Cross Breeds

what do you look for in a picture when looking at horses for sale online?

I am curious what you look for when viewing online ads for horses, what do you try to look at from the images before you decided to go out and meet the horses. Do you want them in motion? with a rider? a general side view of their build and body? What are main things that sell you? I was asked by an owner to take pictures of her horse for craigslist, and was considering opening up a "sale" ad package to my photographic services. Some things I am interested in hearing opionions about: >>what about Broodmares? What features would you like presented? >>What would be the top 4 things you would like to see, for CL at least, 4 is the max image. So far, as I undertstand it: > seeing horses represent what they do best..ex, jumping, roping, dressage. > front, back and side to check general build and condition > Good behavior represented. >Horse groomed and nice looking > Rider nice looking, not Cousin Cooter. Another thing to note, and to consider. Its winter. The challenege of dealing with snow and muck is something I am prepared to deal with, but when you all talk about shorts and grass, it makes me giggle a bit. Thats a good 4 months away!

Public Comments

1. I look for a really good confirmation photo, for starters. Jumping photos are good too (if the horse jumps), because you can learn a lot about a horse's jumping style by analyzing a photo.
2. i like a few good conformation shot, maybe one of them just chilling in the barn or pasture. one of them riding...preferably in all gaits.. thats it basically, anymore would be superflous but not in a bad way
3. A good conformation picture. A picture of the jumping free or with a rider (if it is a trained h/j or eventer) Nice flat pictures on the lunge line and with a rider. I also look if the horse is clean and if there hoofs look like they are good condition. It is also important to see if the rider is a descent rider. Bad riders= horses with bad habits. I also like head-shots showing a kind face.
4. I like a side, front and back standing view, then side views in action so I can see how deep they step under themselves. If they are reiners, I'd like to see a slide. I like to see if the legs are straight, how the head looks, if the topline is level. I want to see a rider on them to see if they drop and collect.
5. depends on what you're selling the horse for.....some thing along the lines of this >a shot showing good conformation >depending on the horse show him in his best dicipline....if he's a show jumper then one of him jumping or if he's a show pony then one of him in the ring(action always helps) >try to avoid any scruffyness or mud.....a clean horse always looks more healthy!!!!!!!
6. When looking at a picture of a horse for sale, I want to see lots of pictures!! Ideally, side views of the horse without tack or leg wraps on. If the seller says the horse can jump (this could be applicable to other disciplines as well), I would like to see the horse pictured jumping so I can get an idea of the form of the horse over fences. If the ad says they are broke, yes, I would like to see a rider on them. I prefer pictures where you can tell the horse has been groomed and is well taken care of. There is nothing worse than looking at a picture of a horse where the seller wants top dollar and the horse looks anything but top dollar. As they say, 'a picture is worth a 1000 words'!
7. It's great that you're asking because right now I am looking for horses online and some ads just bug me! First off, I want conformation photos without a rider. I want one the side, and then one directly in front and back without a rider. (To see if the legs are straight.) From there I want to see the horse being ridden by a more professional looking rider. If the ad is saying the horse is professionally trained and is a great show horse or something, I don't want to see Cousin Cooter riding him. I want to see someone who looks like they know about horses on their back! So tell your friend to get in her riding clothes for the pictures. If you can, take a video of the horse doing all different gaits. A video will sell me faster than any amount of pictures! You may also want a stand-still picture with the rider on the back, a "personality" shot (I hate it when people say they have a spunky personality and the only pictures they show are ones where the horse is half asleep), and any pictures showing good behavior. Showing a picture of them getting their feet done, being clipped, being loaded into the trailer are all big bonuses! I saw one ad where a horse had a blue tarp laying over his back. That sold me. The only issue was he cost too much! But I would have gone to see him in a heart beat. It proved to me he was calmer and was that "bomb proof" and the owner wasn't just trying to sell him. Good luck!
8. THE best type of photo to sell a horse with, I think, is a decent conformation shot from the side. The horse should at least be mud-free. If possible in the summer, give it a bath first or pull its mane or something, but when the horse is covered in mud, you know they didn't even try. Brush the horse first. The horse should be standing on level ground, preferably on concrete or dirt so the grass doesn't block his hooves. If the horse is standing on a hill, it can make the horse look all sorts of screwed up when it's really not. Also, take care to not have junk and clutter in the background... if there are old car parts, lawn chairs, or a barbed wire fence in the background - yuck. It doesn't have to be the most gorgeous scenery ever, but no junk. If you can get the horse standing next to the barn wall, that's a nice clean non-distracting background. If the person is going to post more than one picture, you can shoot the horse from the front and from behind, standing. Look at the horse and see if he's standing square, first, though... if he is standing like a duck, people will think he toes out. If he really does toe out, then fine, you're not misrepresenting him, but if he really does have good straight legs, make sure you move him around until he's standing well before taking the shot. If the horse has a job, you can take a shot of him being ridden too... I ride hunters, so I'm always looking at hunter ads, and I just look for a horse basically doing a nice job... a shot that looks calm and normal. Some people put up pictures where you can tell the horse was running like a bat-out-of-hell with the rider clinging for dear life as the horse rockets off the ground from some huge distance, or photos where you can tell the horse is popping over from a super short distance, and i mean, come on, they can get a better shot than that. another photography tip... shooting on an overcast day is good because then there won't be any harsh shadows on the horse, which can play tricks with your eye and create faults where there really aren't any. You can't control the weather, though, so at least try to have the sun at your back when you shoot the horse, and look first to see if there are any shadows that might make him look bad that you can fix by repositioning him. Edited to ad: I totally agree with someone above. A lot of times the person pictured riding the horse in the ad is in shorts and tennis shoes with some hideous old tshirt on and no helmet and they don't even have their feet in the stirrups. Show clothes are nice, or at least, the rider should look neat and tidy in proper schooling attire.
9. If the horse has special talents, then take photos of those. If someone is looking for a jumping horse, then they'll take a closer look at the ad if the horse is jumping. On craigslist, you can put up four photos. So take on side veiw of conformation, One head veiw, one jumping (or whatever the horse does), and one with a rider on the flat. Make sure the horse is clean and in a clean area. Get the horse to look at the camera, but dont use someone to force him to (ive seen this before, it did not sell me haha). I sometimes think that it looks really nice to just put the horses bridle on and put the reins over its head, the end of them about at the withers. If your going to do this, make sure both the bridle and horse are sparkling. For the person riding, you want them to have riding attire on, no jeans and bare feet. Make sure their hair isn't flying around their face, that's very distracting. It would also be nice if they had some good riding experiance. =) I hope this helps and good luck!
10. I like to see a clean horse with a rider that looks like he/she knows what they are doing! [[ and that is wearing a helmet! ]]. If the horse jumps, I like to see a jumping picture to see if he/she has good form. Some confirmation pictures are always helpful. I also like it when they have some videos available of the horse.