Placing an advert on Horsemart is straightforward, but how you fill it in makes a real difference to how often your horse appears in searches and who enquires.
This guide walks through each stage of the “Place an Ad” process, explains why certain fields matter, and flags common mistakes that can quietly reduce visibility.
If you’re still preparing your horse or writing your advert, those steps are covered in more detail in our Guide to Selling collection. This page focuses purely on getting your listing live and working properly.
Step 1: Choose what you're advertising
Start by selecting Horses for Sale, then choose the most accurate category for your horse.
Categories aren’t just labels. They control where your ad appears when buyers filter by type, job, or intended use.
Best practice:
- Pick the category that best reflects what the horse currently does, not what it might do one day
- Avoid "catch-all" categories unless they genuinely fit
A miscategorised horse won’t show up for the right buyers, even if the rest of the advert is strong. If you’re unsure how to describe your horse clearly before choosing a category, this guide helps: How to Write a Horse Advert Listing That Sells Faster.
Step 2: Basic details (price and category)
Once you’ve selected your category, you’ll move into the Basic section.
Price
Adding a price is strongly recommended. Ads without prices tend to attract more time-wasters and fewer serious enquiries. If you’re open to offers, use ONO rather than leaving the price blank.
Additional category (optional)
Use this only if it genuinely adds clarity. Adding irrelevant extra categories can confuse buyers and dilute search relevance.
Step 3: Horse details (this affects search results)
The About section is where many ads lose visibility without the seller realising. Horsemart uses these fields to match your horse to buyer searches.
Breed
- Select up to two breeds if applicable
- Use recognised breed options rather than typing them into the description
Age, gender, height, colour
These fields are heavily used in filters. Leaving them blank means your horse won’t appear when buyers narrow their search.
Common mistake: Entering details only in the description and skipping the form fields. Buyers filtering by age or height won’t see the ad at all.
Step 4: Horse's name and breeding history
The horse’s name helps buyers remember listings they’ve viewed or saved.
Breeding history is optional, but if you have it, fill it in properly. Structured breeding data is clearer than burying names in the description.
Step 5: Writing the description
This is where buyers decide whether to enquire. Keep the description:
- Factual
- Easy to scan
- Honest about experience and suitability
Avoid emotional language or future promises. If you want a clear structure you can follow, see How to Write a Horse Advert Listing That Sells Faster.
Step 6: Photos and video (Enhance section)
This is where your advert gains traction.
Photos
Upload clear, recent images. Reorder them so the strongest image appears first. At minimum, aim for:
- A side-on photo
- A clear headshot
- Ridden photos that match the horse's job
For a full breakdown of what to photograph and how, see How To Photograph Your Horse for Sale To Maximise Interest.
Video (optional but recommended)
Adding a short video helps buyers assess movement and way of going before booking a viewing.
Use a public YouTube link and keep the video focused and relevant.
Step 7: Contact details and location
Choose how buyers can contact you:
- Phone
- Or both
Pick one you can realistically keep up with.
Location
Your location cannot be changed later, so double-check before continuing. Buyers often filter by distance.
Common mistakes that hide ads in filters
These are some of the most common reasons ads underperform:
- Leaving key fields blank (age, height, breed)
- Using the wrong category
- Relying on the description rather than form fields
- Uploading unclear or misleading photos
- Setting no price
Most of these take seconds to fix but have a big impact on visibility.
Before you click 'Next'
Run through this quick check:
- Is the category accurate?
- Are all the relevant fields filled in?
- Does the description match the photos and video?
- Would you enquire based on this advert alone?
If you're not yet at the viewing stage, this guide explains how to prepare once enquiries start coming in: Preparing for a Horse Viewing.
For the full selling process from start to finish, see The Ultimate Guide to Selling a Horse Online.
Managing your ad after it's live
Once you're advert is live, you don't need to start again if something changes. From your Horsemart Dashboard, you can manage everything in one place.
Your Dashboard
When you're logged in, your dashboard gives you a quick overview of:
- Ads you've viewed recently
- Messages from potential buyers
- Saved searches and favourites
This is also where you'll find quick access to managing your own adverts.
Managing your ads
Under Manage My Ads, you can see all your listings grouped by status:
- Active
- Inactive
- Expired or sold
- Drafts
From here you can:
- Edit an existing advert
- Reactivate or deactivate an ad
- Check how many ads you currently have live
- Return to drafts you haven't finished yet
If you need to tweak wording, add photos, or update the price, you can do it here without creating a new listing.
Messages and enquiries
All enquiries sent through Horsemart appear in your Messages area.
This keeps conversations in one place and avoids missed emails or mixed-up contact details. You can reply directly, see message history, and keep track of who you’ve spoken to about which horse.
Prompt replies tend to lead to better-quality viewings, so it’s worth checking messages regularly once your ad is live.
When you're ready for the next step
If enquiries start coming in and you’re preparing for viewings, this guide explains what buyers expect to see and how to avoid common mistakes on the day: Preparing for a Horse Viewing.
For the full selling process, from preparation through to completing the sale, see The Ultimate Guide to Selling a Horse Online.
