Videos are a great
way to showcase your horse and his talents. A video will show all
emotions, expressions, and is a highly effective sales tool when done
the correct way.
I can’t tell you how
many times I have received such poor video tapes of a horse, where the
people making the video give a terrible portrayal of the horse, even
though the horse himself may have some talent.
The best place to
take your video for a show horse, is AT THE SHOW. I find that the
excitement, the music, the announcer, and color of the show ring add to
your video immensely. Pick a part of the arena that gives you an
unobstructed view of the horses. The best place is usually on the “50
yard line” and up high in the bleachers where you don’t obstruct
anyone’s view. Video tape the whole class, if possible. A good
entrance is always impressive. Getting a good ribbon at the end is also
impressive. Showing off the horse’s leg move is paramount and is best
done against a solid arena wall.
Center the horse and
rider in the middle of your video screen at all times. Avoid shooting
through any rails…find a higher point from which you can take your video
so that the rails don’t interfere with seeing the horse and rider.
Follow the horse and rider and when the horse approaches, using your
zoom feature, pull back a little so the horse is still fitting on the
video camera screen. Then, as the horse moves away from where you are,
zoom in to keep the horse about the same size and in the middle of your
camera screen. A nice close up head shot of the horse in line up is
also beneficial.
Making a video at
home has the same criteria as at a show ring. Try to video the horse
going down some type of straight line (on a road, down a fence line,
etc.) with an unobstructed view. There’s nothing worse than seeing a
horse going through trees, swerving to avoid obstacles, etc. Avoid
excessive talking and yelling at your rider…have a plan…don’t just get
out there and ride around and ad lib during the video. It’s too
disruptive to the viewer and the horse.
For a non-riding
video, yearlings and weanlings for example, it’s difficult to get good
footage. Try to get them to walk (not run) in a relaxed, purposeful
manner. Don’t video a colt ambling along nibbling at grass etc. A
running colt is not necessarily very good either….it’s too hard to keep
them in the frame and usually people are more interested in their
walking and middle gaits. Keep your videos as professional as you
can. If your video does not turn out well, wait for another day. It’s
worth the wait when you can have a great video in your library to send
to prospective buyers.
Another suggestion
may be to produce a MASTER video to send out to prospective buyers.
This could encompass videos of your farm, training barn, and videos of
each horse. It’s best done in sections….barn and property, breeding
stud(s), broodmares, 2 year olds, yearlings, show horses, flat shod,
built-up, etc. It would be good to have a short narration for each
horse or subject, telling the name, age, breeding etc. Music is nice if
you have the capability. Then, not only are you sending a video tape on
a particular horse, but that same prospective buyer may see something
ELSE he or she is interested in.
Hopefully, these
suggestions will help you produce a great video library of your stock
and increase sales. Ready? Lights! Camera! Action!
