Prepare Your Horse for a Safe Landing

privileges including showing and participation in the organizations Select Opportunities and Rewards SOAR program. SOAR includes opportunities to earn prizes for time spent riding driving or working inhand with your registered horse.
By necessity other registries have stricter requirements but still work with owners in support of registration. For example Debbie Fuentes registrar and senior director of Registry Services with the Arabian Horse Association AHA says that a key area of focus is keeping registration and transfer fees affordable to encourage current owners to register their horses and new owners to transfer ownership.
The AHA also works in partnership with owners to bring lapsed registration papers current. Registration allows owners to join the horse with his history along with the ability to participate in shows and other incentive programs such as the AHAs Frequent Rider Program.
Regardless of your chosen registry deciding to register a horse can also be an invaluable way to keep track of his show record especially when he competes in a breed associations recognized events. Its a relatively inexpensive option that improves a horses overall marketability.
Keeping in Touch
Beyond training and registration there are other steps you can take to ensure that your horse lands in the best possible situation.
Recordkeeping Keeping updated records on vaccination deworming dental exams hoof care and other health issues can help a potential buyer feel safe in the knowledge you are being transparent and that the animal has been well taken care of and is therefore a sound investment of their time and money.
Microchips Another industry partner of The Right Horse Initiative Microchip ID Equine is a company that allows you to attach your contact information to an individual horse. This provides a safety net for a previous owner to purchase a horse should he end up in an auctiontype situation that may lead

to the horse being purchased by a kill pen buyer. For more on microchipping see Chips Ahoy! in the Nov Dec. 2021 issue of Horse Illustrated. However its worth noting that if a buyer plans to compete with the horse at sanctioned shows they should check with their discipline governing bodies to see what microchips are accepted so as to avoid inserting multiple chips.
Minimum sale price Weiss recommends doing your research and setting a price for the animal that is above the current meat price therefore discouraging potential kill pen buyers from considering the animal for purchase.
While its important not
to make the sale of a horse so difficult that a potential buyer chooses to pass on a horse and continue their search Weiss recommends these additional approaches when feasible.
Right of first refusal agreement Sometimes even the best situations just dont work out. Having a formal right of first refusal agreement in place so that you can have the option to buy the horse back should he come up for sale under his new owner can help ensure that he finds a safe landing.
Keeping track of your horse once hes sold One thing you can do is ensure your continued availability to answer questions should the horse develop a training problem or even simply check in at regular intervals postsale. Or you can ask the new owner to share pictures via email or social media so that you can keep track of his progress. While it can be rewarding to watch success stories unfold it can also provide a window of opportunity for you to reach out should something go wrong.
The option to buy that horse back and then staying in touch is imperative Weiss says. When that horse sells five or six years down the road the new owner may not remember there is a contract they were supposed to honor. Staying in touch is important from that perspective. Relationships are vital.
One of the many benefits of adopting a horse is the relationships built and support systems established between the adoption organization and the adopter which will ensure your adopted horse always has a safe place to land. The same guardrails can also be applied whenever a horse is sold.