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 Expert
Posts: 1898
   
| I was asked to write an ad for a person who is having trouble finding a buyer for their horse. They thought if someone else wrote it they might get better response. Any way, I am asking for input on what catches your eye in an add. What do you want to know, what do you not want to know. I know the basics; height, weight, age, pedigree, temperament etc. This horse is a prospect and has not been hauled a lot so he has little competitive history.
I know this subject has graced this forum at least a hundred times. I tried to search but I wasn't sure what key words to use so all my searches came up with multiple pages of irrelevant stuff. So now I am going to ask for a little help from the buyers point of view. I know what I want to see but other prospective are always good!
edited because I am a terrible speller!
Edited by cyount2009 2015-06-09 12:54 PM
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 Expert
Posts: 2161
Location: NW. Florida | If it's already patterned I like 3 or 4 videos of different runs, clear enough I can tell what kind of bit is being used, or the markings in their face. I also like seeing a video of the horse doing dry work. Where you're located, price and all the things you've already mentioned. |
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Veteran
Posts: 276
| Good pictures and videos are a must. I personally like to have a short video on the ad itself, but then other, more detailed, and longer videos as links like to youtube. I think most people lose interest in a 7 minute video that shows every little detail; at first they want to just see highlights. Stick to the facts on the horse, omit any wording that leads to what the horse might be someday or who should be buying him/her. I also personally don't like when ads are fluffed with stats on breeding. As long as the pedigree is in the ad, either buyers already know how well bred the horse is, or they can research it. When I see a lot of fluff about breeding it leads me to think that there is nothing good about the actual prospect itself to talk about other than what the stallion/dam has done. List a couple qualities that you like about the horse, what may set him/her apart from others in comparison. I also appreciate disclosure on any past medical/health issues, if you don't say in the ad, it will be the first question I ask. Basically, keep it short and sweet and stick to the facts.
ETA I also like to keep in mind different price ranges. Just a thought, but I feel like there are certain "bumps" within prices that will knock out a lot of potential buyers. For instance, I think there are some people out there that will look at a horse for say $18,500 where they may be "too high" at $20k. I would rather take $1500 less and have a larger market of buyers than spend who knows how many more months dealing with the process of selling a horse, but that is just my opinion.
Edited by SpaceCowboy 2015-06-09 4:24 PM
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Meanest Teacher!!!
Posts: 8555
Location: sunny california | I like to see a video of a horse moving in the round pen. |
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Duct Tape Bikini Girl
Posts: 2554
| A price.  |
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7268
| luckyjo - 2015-06-09 11:44 PM
A price.
AMEN! And I do NOT want to see someone STANDING on the horse's back! WHY do people DO that?
Edited by Griz 2015-06-10 5:25 AM
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 Buttered Noodles Snacker
Posts: 4377
Location: NC | luckyjo - 2015-06-09 11:44 PM
A price.
THIS^^^^^
I like pictures of the horse from the side, front and back WITHOUT a saddle. |
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | Price
Location
Height
Discipline
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Duct Tape Bikini Girl
Posts: 2554
| Standing on a horse's back doesn't show a calm horse, just a stupid owner. |
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Expert
Posts: 1414
| On a broke prospect I want to see dry work, w/t/c, moving hips and shoulders. I want the video person standing outside the circle where the horse is traveling. My pet peeve is when the video person stands IN the circle and the horse lopes circles around the camera. Makes it much more difficult to see how the horse actually travels cause the whole video is spinning. |
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Expert
Posts: 1611
| Mostly along with what ever one else has said but one thing I wanna make clear is make sure your video person knows what the ZOOM button is because I'm not looking for just a patterned horse and one that i can tell doesn't flip over or run the rail. I want to see how it turns!
ETA: if your arena is so dusty that I can't see how the horse turns then haul somewhere or wet it because its pretty useless.
Edited by astreakinchic 2015-06-10 8:07 AM
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 Jr. Detective
Location: Beggs, OK | Legitimate credentials, videos of runs with times, dates, and locations. If you want to sell a barrel horse then you're going to have to ask someone to video you, even if it's a stranger. If the place that you are competing doesn't post results online, ask the secretary to let you take a photo of the payoff sheet with your phone.
Too many of the ads on here look like they belong on Craigslist. Take a step back, remove emotion from the situation and ask yourself if you would pay what you are asking for your horse based on what you see. Photos from bad angles of a scrubby looking yearling are not going to command a top price no matter who the sire is....or what his Momma's sisters baby won. |
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 Veteran
Posts: 212
| if you market it as a finished horse, i want to see runs at an actual show.. So many people claim they have a 1d horse then post a video clearly in their home pen without a fence even and the run is still not good... Its just sketchy... I think the main video on here should be a good barrel run or a short flat work video if horse is a prospect.. I lose interest in long ones just like the other person said. Attach a link with the round pen and lunge work etc... It seems tacky to me to post a pic that is an unpaid proof with a water mark.. no price gets less bites IMO... just be honest about the horse bc in this day and age people can find someone local to ask... Good luck :)
These were general tips, after re reading what you wrote about this specific horse... If he is patterned at at least a lope I would try to have a video at a "real" arena vs at home.. as we have all had that one horse that would set a record at our house but kinda sucks at shows LOL... Then I would be honest about his strengths and weaknesses and get some really good pictures with a nice background and horse standing squared up.. This seems like common sense but you would be amazed how many "1d supershow" ads post a picture of their horse covered in mud standing in front of a rusted double wide trailer lol.. ..... |
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 pressure dripper
Posts: 8699
Location: the end of the rainbow | If it's a prospect I'm going to want to know how much they have been hauled and if you tell me they have seen all the sights I'm going to want you to email me a short clip of that horse in a warm up pen with other horses. But I don't think thats necessarily something you actually need in the ad.
If the prospect is patterned I want a video of them loping the pattern in the ad and a longer video of them doing w/t/l dry work available on utube. |
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 Expert
Posts: 2128
| a price range.
good pics
clear video
I have been interested in several horses that listed no price. "Private treaty-contact seller". I usually don't contact the seller because I am afraid I may insult them if my offer is lower than what they had in mind. I wish, on those types of ads, that you were able to put at least a price range. These days horses vary greatly in price for many reasons.
Edited by scwebster 2015-06-10 12:17 PM
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 941
Location: Kansas | I think the w/t/l videos should show transitions. It really tells the potential buyer more about how green or trained the horse is. I see lots of videos of horses loping but no video of how he got to that lope. Pictures need to be setup to give your horse the best chance. Look at Meyer's pictures. Not everyone has that awesome backdrop to use but we can use their pictures as a pattern to setup our horses. We often take more than a 100 pictures to get one or two that are correct and will draw attention. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 617
Location: London Ontario | Please leave out the videos of you shooting off your horse, riding in running shoes and wearing shorts....yuck |
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  Damn Yankee
Posts: 12390
Location: Somewhere between raising hell and Amazing Grace | It all depends.
If it's a horse under two years old, priced under 4k....just really good pictures of a CLEAN horse. Well groomed, good background, and angles from different sides. Then a description of the horse with the pedigree.
Anything started under saddle or priced really high, even an unbroke baby priced really high (one that is over a year old) I would like to see videos of the horse moving, even if it's just in a round pen.
For older horses, videos videos videos......I think a video shot at a barrel race has more value then one shot in the practice pen (but I also understand sometimes the practice pen might be the only place to video sometimes).
If you are selling me a horse that is a "proven" winner.....then back it up with written proof. 15 years ago I started getting copies of the results from all the barrel races I entered. I either waited until the race was over and asked for a copy, or I took photos of the results. Granted, I quit buying and selling 10 years ago, but I still keep results "just in case". I like seeing the times, other competitors, arena, and number of entries. Just saying the horse has won the 1D 100 times isn't good enough. The 1D at the local play day may be very different then the 1D at a super show (even though I have seen some extremely tough "play day" horses too).
One of the absolute biggest turn offs for me is "will be a 1D horse with the right rider"......every single horse on the planet will be a 1D horse with the right rider.....if you believe the ads. I hate seeing that. If you have a 2D/3D horse, whether a 3 year old or a 15 year old....you have no idea if it will ever be a 1D horse with or without the right rider. So when I see that comment, I feel like the seller is blowing smoke. I don't mind seeing 2d/3d with potential to improve because that shows that the seller believes the horse will be better but is not making a statement to just how much better. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 454
Location: Decatur, Texas | I think it also important to have a well written ad that doesn't have typos, isn't written in all caps and has zero misspellings. I also think all of the info should be filled in- my personal pet peeve is when they only put one horse in the pedigree or write two very short sentences describing the horse. Better too much than too little IMO. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 823
Location: East Texas | COautumn - 2015-06-10 4:15 PM
I think it also important to have a well written ad that doesn't have typos, isn't written in all caps and has zero misspellings. I also think all of the info should be filled in- my personal pet peeve is when they only put one horse in the pedigree or write two very short sentences describing the horse. Better too much than too little IMO.
Kind of like fragments and run-ons......
What I want is honesty
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I Am a Snake Killer
Posts: 1927
Location: Golden Gulf Coast of Texas | A picture that shows a direct side view so I can see how balanced a horse is. One time on here I begged for a side view and when I finally got it I saw why. Yikes. Most of the time now I won't even ask for it I just keep looking. Also I hate seeing someone brushing and saddling on their video. Oh and measure your horse don't just guess how tall they are. I drove all the way to OK and 15.1 ended up being barely 14.1.
Edited by mreklaw 2015-06-10 7:11 PM
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| I didn't read the whole post, but one thing that I really wish people would include is the nearest town to the horse. When you just say Texas, or California, or Arizona, well, those are big states, and sometimes I'm just not going to travel 10 hours across the state of Texas to look at a horse, and I'd rather spare the seller and myself the loss of time of email exchange or phone call just to ask where the horse is located. |
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Buyers, what do you want to see in an ad?