How to Improve Equine Adoption Profiles to Increase Adoptions

Whether you’re gearing up for May’s Adopt a Horse Month or looking to increase adoptions throughout the year, use these tips to help your horses put their best hooves forward.

Step 1: Inventory Your Horses

Increasing adoptions begins with taking inventory of the horses at your facility to ensure the right horses are available for adoption. This often requires that you challenge yourself to rethink what “adoptable” means.

• Horses on medical holds: Was the injury well diagnosed? Consider including an adopter as part of the rehabilitation process for injuries that are straightforward.
• Horses in training: Many potential homes have the same, if not more, resources and skills for training horses. Consider marketing them to a home with training experience.
• Horses not listed for other reasons: The right person can’t find their right horse if they don’t know where to find them.

Who isn’t ready to be marketed? A good rule of thumb is that every horse is ready if you have the diagnostics and behavioral evaluation to provide an accurate picture of their path forward. But if the horse is on medical hold with an unknown prognosis or hasn’t been evaluated behaviorally, it’s best to investigate further before marketing them.

Step 2: Update Photos and Videos

Once you’ve decided which horses to make available for adoption, it’s time to make them shine! Gathering good photos and videos will save you a lot of time because they allow adopters to accurately assess horses. And when you’re updating the photos and videos as often as possible, you’re able to share horses’ progress, training, and quirks in real time.

To enhance your photos:

• Learn our top tips for taking compelling photos

To enhance your videos:

• Film horizontally whenever possible. If you plan to share the videos on social media, though, vertical is best.
• Limit the length to 1-3 minutes
• Show off the horse’s skills. If they’re a riding candidate, be sure to include their movement and training process. If they’re a companion horse, highlight their groundwork or them interacting with another horse or human. Do you think your older senior would be a great first horse for a kid? Feature a youth volunteer interacting with them!

Step 3: Enhance the Horses’ Bios

One of the most important components of a horse’s adoption listing is their bio. Bios ensure that you’re making a good match between horse and adopter, and they can make or break a potential match.

Elements of a strong bio include:

• Positive language: You can (and should) be honest about the horse while still promoting them. For example: “Smokey suffers from cushings and will require daily maintenance and medication” vs. “Smokey has cushings that is easily managed through medication. Our team will walk you through his routine—it’s super easy!”
• Personality: Highlight the characteristics and quirks that make this horse special.
• Core information: This includes breed, age, health status, and training status.

Ultimately, you’ll want to consider the type of adopter your horse Is best suited for, and then write the bio for them.

If you’re pressed for time or struggling with how to promote a specific horse, consider utilizing a volunteers’ fresh perspective or asking our Horse Adoption Resources for Shelters and Rescues Facebook group for help!

Need a little more help? Read our full list of tips for writing adoption listings.