prospects in our state. She said I should join several APHA and AQHA facebook groups and start looking there. Since Iām not really on facebook, it was nerve wracking. I was overwhelmed by the endless listings of vaguely worded ads attached to a single photo. Then thereād be a pile of repetitive pleas for, āprice, location and videoā on any horse that was appealing. Ugh. I just could not get the knack for facebook messaging.
Admittedly, Iām sort of Old School. Iām used to horse shopping on sites like Dreamhorse, where the horseās location, price, height, pedigree and a link to a video is all in one placeā¦
And guess what? I ended up finding exactly what I was looking forā¦ on Dreamhorse! Granted, the horse was in Colorado, which required all kinds of long-distance finagling, but it worked out fine. Ironically, the horse was also advertised on a couple of those facebook groups, but due to my woeful lack of social media skills I never saw him there. 
8 Likes
Itās such a pain. I was looking for a new jumper a few months back. I guess I still kind of am, since I didnāt end up with anything LOL.
Iād contact about three horses, all of them looked the same on paper; 6-8 years, jumping little stuff but has room for a lot more, no showing experience yet, still a little green, easygoing calm personality, warmbloods or WBx only. All east coast.
One was 8k, one was 20k, and another was 60k. There was, realistically, absolutely zero difference between these horses. I actually thought the 20k one was the nicest and had the most potential, and would have gone to see it if I hadnāt had expenses dropped on me. When the one person told me 60k on their horse I almost sent a laughing emoji, I thought they were kidding.
They were not.
And the problem with this is, is that as a buyer who had a decent budget but not a billionaire budget, I then had to politely tell a lot of people āno thanksā immediately after they tell me the price. Which always made me feel A) horrible and B) like a tire kicker.
3 Likes
I bought my first horse on dream horse. I remember scrolling through page after page of horses, dreaming of which one would be mine.
Itās kind of sad that the site isnāt heavily used anymore. It was so easy to find everything
4 Likes
Everything thatās annoying about FB ads: I have started seeing ads with photos showing a messy tack room. Or just a pile of tack lying on the floor. Ad says āeverything is for sale. too much to list. Message me for details.ā
How lazy can you get?
Horse ads with zero details, ditto. When prices level off I hope people stop putting up with this carpā¦
9 Likes
I hate this. Do I have to guess whatās in the pile? Will you tell me in the private message?
5 Likes
Oh my gosh, I am 100% with you. I was horse shopping at the beginning of this year. I canāt tell you how many times I saw an ad, messaged a seller, and was told that no video was available yet. One horse hadnāt even been priced yet! WTF people, it doesnāt take an MBA to know these marketing principles.
3 Likes
Iām not even looking for a horse, and one bad thing Iāve learned on Facebook is how many people are selling Thoroughbred horses who cannot spell nor can even be bothered how to spellcheck Thoroughbread.
The other annoying thing about Facebook ads is how someone will post something like: āLooking for horse for a beginner student, petite, timid, adult rider. 14-16h, nothing green, geldings only, no TBs, some maintenance fine.ā
Which touches off a firestone of debate, āI have a great mare! Why does no one want mares?ā āA short person can ride a big horse just fine, why will no one look at my big guy!ā āWhat about a 13h pony that takes up a lot of leg?ā āI have a Thooorghbreed but he doesnāt look like a TB, heās not crazy at all.ā
5 Likes
I just bought my mom a new horse about 10 days ago. I posted an ISO ad on two Facebook groups on a Sunday evening and within an hour, I had about 8 horses sent to me that I felt were worth seeing. I saw the horse we ended up buying for her very first thing Monday morning; we retried him on Wednesday and vetted/bought him on Thursday. I also managed to find a new horse for myself during that shopping trip completely unexpectedly. My budget was healthy but by no means huge and my expectations were reasonable so it made for a very quick/easy process. I can honestly say it was the easiest horse buying experience of my life!
4 Likes
How does that even work. I see people post āmajor womenās clothing purge, size Xā and then post a stock photo of a well organized closet. How can I even BEGIN TO GUESS what youāre selling?
On the flip side, I was selling a bunch of tack. I made a list with NUMBERS and every detail (color, size, brand, condition, measurements, weight to estimate shipping). Then I took photos of every item from all sides with a PROMINENT NUMBER IN THE PHOTO THAT MATCHED THE NUMBER IN THE AD. Photos uploaded in numeric order. HUGE NUMBER in every photo. Like a huge number 7 in the photo of item number 7 on the list. People could not figure it out. They just couldnāt. It was too much info for their brains to hold at one time. Epic fail. Iād rather burn the stuff or throw it in the trash than have to explain again to people on FB that item #7 on the list is the 7th item in the photo album with a big #7 in each and every photo of the item.
14 Likes
Right?! Or pictures of dirty tack & equipment for sale! Like you wanna sell these boots/blankets/pads etc, then clean them or at least remove the dirt prior to photographing, ugh!
2 Likes
I found my Fjord on Dreamhorse in July of 2020. I didnāt really know where else to look not having been in the market for decades! He was also very much as advertised and the seller was down to earth, responsive and honest which I was not expecting given the hoops Ive heard people jump through.
3 Likes
