How to video a young horse for sale

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Hi - we met at the Pam Goodrich Clinic.


Your website is very informative - I will definitely recommend you folks to anyone looking to sell their horse.

Anyway, I wanted to follow up with you guys - not that I'm in the business of selling horses but since I'm sometimes asked to prepare videos for folks thought it would be helpful to followup our conversation at PG clinic - Also, I have a 3 yo WBx (DW, Holsteiner, TBX) bay white pinto and may have to sell him . Anyway  here are links to some videos I've edited.

Thanks for looking - would appreciate any comments, feedback, etc.
Thanks much.

Thanks for your email. Here are a ideas you might want to consider.


My first suggestion with him would be to get him going under saddle before trying to sell him. There are a ton of unbroken 3 y/o's out there and unfortunately, they are not bringing a lot. I think your investment of time or money to get him started under saddle would pay back very well.

It was difficult from your video to get a good feel for temperament, conformation and basic gaits which are the primary areas as a buyer I would be trying to evaluate.

With an unstarted youngster I would be looking for the following for evaluation:


Temperament

  • Catching/Leading
  • Grooming
  • Aisle Manners (cross ties etc.)
  • Picking Feet
  • Clippers
  • Walk and Trot straight away and to the camera on a lead line
  • Loading on and off a trailer (in standing wraps)

Total length of completed video section should be 3-5 minutes.


Conformation


Still Photograpgy: all shot with a 50mm lens to minimize distortion

  • A nice head and neck shot (braids are recommended)
  • Front
  • Back
  • Side  showing all four legs (open pose) with neck out
  • Closeups of legs: Front, Back and Side
Still Shot of Trot - Usually I take these with the my Nikon but you can also get good shots out of the video editing software if shooting 29 Frames a Second (non-interlaced mode). Most video editing software lets you put still pictures in your video like a slide show (allow 3-5 seconds for each picture.


Movement

  • Walk and trot in a straight line away and back towards the camera.
  • A few minutes of Walk. Trot, Canter in and enclosed area at liberty in wraps.
  • As a 3 year old, I would want to see Walk, Trot and Cantor  both directions on a lunge line at a minimum.

Other information:

  • Introduction Titles

  • Pedigree if that is a selling point

  • Credits including how to reach you for more information

Final Thoughts:

 

Some people really like lot's of creative presentation in their videos "slow motion" and other "special effects". I feel that it is easy to over do it and creates a distraction to the subject matter so I would avoid extreme creativity.
 

Tailor Made Owner Update

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Tailor is continuing to gain skills.  I absolutely adore him!  He has won the hearts of everyone at the barn at Smith, although he has gained the nickname "Houdini".  He has escaped twice.  Once in the middle of the night when he figured out how to unlatch his stall, bringing the campus police to the barn where they reported seeing a "large moving object".  Then again when he crawled under the paddock fence in pursuit of better grass!  He is well known and well loved by everyone there and seems to like being a college student.  I did find a dressage person at Smith's barn that is working with us.  Tailor has turned out to be the perfect horse for me and a wonderful, but large, addition to the student body of Smith College.  Thanks for making him mine. Smile Abby
   

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