Frequently Asked Questions

About

Placing your horse on Consignment with Feather Hill Stables

What do I need to do to consign my horse?

First step is to contact Feather Hill and see if they have room for your horse at this time.  Email may be the fastest mode of communication with management, as rarely will you catch someone sitting by the telephone.  Email: pasofino@featherhills.com  Emails are generally answered in less then 24 hours.  If you prefer you may call us at 570-568-8222 but be prepared to leave a message.  We will call you back usually within 48 hours.

What information does Feather Hill need to know about my horse?

If possible in your first email go ahead and tell us all you can about your horse: Breed, Gender, Age, Size, Color, Bloodlines, Registration #, Are the papers in your name?  If not are they signed?  Are they dated? What is the training level of the horse?  Any vices we need to know about?  We also need to know the asking price (which includes the consignment fee) for your horse.

What if I am not sure how to price my horse?

Feather Hill can assist you in evaluating your horse for resale.  We can generalize this by asking you certain questions however we can certainly be more secure in our evaluation after your horse arrives and we are able to work with him or her for a short period of time.

What does my horse need to ship to Feather Hill?

If you are within the state of Pennsylvania your horse needs to be current on shots and a coggins current within 12 months.  If you are outside the state of Pennsylvania your horse also needs a Health Certificate, which must be current within 30 days of shipment.  We also need a photocopy of the front and back of the registration papers for your horse. 

What if I cannot trailer my own horse to Feather Hill Stables?

Discuss this with management.  We do offer transport depending on where you are located.  We will be glad to give you a quote based on fuel cost and your location.

What costs will I have when I consign my horse to Feather Hill Stables?

Boarding fees will apply during the time your horse stays at Feather Hill.  The current board fees are posted on the website at www.featherhills.com  Certain other fees may apply if your horse requires worming, farrier, or vet services during its stay with us.  Board is due in advance the first of every month.

What is the consignment fee?

The consignment fee is 10% of the actual sale price.  Feather Hill will deduct this % from the sale proceeds prior to making final settlement with you the owner.

What if my horse needs training during its stay at Feather Hill?

No problem!  Feather Hill Stables is a full service facility.  We have multiple trainers on staff and we can provide the training that your horse needs from work on problem behavior, which if left uncorrected may discourage someone from buying your horse, to starting your youngster under saddle to promote the sale, to a 30 day tune up if your trained horse has been standing idle for a period of time.  We also provide a maintenance training program if your horse simply requires some routine riding time so that he will present to potential buyers at his best.  Our training rates are posted on the website at www.featherhills.com then click on the link to the training page.

What does Feather Hill do to promote the sale of my horse?

As soon as you commit to consigning your horse to Feather Hill, management will use the information you provided about your horse to begin telling prospective buyers about your horse and his pending arrival.  We will also use this information to post your horse on the sales page of our website at www.featherhills.com In addition we will ask you if you have a picture of your horse that you could email as a jpeg file to pasofino@featherhills.com  If you are able to provide a photo, the photo will also be posted on the sales page of the website.   

This is only the activity that goes on before your horse even arrives at the farm.  After your horse arrives at the farm we will if necessary take new photos of your horse for posting on the website or emailing upon request. We will take video of your horse which will likely be posted as a link from our website.  This video will also be copied onto VHS and mailed out to prospective buyers upon request.   

Staff members will handle all phone and email inquiries about your horse and will make appointments for interested parties to see your horse.  Once the prospective buyer arrives at Feather Hill staff members will demonstrate your horse and will supervise the “test drive” of your horse by the prospective buyer.  These appointments can range from a 5-minute visual inspection of the horse to a multiple day visit where the buyer stays at the local motel and takes a series of lessons or trail rides on your horse or a group of horses they may be trying to decide between. 

If the buyer becomes interested in purchasing your horse, management will handle any price negotiations between you and the seller.  You need not have any direct contact with the buyer at any time. 

Does Feather Hill Stables do any advertising other then their own website?

Feather Hill spends a significant amount of its annual budget on regular monthly advertising in many equine related publications as well as other web based advertising which is all designed to direct the prospective buyers to our own website so that they can view pictures and information about your horse.  Feather Hill also regularly hosts a spring and fall open house during which many horses are sold.

How affective is Feather Hill at promoting the sale of my horse?

Feather Hill staff and management try very hard to match the right horse with the right person.  This takes time and good listening skills when talking with the prospective buyer.  We take great pride in building our customer relationships and this care has earned us much word of mouth and repeat business from past customers who were very satisfied by their experience at Feather Hill.   

So bottom line, your individual horse and his unique qualities will have a lot to do with how quickly we are able to place him in a good home.  However we have almost daily visitors who are interested in finding a new horse.  We do have multiple inquiries via phone and email every single day asking for a horse that will fit their needs.  And last three years running we have been successful in placing over 40 horses in a new homes each year.

Do I need to be present at Feather Hill Stables at any time? 

No. Feather Hill Staff or Management will handle all arrangements necessary regarding the veterinarian, farrier, and prospective buyers who wish to see your horse.  However if you are able and wish to be present for vet or farrier appointments you are welcome to be here for those appointments.

Will Feather Hill sell my horse for less money then expected without me knowing it?

No!  Not without your approval.  You will tell management the advertised price going into the consignment arrangement.  You may at your option discuss a price range directly with Brenda Hall.  Only the asking price will be advertised and any offers below the minimum you have expressed will require Feather Hill to contact you for further discussion before a sale could be finalized.

Is there a contract to sign?

Yes there is a boarding contract that will be modified to indicate that your horse is on consignment and if you request a certain amount of training this will also be noted in the contract.  The contract also has a list of supplementary services and the related fees you will be charged if you choose to use these services.

What can I expect to happen when my horse is sold?

One sale can vary from the next a little bit in the order and timeframe of how things are actually completed.  However most likely when a price is agreed to the buyer will remit a deposit to Feather Hill.  Then a pre-purchase veterinarian exam will be scheduled at the buyer’s expense.  After the horse has passed the exam to the satisfaction of the vet and the buyer the balance of the purchase price will be remitted according to the terms of the sales agreement.  

For cash sales Feather Hill Stables will collect the total amount of the sales price and clear it thru our bank as collected funds.  After this has been accomplished Feather Hill will contact you and request that you send signed registration papers for your horse to Feather Hill Stables at 210 Feather Hill Lane, New Columbia, Pa 17856.  We ask that you do not date the papers as should anything void the sale or delay the sale it would be better not to have dated the papers. 

After we receive the paperwork and see that it is properly signed, a farm check for the net proceeds of the sale will be forwarded to you at the mailing address you have previously provided to us.  Expect any amount you have on account with Feather Hill rather for the horse which was just sold or any other horse to be brought current as a deduction from the total sale proceeds.  The 10% consignment fee will also be deducted from the sale proceeds.  During this time Feather Hill Stables will verify that any balances due the vet or farrier have been paid in full.  If there are open accounts these are required to be settled in full prior to net proceeds being released to you.  Upon discussion you can make arrangements to settle with the vet or farrier or the accounts can be paid via a deduction from the proceeds of the sale.   

It is quite common for the transfer of paperwork from you to Feather Hill and the return transfer of the net proceeds to you to take something longer then 10 business days.   (We do not consider any personal or business checks to be cleared sooner then 10 days and regardless of the new "faster" banking we have documented cases of some checks taking 17 to 25 days to clear as recently as 12/05 and 1/06)

**ATTENTION BUYERS** Please note that if its taking a min of 10 days and maybe longer for FHS to clear your payment and initiate collection of the registration papers from the seller then you should assume that it will take some thing longer then this for the papers to be released to you!  

In the event that you have agreed to an installment sales agreement the10% consignment fee will be deducted from the deposit proceeds.  After all open accounts with Feather Hill, the vet or the farrier have been satisfied the remaining installment payments the buyer makes can be mailed directly to you and this will be specified in the sales agreement.  For installment agreements the registration papers can be handled in one of two ways. They can be held by the seller who will be responsible for executing and mailing them directly to the buyer after clearing the final payment thru your bank, or the papers can be signed and sent to Feather Hill for safe keeping until the buyer and seller both notify Feather Hill that final payment has been made.  At that time Feather Hill will release the papers to the buyer.  However the handling of the papers must be agreed to by both parties and it must be specified in the terms of the sales agreement exactly how the transfer of the papers will be handled.

If there are any questions that we have not answered please feel free to contact us via phone or email and we will be happy to answer your questions.