HOW true this saying is, particularity when marketing horses for sale. When a horse is well presented in a photograph it speaks for itself. We live in a digital age where now we have the potential to market our horses all over the world.

It has become the norm to upload photographs and videos of horses for sale on the web as clients are reluctant to travel without seeing a photograph and/or video of the horse first. In fact I have heard on occasions of buyers purchasing horses from photographs and videos posted online and not actually seeing the horse in the flesh! This is a rare occurrence, however, it does illustrate the influence a good photograph and video can have on potential clients, given the horse meets their requirements.

It is imperative when uploading photos of your horse or pony that you realise that this is your sales pitch and presentation to potential customers. You only get one chance to make a positive impression and it’s vitally important that you put every effort into having the horse looking its best. No amount of words will make up for a bad photo/video.

CONSEQUENCES OF A POOR PHOTO

Unfortunately, however, many adverts posted of horses for sale do not show the horse at its best and in many cases have a negative impact on the marketing campaign. More often than not, you find that people upload any sort of photograph at hand to promote their stock.

This is evident across many of the websites selling horses. Many sellers are left subsequently scratching their heads as to why they had difficulty selling their animal or why in a lot of cases they got no enquiries at all.

It takes considerable time and preparation to take a suitable photograph of your horse.

It cannot simply be done in a matter of seconds. Put yourself in the shoes of the potential purchaser. If you were to buy a horse in the morning how would you like it presented to you? For example if you went to buy a car and visited a car lot with two identical cars on offer except one is valeted and clean and the other not, which one would you go for? The valeted car would, I imagine, automatically catch your eye.

Therefore it is essential that when you make the decision to sell your horse that you are business-like in how you present it.

In a challenging marketplace it’s imperative to promote your stock looking their best in order to attract potential clients.

OPEN STANCE

The animal’s age and the market you are targeting should influence the types of photos you will post. One photo that should be consistent with all marketing campaigns is that of the horse standing in open stance.

The sequence of legs for the open stance:

  • Near fore directly under the shoulder, with the off fore slightly behind the near fore leg
  • Near hind directly under the point of buttock and off hind leg slightly in front of the near hind leg

    • NB: Near side = side closest to viewer; off side = side furthest away from viewer.

    You don’t need to be a professional photographer to take a good photograph of your horse. The most important thing is that the horse is well presented and in the centre of the photograph. The quality of photographs taken by smart phones today is quite high. Note that if the lighting is poor even the most sophisticated cameras will struggle to take a good photograph.

    PHOTOGRAPHS TO CONSIDER

    Here are a list of different types of photograph to consider including in your advert, depending on the age of animal:

  • Side shot: A side on shot of the horse/pony standing in open stance, alert but relaxed, with ears pricked forward.
  • Action shot: A photo of the horse loose jumping or under saddle, preferably side on with the fence. If being ridden the rider should be smartly dressed and wear a helmet.
  • Head shot: A good head shot of the horse can aid greatly to your advert. The horse should be in good health and well turned out.

    • Declan McArdle, Teagasc Equine Specialist

    Web: teagac.ie