How to write a horse for sale advert that will sell your horse to the right home

So you have decided to sell your horse and your horse is ready for buyers to view. You can advertise your horse for sale with Horse & Hound for free with a standard advert that goes online for six weeks, as well as being published in the magazine, but before you book your horse for sale advert, you need to know how to write a horse for sale advert that will bring buyers flocking to see your horse.

Simplicity is the key to writing a classified advertisement to sell a horse both online or in a magazine, but don’t be tempted to leave out any essential information. By putting more information into the advert, you are more likely to sell the horse at the first attempt.

Apart from giving your horse’s vital statistics, (see list below) the advert should draw attention to anything that makes your horse sound special. A horse’s breeding can attract interest from buyers, so it’s worth mentioning a famous or successful sire or dam sire.

Photographs and video are key to helping a prospective buyer decide if your horse may be suitable and can cut down on time-wasters, but it is important that they show the horse at its best. NB: Professional photographs can only be used in adverts with the photographer’s permission due to copyright, even if you’ve purchased the picture for your personal use.

Most buyers have a budget and many are put off if a price is not given or if “substantial price required” or PAO (price on application) are used. There is no point in people responding to your advert if they do not have the funds to match your asking price. Not giving a price will also exclude your advert from online searches for horses within a specific price range.

To decide on a price, check out other similar horses being advertised in your area on the internet. Bear in mind that these are asking prices and most buyers will try to haggle. Pricing horses too high is the most common reason for horses remaining unsold, so if you need a quick sale, don’t be greedy! If you are including tack and rugs in the sale, do mention that in the advert.

Remember to include the area of the country that you are based and provide a phone number, as well as an email address, although if used online you may end up receiving scam emails.

Once you have written the advert, ask yourself: “would I go and see this horse?” If the answer is no, you need to rethink the advert.

When booking the advert online, check it carefully for spelling mistakes. If you are requesting an advert over the phone, ask the person to read the advert back to you to check they have got the spelling correct.

If you wish to upgrade from a standard advert, Horse & Hound also offers a premium option for £30. The added benefits of a premium advert package are:

• Advert online for 8 weeks (rather than 6 weeks on the standard package)
• Double sized magazine advert (compared to the standard package) in the next available issue of Horse & Hound magazine (250 text characters & 1 picture for print advert)
• Appear above standard adverts at the top of the page in the online horses for sale listings
• Ability to boost your advert to the top of premium listings once per day for the duration of your advert being live
• Premium badge and background
• Unlimited text, photos and videos for online advert

How to write a horse for sale advert: key things to include

The vital statistics which you should include in any advert include:

• Height
• Breed
• Sex
• Age
• Price
• Telephone numbers
• Area in which you live

You could also consider including the following information:

• Colour and markings eg: stunningly marked skewbald
• Temperament eg: not marish/excellent temperament
• Scope/disciplines eg: competing discovery/Foxhunter
• Level of fitness and training eg: working at elementary level
• Competition results/winnings eg: Won £300 BS
• Name of trainer/rider if famous eg: competed/trained by . . .
• Breeding if by famous stallion eg: by Clover Hill out of TB mare
• Trial facilities eg: Good trial facilities/seen at livery
• Reason for sale eg: sadly outgrown
• Veterinary status eg: recent vets certificate
• Vices eg: no vices/cribs at feed times

Now you have your advert ready you can book your horse for sale advert online with Horse & Hound, or email our classified team on horsesforsale@futurenet.com.