What's wrong with my ad?

I haven't done a craigslist ad post for a very long time. This is because I decided I would rather be a personal experience and ideas blog rather than a snarky one. I just felt I didn't need that kind of negativity in my life. I still don't. However, I might start bringing back some of the ads I see and discussing them.

This horse has actually been on here before and I've seen him on CL for a couple of years. (http://terrorizedtrailguide.blogspot.com/2013/01/craigslist-fun-times-or-not.html)  No, he's not crazily expensive or missing a limb. He's a spotted saddle stallion, double registered, and allegedly not a complete psychopath. He's available for $750.

No, not at stud for $750. For sale. And he has been for a few years.

So why have they not sold him yet? It must be a mystery to them. So now I'm going to explain exactly why this ad is failing to get them buyers.

Here is the ad they posted over a year ago:

"Double registered Gaited Stallion - $750 Double registered -SSHBEA (spotted saddle horse) and MFT(Missouri fox trotter) stallion 7 years old. Black and White with Blue eyes Colts on farm to show offspring. Very good Disposition" Price: 750



Here is their ad today:

"Double registered -SSHBEA (spotted saddle horse) and MFT(Missouri fox trotter) stallion 8 years old. Black and White with Blue eyes Colts on farm to show offspring. Very good Disposition"


 







Okay. So what's wrong here? They aren't great photos, but they aren't quite as awful as some. (Or this persons other ads in the beginning).

So if the problem wasn't the lackluster pictures....
Maybe it's everything else.

Problems:
Ad photos are full of distractions, poor lighting, and unprofessional images. Photos of horses sticking out their tongues may be cute, but they are generally not appropriate for use in an ad. Especially for a stallion. Stallions for sale or at stud should be presented at their very best. Set up, alone without distractions, in an attractive area and halter.

This horse is not a gelding. This should not be a stallion and anyone who is unable to see that, needs to step back and look at what is actually stallion quality.

For comparison, here are some stallion worthy Missouri Fox Trotters:






And some Spotted Saddle Stallions:






And again, here is their stallion: 

Yikes. Now to me, that horse just looks uncomfortable. I don't see how he could possibly not be. He's a conformational mess with toothpick legs, a weak shoulder, atrocious sloping butt and a  roach back. His neck isn't as bad as the rest of him but it sure isn't what a stallions should look like. Or even really a good fox trotter, it should be lightly arched. His head is large with big ears a straight to convex shape, overall not terribly appealing although since head shape isn't terribly relevant, we'll forgive that.

Those legs scare me, they look like I could snap them with one hand. Certainly couldn't carry a big rider easily and with that roach back, I wouldn't want him as a trail mount, much less a show one.
He's parked out (or trying to, he won't be able to get a lot of reach with his build)

His shoulder and weak hind end do not scream "smooth gaited" which is proven in this picture:

Here he's shown gaiting. Kind of. Poorly. I think. I'm still not entirely sure because this picture is just that bad and if he is gaiting, he's not doing a proper fox trot. You should be able to tell exactly what type of gaited horse they are just by the movement in one picture.

 His stride length here is tiny, which screams "I'm really very uncomfortable" to me. He's also not reaching under himself at all which is a red flag for me. If this is not how he normally gaits, this picture needs to go asap. If it is, well, then it's good to warn people.

For comparison: one of the Fox Trotters I've owned. 

His ad says double registered, but provides no bloodline information, links to pedigree, registered name or number.

His only achievements are:  Being black with one spot and blue eyes. Providing semen capable of creating more undesirable offspring.

Not broken. In fact, there's no mention of any kind of training on the ground or under saddle.

There's very little to no information about him at all. Vices or positive traits. Good disposition means nothing to me.  He's been listed for over a year and they have updated no more information. They have changed his age and the pictures and nothing else.

He's been listed for a long time, as have their other horses (equally bad) and none of their prices has decreased.  Clearly, people do not think this horse is worth $750.

I hear: "My horse is worth X amount of money!" all the time. And then I see nobody buy them. Which means, hold on to your seats here, that your horse is probably not worth that much money.

My friend's parents bred Arabians (well, one or two. The others sat in the pasture and did exactly nothing. Ever.) is father tried to convince me that each of those horses were 10 thousand dollar horses. I laughed at him. They weren't even really halter broke. They didn't have good dispositions or spectacularly attractive looks. They may have had good bloodlines, but in today's market.... that's not as much of a selling point. He was convinced he could sell them for at least ten grand, even in this economy.

Then they got out of horses.
Wanna know what those horses sold for? Nothing. They gave them all away for free. I got one (and trained him for 45 days before selling him for $1200) and they gave the others to a vet they knew.

Your horse is worth what someone is willing to pay for it, what you have it insured for, or how much value they have to you. This last point does not necessarily translate into dollar signs.

My Sam is a $500 horse (err, maybe...) but to me, he's worth over 10 grand.


If you've been trying to sell your horse for a long time and no one is biting, you need to change your pictures, change your information, change your price or change your training.

Nobody, and I mean nobody, wants a poor to mediocre stallion that they can't ride. They want a broke, even if it's barely broke, gelding that they feel is safe to be around.


Rambler says:

"They want HOW much for their horse?"

"Hahaha, that's hilarious!"

I used my sister for a photoshoot with Rambler (Ace) and the photos were great, as were the outtakes or gag reel.