Retiring from horses and wanting to find good ways to sell 5 horses?

Question

I'm retireing from breeding horse due to a downward change in life's circumstances and ned to find free ways of finding new homes for 2 pg mares and a stallion, All Appaloosas and an older Arabain who is double registred arabain and pinto. None have been broke to ride. I had expected to keep until they passed away. My heart is breaking as contemplate my life without them. The mares would be easy to train tho so I'd be happy to sell them cheap to forever homes to some young horse -crazy family. I hope you guys here can help me find good forever homes for my babies

Oh, the registered arabian / pinto is a 15 yr old stallion who has thrown exceptionally loud and correct foals. The registered Appaloosa stallion is about 8 and 3/4 of his foals have been color with the majority being few-spots of snowcaps, He has the "arabian" build"

Answer 1

Also -- post them in the trade papers for each of the breeds, in your local newspaper, and (if you are having difficulty right now) -- ask the Local Animal Control if they know of any shelters for your horses -- or those who would be willing to provide them good homes while you are awaiting their sale -- it can be done, and ... has been done.

The problem here is something that you pointed out -- they have NOT been broken to ride -- therefore, a young family (who is capable of caring for the horses) may not necessarily have someone available to break them to ride -- and they DO need to be ridden ....

Answer 2

Been there done that...in 2003.
Do not sell your horsess cheap, expecting 'god homes' to buy them. They will not get forever homes. A dealer will most likely buy them. Its like trying to sell a fixer-upper home. It will attract bargain seekers wanting to profit.
When you have any horse that is unsound, or not broke to ride, or has any 'issues' selling it to the perfect home becomes less realistic. And the older a horse is, the worse it can make this. In my experience --perfect homes, want perfect horses.
To be more sure that they are well kept you need to free-lease or give them to someone that you know, with stipulations... Otherwise it is a crap-shoot on where they end up. If you sell anything it is no longer yours and you cannot put conditions on it and make it hold. I was in the horse industry for over 35 years and had to get out in 2003 due to allergies. Thankfully my old breeding stallion had already passed away (at age 30) or I would have been boardind him someplace until he died. I sent the remainder of my mares to a stable where I paid board, and had them marketed by the trainer there. It took me over a year to find good homes for them all... (at discounted prices) and I wasn't 100% happy with the outcome, even after all that. I currently have a friend that has 8 TB mares, all registered, all ages (most have produced race winners; some have race records) and wants out of the horse industry. She has been trying to place these mares now for over a year with no luck. Many are not broke to ride. The only people who show up to buy them (priced cheap) are Mexican-rodeo men and dealers. She wont sell them that way. She now thinks she may be keeping some of hers until they die... but this is becasue she is too invested in where they end up. If you TRULY just want out you will need to be realistic and have your horses evaluated for value, by someone with no attachments. As a trainer and breeder, so many times I saw horses that people THOUGHT had value, priced what they felt was undervalue...that I didnt want for free. If your mares are top champion (record, not just hearsay) producers - they will not be hard to place. But if they are just average, normal bred back yard breeder unbroke mares, the horse industry is so chock full of those. I have personally witnessed a HUGE decline on the horse industry over the past 15 years and it's sad. It isn't what it was in 1980, that's for sure. Too many people (girls included) now have no real interest in horses, like it used to seem to be. Maybe that is just my slanted view, but it is how it seems... Maybe the tide will turn, and maybe you will find perfect homes for your mares. I just hope that you have time and aren't unrealistic! Good luck. Try www.Dreamhorse.com Be careful!

Answer 3

All I can say is be very very careful of who you sell to. Unfortunatly, selling cheap means selling to anyone who's looking for a "cheap horse" if you know what I mean. My family has had some terrible experiences selling to people who seemed like they just really wanted a horse on a budget, twice my mother, and once my aunt had to reposess horses because the people who can't afford to buy higher priced horses, also often can't afford the upkeep or education it takes to be a responsible horse owner.
My suggestion is to call local 4-H clubs, the local arabian and appaloosa registry clubs, and any vets/trainers/instructors/and stable owners in your area and let them know what you've got. Hopefully they'll be able to get you in touch with people who are actively looking for horses like yours (the added bonus is that they will all be referenced from credible sources).
Good luck!

Answer 4

There are some great horse rescues out there. I would LOVE your arab pinto cross(my dream horse)!!!! But unfortanatly I live in the middle of nowhere in Canada, so shipping would be an arm and a leg. Maybe put adds up and have the new owners promise not to give them away. Whatever you do don't auction them off!! I hope they find good homes and you feel better soon!!!

Answer 5

A lot of country magazines and newspapers will have sections where you can advertise horses for free or for a small fee. Look into any local or indeed national newspapers or mags that offer this. Also consider visitng your local stables and asking if you can put up an ad on a noticeboard.

Just an edit to point out that you need to make sure you know exactly where these horses are going. Someone said something about not auctioning, and it reminded me that the horsemeat trade is not something you'd want them to get taken into. It's not something you'd want your worst enemy who you want dead to get taken into, for that matter.

Answer 6

I agree with some of the other people here and that is when you let your treasured horses go inexpensively they usually end up on homes where people can't afford to keep them. Especially now that it's Christmas time they may end up in homes where they are eventually sold, traded or auctioned to people who don't have any personal bond to them at all.

Maybe there is a way you can put them in someone else's care and offer them up for lease as breeding stock or for a young person to ride and show one day.

I've gone back trying to find out what happened to some of our show stock sold locally and it breaks my heart to find out their lives did not always end well.

There are some great people I've met online who I think do a great job offering help to people who can't keep their horses. You can find them at: http://www.crossedsabers.com -- Even if they can't help you directly they might be able to give you some direction and/or ideas.

I'm sorry you have to deal with this situation for whatever reason it is -- it's always difficult.

HOpe this helps

Answer 7

Yahoo! has horse forums. The one in my region is called Carolina Horses. Horse people from the general area buy, sell, and discuss horses, tack, training, etc. Look for the horse forum in your area.

You can also post a listing on craigslist.

These are both free.

Answer 8

Post them on Equine.com and Horsetopia.com. When people search, they can put in price, age, breed, and locality, and people are looking for everything from their next backyard horse to their next Olympic prospect there. Good Luck!!

Answer 9

I had to sell two of my fav horses last year. They went pretty fast on DreamHorse.com. Horsetopia.com is another good one.

Answer 10

Go online there are a lot of free websites you can put them up on.