The Pure-bred 343 



animals and the name of the breeder before the public 

 in a way that will show them that the stock produced 

 is good, reliable, and worth the money. 



SELLING METHODS 



Salesmanship is essential in handling pure-bred horses. 

 There are four general methods of selling which are used. 

 One which has been worked to some extent in the past is 

 the company stallion plan. Under this method the stal- 

 lion is sold to a group of men each of which is part owner. 

 The original idea of the company stallion system was to 

 supply a good horse to those who individually could not 

 afford to buj'. This part of the plan was excellent but 

 the system as a whole has been subject to many serious 

 abuses. At first the system met considerable success, 

 but is not proving satisfactory in most sections, not be- 

 cause the idea was incorrect, but because of the abuses. 

 The first complaint usually comes from the fact that 

 the salesman employs an influential man in the neigh- 

 borhood to aid in the selling by giving him one or two 

 shares. The second is that usually only one or two reli- 

 able men sign the notes while the remainder are poor 

 pay, and therefore it falls on a few to pay the entire 

 amount. Again the method of selling is so expensive 

 that the stallion must bring a considerable amount above 

 his actual value in order to pay for the shares given away 

 and for the profit and expenses of the salesman and his 

 grooms. Also it might be well to note that the class of 

 stallions sold by this method are usually of an inferior 

 grade, as the better class are picked up by the buyers 

 who deal direct with the breeder or dealer at their barns 

 and thereby have an opportunity to select the better 



