FOR some, selling horses is a once-a-year activity, but for Ross Greenwood it's a way of life.

At the Warwick horse sale last week the Tamworth vendor said he had sold thousands of horses of all breeds throughout his career.

Riding atop his paint horse, Trimmer, Mr Greenwood said high returns would be worth the distance to come to the Southern Downs sale.

"I've sold maybe 28,000 horses in total for all different purposes, from meat to pony club,” he said.

"I've just bought and sold all my life and would sell I'd say between 2000 and 3000 every year.

"The best horse I ever owned was Wungumseiko who had 800 jumping points and won the Australian title twice - he was a great horse.

"He was a palomino quarter horse and I'd bought him early on as a foal and had him for a while.

"It's not really hard to see them sell - if you've got a lot of horses you don't get really attached and it's only the odd one you'd love.”

Mr Greenwood explained he had started out as a horse dealer from a young age in Queensland, eventually moving to Tamworth where he had lived for the past 30 years.

He said he had started a secondary business venture to supplement his income, but he still enjoyed travelling to make a good sale.

"I started off as a farrier with the showjumper Kevin Bacon and then I made my first sale it just became a way of life, a way for me to make money,” he said.

"I'm originally from Queensland - I grew up in Mungallala and then went to Beaudesert with travelling shows and lived at Arimba on the New South Wales Central Coast before I settled at Tamworth.

"For me this has been a fantastic way to make a living - the market seems pretty strong here today and I'm hoping I'll fetch a good price.

"Anything's worth the distance if you can sell, but if you can't, it's no good, regardless of if you've travelled.

"As I've gotten older I've started another business sharpening clipper blades so I'm not selling as many.

"I've only got about 200 horses at home at the moment and I've got another stockhorse and a pony to sell today.”

Mr Greenwood chatted with Chinchilla breeder Terry Ryan, who has been selling at Warwick for close to 15 years.

"I've bred a few for campdrafting but I get a few extra and need to offload,” Mr Ryan said.

"I'm selling a stockhorse gelding and pony mare today.”