Horse Roundup 2023 | Equine Marketing 101

If you’re in the business of making horses with the intention of selling them, but aren’t attuned to the best marketing strategies, a quick Google search will instantly deliver numerous professionals who offer equine marketing services. Over the years, marketing horses has changed from simply choosing a horse sale to put a horse in, to using the internet, social media, and print platforms to showcase horses to an even larger audience.  

“What we’ve learned is that you really only have a few seconds – market research shows you have between eight and 30 seconds – depending on your audience, to grab their attention, and that’s not very much time at all when you’re trying to sell a horse,” says Robin Scherbarth who produces the Legend Buttes Horse Sale in Crawford, Nebraska with her husband, Cody. “What we’ve found is the number one way to catch your audience’s attention is they need to fall in love with the horse immediately, based off the picture or video.” 

It’s easier now than ever to take good pictures and videos of horses and post them to social media using smartphones, or if one really wants to step up their game, drone video footage. But if someone is afraid they don’t have an eye for it or isn’t sure how to cut together a video, Scherbarth encourages them to opt for professional help. 

“Based off some of the data that we’ve collected from our website, our link clicks and reach on Facebook, things like that, we’ve been able to increase our reach and link clicks and the amount of time people are spending on our website by like 80 percent with those higher quality photos and videos, which in turn brings people to the sale,” Scherbarth says.  

Because of that evidence, Scherbarth developed a media package she offers to consignors, offering to take professional photos and video footage for a reduced fee. She also has in-depth information on the website for those who prefer to do it themselves, including professional verbiage to use for a horse’s write up, and how to take the best photos possible. For example, some tips include standing the horse on flat ground and having at least three people to take good photos: one to run the camera, one to position the horse, and one to get the horse’s attention. She also recommends to always have the sun facing the horse (behind the photographer) and to be level with the horse, pointing the camera at the horse’s girth, right in the center of the animal. 

“Some people think if you take photos from the back it will make the hip look bigger, but then it distorts the whole horse,” she says. “So, I think you really need to be perfectly broadside with the sun shining directly on the horse. Of course, have the horse well-groomed and fly sprayed off so they’re not stomping their legs either.” 

For Sammi Johnson of SJ Equine, a professional equine marketing service based out of Piedmont, South Dakota, knowing conformation and what is attractive is also key to taking good sale photos.  

While short video clips are becoming more popular on social media, Johnson still believes that quality photos are the most important aspect of selling a horse.  

“I feel like if you have good photos that draw people in who are shopping online or maybe scrolling through Facebook, and they see a photo that really catches their eye, then they’re going to take a few extra seconds and look at it and maybe even click on the link to the video,” Johnson says. “Whereas, if you have a bad photo of a horse, it could be a beautiful horse but if it’s a bad picture – the lighting is bad or if their head is in the wrong spot – it could be the perfect horse for them but they’re going to scroll by.” 

Good videos certainly play their part in marketing horses, though, especially for online sales or bidders. Having a video start out with a “bang” to hook a potential buyer is the best way to keep interest throughout the video, perhaps by using drone footage, a slow-motion shot, or even catchy music.  

“The only videos I post on social media are called Reels. I use trending music, I post a couple two or three second clips to make an eight or 10 second video of him roping or side passing or opening a gate like the highlight of it, then use that to send them to our catalog page that has the full YouTube videos,” Scherbarth says. “Once again, people have short attention spans, and so do I.” 

Scherbarth also suggests, instead of posting one 15-minute sale video to YouTube, group similar content to one video and create multiple videos. For example, one shorter video of the horse roping, a separate video of the horse being saddled, another video of a reining pattern. Limit the editing when cutting videos together, for the sake of appearing suspicious.  Rather than having a video of the horse loping a circle to the left, then cutting to a video of the horse loping the opposite direction, show the transition and have the video be as continuous as possible. 

“Your video should depend on the audience you’re trying to reach,” Johnson says. “If you’re trying to sell a kid horse, be sure you have kids interacting with the horse. If you’re trying to sell a finished team roping horse, be sure that you have videos showing that the horse has been to different arenas, rodeos, jackpots. Make sure that whatever your audience you’re marketing to, make sure you have video clips that pertain to that.” 

Scherbarth encourages sellers to keep in mind that to sell a horse, you are essentially compiling the horses job resumé, and if you wouldn’t apply to a job with the same type of detail and professionalism, you probably won’t see as much benefit by not be selling your horses that way, either.  

“If you’re not putting your full effort in, you can’t expect to get the full results and I think that goes for a lot of different things in life. Whether you’re selling in a sale or private, you just always want to put your best foot forward and be honest because, even if your horse has quirks or requires maintenance, people will still pay very good money for that,” she says. “It’s just like buying a car that you know, might need tires in a few months. That’s fine with you, you know about it, but if it’s a surprise, that’s when people get upset. So be honest, up front, and professional.”