I took a trip down to the Billings Livestock Horse Sale yesterday and there were so many people there, I couldn’t find a place to stand out of the way, let alone sit down in the cafe to drink a cup of coffee or even think about finding a seat near the sale ring. This got me to thinking about the challenges facing the horse market right now and the difficulties of fetching a decent price at the sale yard.
Anyone will tell you it is a buyer’s market right now…that goes for real estate, expensive toys, and you guessed it, horses too. Since the equine slaughter came to an end in this country, overpopulation and dwindling sale prices have become an even bigger problem. Bottom line, there are a lot of horses out there for sale and only a limited number of buyers. How can you make your horse stand out?
As I proved yesterday, showing up really isn’t enough. It is very possible that the seats may be primarily filled with “lookie-lou’s” and your potential buyer can’t even get near the ring. The other very real possibility is that those couple of minutes you spend with your horse in the ring is not nearly enough to showcase his or her real qualities. This could be a benefit if you’re trying to unload a bronc and you can hold them together just long enough for that last bid…but we are going to assume for the purpose of this piece that you are an honest individual with a nice horse to sell.
The good news is that in this technological age, there are many tools at your disposal to help you promote your horse, the key is knowing what they are and how to take advantage of them.
1.) Horse Classifieds: There are dozens if not hundreds of horse classified websites on the internet, and many of them are free to post to. However, if you simply type out a few sentences about your horse and his amazing characteristics/looks/bloodlines, you are missing the boat. Remember, you are competing with thousands of other horses, so the key is to maximize your exposure. Upload several photos and video if its offered, even if you have to pay to do so. If you can’t upload video directly to the site, post a video or two to youtube and link to the url in your ad. If your horse is entered in a sale, the idea here is to generate interest prior to the ring and get some folks interested in advance. If your horse is trained in or bred for a specific discipline, look for sites that cater to this, and by all means, post his profile to more than one. A couple we like: gotcowhorse.com, dreamhorse.com and barrelhorseworld.com. Also, don’t be afraid to utilize your local craigslist.
2.) Video: In many cases, the sale you are entering your horse into will require a video of your horse for sifting purposes. Many times they will also offer to post a video on their website or run one during the sale. If offered, please, please take advantage! I know some folks aren’t incredibly technologically savvy when it comes to these types of things, but there are many people out there who are happy to help for a moderate fee. Send in a quality video on a dvd that showcases your horse’s ability and is well-edited. You don’t want a bunch of boring, wasted air-time that does nothing to show off your horse. Five minutes is usually plenty long.
3.) Photos: The sale catalog is going to require a photo of your horse and so will all those classified sites you are posting to. In many cases, you can post several on those sites. The main goal is to capture your horse in a good light. For the sale catalog, you can choose between sending an action photo or a still-type photo. Your horse can be saddled or not. The key is to capture him in his best light. If you have a cutting horse that’s being sold as a cutting horse and you happen to have a fantastic picture of him, use it. If your horse’s best characteristic is that he’s a real looker, shine him up really well and take a standing photo of him. If you take the picture yourself, stand more toward his tail than his head. This way you can really capture the musculature of his rear end. Use your digital camera and take a a lot of pictures from different angles. You should be able to find something you like if you take enough!
4.) Social Networking: I have been seeing a lot of people start to use social networking more and more to market horses, especially facebook. I have over 600 facebook friends, chances are if I have a horse to sell, one of them may be looking for what I have or know someone who is. You can also ask your friends to re-post your information to reach even more people. A great way to do it is to link to that horse classified profile you already created…
5.) Condition: You have gone to all this work to market your horse prior to the sale, don’t let everything fall apart on the day of the sale!! Nothing can dampen an excited buyer’s spirit faster than seeing the horse they have fallen in love with through video and pictures looking shaggy and unkempt on sale-day. Get him in shape, ride him, and feed him! If it’s cold, keep him blanketed and under lights in the barn. Keep his coat as shiny as possible, his figure nice and fit, and get him tuned up for the preview.
Shoot me a message if there is anything I can help you with and good luck on sale day!