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Saturday, January 23 2021 / Published in Sidelines Feature

Selling Your Horse Through a Broker

By Armand Leone and Jessica E. Choper 

Horse brokers can serve a very useful purpose and help ease and facilitate the daunting process of selling your horse. When you enlist the help of a broker, you enter into an agency relationship, meaning that you’re allowing the broker to act as an agent on your behalf in the sales transaction.  

It’s important to keep in mind that in any situation where someone is acting on your behalf, there is risk. Some up-front research and homework can help minimize the risk and can help you navigate matters in the event the sales process does not go as planned. Before coming to an agreement with a broker to sell your horse.

The Homework

Even if you have a trainer who’s well-versed in selling horses, make sure to do your homework and gather background information about more than one broker. Online searches and references from fellow horse owners that have had prior experience with the potential brokers will help give you a well-rounded picture of the brokers’ operations. 

Start by understanding whether the broker generally focuses their sale stock on a certain discipline. Tapping a broker experienced in your horse’s discipline often means that the broker will be able to offer your horse to a larger pool of relevant potential buyers. You’ll also want to think about the price categories of the horses for sale by the brokers you’re considering. Does the broker sell horses in the range of a few thousand dollars, the mid-five figure range, or upwards of six figures? Finding a broker experienced in selling horses similar in quality, discipline and price to your horse may be an indicator of the broker’s compatibility and potential success in selling your horse.

Once your research leads you to a suitable broker, set aside time to discuss your goals and what the broker will do to help you achieve them. While you’ll want to align on the target sale price of the horse, you’ll also want to discuss the specific efforts the broker will take to accomplish this goal and your involvement, if any, in the process. You’ll want to talk through things such as whether or not you’re going to continue to ride your horse and train with the broker while the horse is for sale or whether you will be taking a more hands-off approach, having the broker be responsible for training and making sure your horse stays in top condition for ultimate marketability.

Be very clear up front about the broker’s responsibilities. In addition to clarifying who will ride and train the horse, identify who will be responsible for preparing sale videos and narratives; advertising costs and efforts and your involvement in the preparation of these marketing assets; and veterinarian and farrier care. If the broker conducts a lot of business at horse shows, make sure you’re clear about whether your horse will be competed at shows and who will pay for related costs. If the broker finds a potential buyer, will you allow the horse to go out on trial, with what stipulations, and will the broker have the authority to send the horse on trial without your specific permission? These issues highlight the importance of communication and whether you require constant communication with the broker or only limited communication when meaningful developments occur. Agree upon a schedule of communication that’s realistic for both you and the broker.

Commission and Payment Structure

Before you turn your horse over to the broker, make sure that you’ve outlined the commission structure and how the broker will be paid for their services in writing. Relatively straightforward measures such as discussing and documenting the rate can minimize the risk that the broker will make an undisclosed profit from selling your horse. All too often, we’ve heard horror stories of an unassuming seller discovering that the broker sold a horse for far more than the seller was paid. When a suitable buyer comes along, require that payment be made directly to you rather than having the broker receive the payment and then make payment to you. Brokers commonly earn a commission of 10-15% in connection with sales, but it can vary depending on circumstances.

Another thing to consider is how the expenses of the horse will be paid when it’s sold. If the horse doesn’t sell immediately or goes to competitions so potential buyers can see it, who pays for those expenses and when? This should be decided before sending the horse. What you want to avoid is a situation where the broker has the horse for a long period of time, runs up expenses over which you have no control, and the broker tacks on an expense bill at the time of the sale. Under the law and horseman’s lien statutes, the owner can be responsible for these costs. An open-ended agreement where expenses are not capped or controlled leaves the owner responsible for paying them out of the sale. Address these concerns at the outset.

Dual Agency 

Dual agency occurs when the broker serves as the agent for both the seller and buyer in the same transaction. Certain states, including California, Florida and Kentucky, make it unlawful for a broker to act as an undisclosed dual agent in certain types of horse sale transactions. Check the legislative mandates in your state to see if any restrictions exist with regard to dual agency. For example, with some exceptions, depending upon the dollar amount involved and the nature of the horse being sold, Kentucky makes it unlawful for an agent to represent both the buyer and the seller in a transaction unless the agent discloses the dual representation in advance in writing, and both buyer and seller agree to the dual agency and put their consent in writing. 

The Written Agreements

Make sure you have a written agreement signed by you and the broker that covers how the key issues identified above will be handled. Pinpointing and documenting the responsibilities and limitations of the broker, the commission to be paid, and costs associated with maintenance and sale of the horse, among other items, can help ensure fair dealing between broker and seller, manage expectations and guard against unwanted surprises. 

In addition to the contract that covers the nature of the relationship between seller and broker, to ensure transparency in the transaction, it’s critically important to have a well-crafted bill of sale. It should include, at a minimum, the identification of the parties involved; the horse including name, identifying characteristics and registration numbers; disclaimer of warranties; sale price; availability and accomplishment or denial of vetting and pre-purchase rides/trial, and dual agency, if applicable. 

Choosing the best agent for your needs, clarifying expectations prior to beginning the process, and crafting a thorough bill of sale will help ensure a seamless and satisfying sale process.

Photo by Jump Media

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Tagged under: broker, Equestrian Law, horse sales

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Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! W Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.
 
Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.
 
Kaiman (Dark Pleasure x Gribaldi) earned high scores at his stallion testing and in the young horse classes. He's also the sire of a Licensed Oldenburg stallion. Kaiman's first North American foal crop is arriving now and they are gorgeous!
 
If you're looking for top international bloodlines please check out our 2023 stallion collection, now available fresh, frozen, and by the dose.

Among our stallions are Cum Laude and Kaiman. Cum Laude (Apache x Weltmeyer) is a winning FEI horse and sire of quality dressage horses, breed show champions, and offspring scoring 9.0s on gaits.

Breeding season is underway at Iron Spring Farm! We're proud to offer exceptional modern Sporthorse stallions, with wonderful temperaments and quality gaits to North American breeders.

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❗️George Williams column❗️ The FEI World ❗️George Williams column❗️
The FEI World Cup Final in Omaha is coming up quickly. That means that it’s starting to heat 
up as the end of the qualifying period for both the Western European League (WEL) and the 
North American League (NAL) nears. I started to write this column before the Amsterdam CDI- W, and I was using the FEI Ranking List from January 15 as a reference. As I sit down to finish 
my column, I’m now looking at the results from Amsterdam. While the list of the top contenders 
for the WEL hasn’t changed, they’re definitely moving around on the ranking list. The WEL has 
three more legs, as they’re referred to: Neumünster February 16–19, Goteborg February 23–26, 
and ’s-Hertogenbosch March 9–12, and they could change things dramatically.
Looking at the top 12 athletes from the WEL as they were ranked on January 15, there are five 
from Germany, three from the Netherlands and one each from Great Britain, Denmark

➡️Read Georges's full column by clicking the link in our bio, and never miss an article by subscribing to Sidelines Magazine 🦄 

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Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Gre Lisa Goldman-Smolen and Ivaro N strike gold in Great American $300,000 Grand Prix at HITS Ocala!! 🏆🥇

Crowds filled the stands at the HITS Ocala Grand Prix Ring on Sunday afternoon to watch the world’s top athletes compete in the Great American $300,000 Grand Prix. The day concluded with a thrilling five-horse jump-off featuring athletes 
representing four countries. In the end, it was Lisa Goldman-Smolen (USA) and Ivaro N who produced the only double clear effort of the day, claiming one of the biggest wins of her career. Scott Keach (AUS) and Noble De La Chapelle earned the second-place prize with the fastest 4-fault jump-off, while Aaron Vale (USA) and Obi Wan placed third as the day’s pathfinders.

“I'm still on cloud nine, I still can't believe it – I’ve used up all my luck for the year,” smiled Goldman-Smolen after her win. “I've been knocking on the door a long time in these bigger classes. I am so proud of my horse – he gave every ounce of effort.”

Sunday’s Great American $300,000 Grand Prix marked the conclusion of the 2023 HITS Ocala circuit. HITS CCO Joe Norick concluded, “We are so excited about the new HITS, with 2023 as the launch. New footing, many new arenas here, and a lot of our facilities across America are getting a lot of love and new footing. Our partnerships with Worldly Martin and others across America including our footing leader Bart Poles overseeing our operations – it really makes a big difference for us. Today is about Ocala and these three riders sitting next to me who supported us this entire winter. We want to be a proud destination for our exhibitors and our friends. We know we have to provide them a beautiful showplace to work from that's horseman friendly, and that's our go goal. 

Congratulations to all of the riders, horses, owners, and groom who participated in this prestigious class!!! 🎉
📸 @esi_photography 
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It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is. It's #STUDSunday and today's featured stallion is...

 ✨PF'S DIAMO BLUE✨
Diarado-Diamant de Semilly- Chacco Blue
17.0hh, Oldenburg International Hunter Derby/ Jumper Stallion
An outstanding Pedigree- Chacco Blue and Diamant de Semilly
WBFSH/ Rolex top ranking Jumping Sires 2017 thru 2022
Standing at Ryan Pedigo Sport Horses, in California

For more information, you can contact 
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🖥Ryan.p.f@hotmail.com
☎️(714) 357-2714

You can find ALL of the stallions featured towards the back of the magazine in the equestrian gallery. Keep a look out EVERY Sunday for a new handsome STUD muffin🧁 and don't forget to subscribe to get your very own edition of Sidelines Magazine, the magazine for horse people, about horse people 🦄

@ryanpedigosporthorsespf_

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