Conference noted::equitation

    I've never heard of a sales commission. I can imagine that if the
    stable actually sold your horse for you, there might be a commission
    involved but 20%?  That's highway robbery. Even real estate commissions
    are only 6%.
    
    How is the stable otherwise? It sounds like they're out to get as much
    money as possible.
    			        Cindy
    

    You might be surprised over the number of people who will have their
    hand out for a "commission" when a horse gets sold. While the practise
    is not universal, it's quite common amongst "professionals" in the
    horse business.
    
    It can work like this:
    
    If you, as a novice rider, get sufficiently hooked on riding to
    consider buying your own horse, ask your instructor for advice. Your
    instructor knows of and contacts a local horse dealer who does not at
    that time have a suitable horse but makes referral to yet another
    dealer who knows an instructor, one of whose pupils is trying to sell
    their old horse (having bought a new horse on the recommendation of
    this instructor) that is boarded at a public stable. ALL the folk in
    this chain including the public stable owner may have their hand out
    for some percentage, usually 10%, of the selling price of the horse.
    The commission is normally paid by the seller but, of course, it's
    factored into the price of the horse.
    
    Commission paid for services rendered is not unreasonable. So, if your
    asking somebody professionally knowledgeable to help you buy or sell
    your horse expect to pay them for their services, either directly or
    through a commission. However, some chains between buyer and seller in
    the horse world become long and tortuous and the commissions get out of
    hand.
    
    In the case outlined in .0, the 20% commission might be reasonable if
    the stable were going to take an active role in selling the horse in
    question and had to take care of others in the referral chain. It's
    hard to make a living in the horse business. Each buyer and seller must
    decide for themselves the limits to what they consider reasonable.

	20% does sound outragous!  The percentage I usually hear is 10%
    of the horse's sale price. Perhaps they have stipulated that amount
    to cover insurance in case the person trying the horse is injured??
    (I still wouldn't want to sell my horse if he was in boarded there.)

				-Caroline

    Curious, if you have a mare at home, and you have a horse boarded,
    would it not be easier to switch the 2 for the purpose of selling the
    boarded one? That way it would be easier to make the horse available
    to prospective buyers and insure that he was clean and looking his best
    when they came to see him. This would also keep the stables fingers out
    of the pie!
    Sandy
    

    
    Re. 4
    
    I had considered switching the two horses, and may still do that,
    but I share the TB (the one for sale) with my brother while the
    mare at home is soley mine. The at home horse is also very difficult
    for my brother  to ride, and I would only be able to get to her
    a few times a week myself. Thus, my brother would not be riding
    much if the mare were at the boarding stable, while with the
    TB there, he can ride continually. I hesitate to let anyone ride
    the mare without me around, and the stable is just too far from
    me to go to daily. The other reason I don't really want to switch
    them is that I have no ring at home (it is planned for spring) and
    no place to really *show* the TB to prospective buyers there. 
    
    The boarding stable is not the best, I admit. I have had some
    bad experiences there with both these horses (the mare WAS there
    until I bought my house and moved). They are defineatly in the
    business of making money, with little concern for horses. And 
    they will have no part in this sale whatsoever. We do not use
    the training offered there and they have no involvement with the
    TB at all. Barely know he is there, actually. He has stayed there
    because we are very concientious and my brother attends him daily.
    It is defineatly not a place for an absentee owner. I had thought
    a commission was a bit odd, although I CAN understand it under 
    certain circumstances. Thanks everyone for your comments, I feel
    a bit better knowing I was not alone in thinking it strange! :-)
    
    LInda
    

    Is there any way you can let us know who the stable is ?  Could you
    send me VAXmail ?  
    
    If the stable were assisting you in selling your horse, you would
    expect to pay a commission.  If they are not involved, which it sounds
    like they won't be, it is totally unreasonable for them to expect a
    commission.