Hoo Boy Online

The Kentucky Breeders’ Incentive Fund established Kentucky as the center of equine excellence, when it opened its already popular incentives to non-racing breeds in 2007. Since then, Kentucky bred horses have been increasingly sought after, primarily due to the success of this program.

The Fund pays out a specific amount of money per show point that an eligible horse earns throughout the year. The payouts have been strong so far, and will continue to grow as more stallions move into the state and generate additional activity with the existing Kentucky stallions. Another benefit from this Fund, is the potential increase in value of foals bred in Kentucky.

There is specific criteria outlining the eligibility of horses for the Fund. Generally speaking, the foal must have been conceived and born in Kentucky. Additionally, the sire must of stood the entire breeding season in Kentucky for the year of conception. They must also register with the appropriate breed association.

With the introduction of the non-race breeds, there has been a sharp increase in the number of people looking for a “KYBIF” eligible horse. To help narrow your search for KYBIF eligible horses for sale in Kentucky, or KYBIF stallions, go to the www.kybifonly.com website and look at the advertisements there.

Years ago selling a horse included putting an advertisement in a publication and wait for calls. Today with the Internet, many new avenues are available to selling your horse. Once you have chosen where to advertise and picked out a price you need to write your advertisement.

When writing your advertisement make sure you focus on the positive, but don’t over embellish. If your horse would make a nice hunter but has not been started over fences then make sure to say they are a prospect. Your horse is a nice horse but it cannot be a 17 hand jumper and a 14 hand cow pony. You my lose a real buyer when you try to make your horse everything for everybody.

Don’t forget to include any extras benefits your horse has, like breed or specialty incentive funds or state programs for which your horse is eligible. These often will add hundreds or even thousands of dollars to a final sale price. One such program is the Kentucky Breeders Incentive Fund (KYBIF). If you have horses for sale in Kentucky, then this should definitely be listed. This also applies if you have Kentucky Stallions eligible for KYBIF.

Make sure that you research your horse’s pedigree. Some breeds require you to pay a few dollars for a report but it is usually well worth it. While being well bred is not the end all, it does give a buyer a good idea of the horse’s potential. Having a show record or being related to successful horses will enhance the appeal of the horse and help you sell quicker and for a better price.

Years ago trying to sell a horse meant placing an advertisement in one of the major publications then wait for the calls to come in. Today with so many people with Internet access, many new avenues have opened up and are available to assist in selling your horse. The major benefits of online advertising are shorter times to market, less restrictions on who sees it (mot just magazine subscribers), and better ways to track the effectiveness of your marketing efforts. Below, we’ve presented some things to keep in mind when starting online marketing of your horse.

Know Your Audience

Take the time and look through the different websites that advertise horses for sale, and find the right one where your horse fits in. For instance, don’t try to sell a cutting horse on a website that advertises jumpers. Conversely, don’t decide to place an ad for your Grand Prix jumper in the local paper.

Free is not always free

Many websites offer free ads and some like Craigslist do a good job of helping local people sell local horses. However, on the major advertising websites, it could be difficult to get people interested in viewing text only ads or advertisements without pictures. Offering ads with full color, and good resolution images, will go much further than just text.

The Price Right

Pricing your horse correctly is one of the important factors. Many times, if you over-price the horse in the beginning, you end up selling it for less money than if you had just priced it correctly to begin with. When determining price make a list of your horse’s positive qualities. Are they enrolled in any incentives like the AQHA Incentive Fund or APHA Breeders’ Trust, are they Kentucky Breeders’ Incentive Fund (KYBIF) eligible?

Once you have a list of their features take the time to review the other ads that are already out there. Find ten good comparable horses, check their prices, and then decide on your listing prince and final selling price.

To get an idea of what comparable horses are selling for, go to KyBIF Only and see what’s listed there.