Horse rescue auction item ideas that actually sell

For the general list, see our 100+ silent auction item ideas. This catalogue has an advantage most do not: a specific, well-supplied local industry whose customers are your bidders.

Sponsorship, which needs no valuation

• A bale, a week, a month or a year of hay for a named horse
• A farrier cycle, which most people have never priced
• Dental work, vaccinations, worming, a Coggins test
• A veterinary emergency fund contribution
• Senior feed and supplements for an older horse
• A rug, a halter, a fly mask for a named horse
• A month of a rehabilitation case's care
• A section of fencing, a run-in shed, a hay barn

Structure and laddering: hay and feed sponsorship.

Tack and equipment

• Saddles, bridles, pads and girths from tack shops
• Rugs, boots and fly gear
• Grooming kits and clippers
• Riding apparel, helmets and boots
• Trailer accessories and equipment
• Barn and stable supplies

Tack shops are natural donors and their customers are exactly your bidders — a donated saddle is both a strong lot and a placement for them.

Equine professional services

• Lessons or a training block with a local trainer
• A farrier visit or a corrective shoeing consultation
• Equine bodywork, massage or chiropractic
• A saddle fitting, which horse owners genuinely value
• A veterinary wellness exam or dental
• Clipping, mane pulling or show turnout
• Transport, or a haul to a show

The saddle fitting is the item to build. Owners know an ill-fitting saddle causes real problems, a proper fitting is expensive, and it is a service they have probably been postponing.

Experiences at the rescue

• Grooming and bonding sessions
• A groundwork or liberty lesson
• Shadowing the farrier or the vet
• A photography session with the horses
• Feeding time with the herd, or a volunteer day
• Riding, where the insurer permits

Insurance, scoping and horse welfare: riding and equine experiences.

For the general supporter

Equine art and photography, jewellery, books, a horsehair keepsake from a rescue horse's tail trim, restaurant and retail lots. Some of the audience loves horses without owning one, and the catalogue should have something for them.

What must never be in it

• A horse, in any framing — not a prize, a discounted adoption or a choice of animal
• Anything implying priority or preference in adoption
• Riding or handling not cleared with the insurer
• Access to horses in quarantine, rehabilitation or behavioural work
• Anything naming an owner or property from a cruelty case
• Breeding services or stud fees, which sit against most rescues' own position on overpopulation
• Live animals of any kind, which arrive as offers more often than people expect

The breeding one is worth a board decision rather than a committee one. Many rescues take a clear position on overproduction, and a stud fee in the catalogue contradicts it in a way supporters will notice immediately.

General information, not legal or veterinary advice. Liability for any activity involving horses, equine activity statutes, insurance and the terms of any adoption or ownership transfer are specific and consequential — your own counsel and insurer decide how any of this applies.