Everything You Need to Know Before Your Equestrian Photography Session

I know we all love to look at pictures with pretty ponies in them. However, including your horse in a photography session can be daunting. As both an equine photographer, and a horse lover who has included my own four legged friend in many a session, I’m giving you the full rundown on how to have a successful session with your horse. So here are the before, during, and after tips and tricks that I implement with my own horse and encourage others to use when having a photography session with their horse.

How to Prepare Your Horse for Your Photography Session

1. If your horse is generally high energy and struggles to focus on you give them a good ride or lung before your session. This will take off their initial edge and you will thank me later. Nothing causes more stress during an equine session than having a horse whose brain feels unreachable.

2. Give your horse a bath. Personally, I prefer to bathe my horse the day of the session and than cover them with a sheet to help keep the dust off while I get ready. This prevents stress right before the session if you were to find them dirtier then anticipated. Plus, it saves your photographer from extra photoshop work.

3. ShowSheen is your ABSOLUTE best friend! I am an avid ShowSheen user, and my horse never walks out for competition or a photoshoot without us going through this ritual. As soon as I sweat scrape the bath water off my horse, I cover them from muzzle to tail in ShowSheen. I go extra heavy on their legs since those generally get dusty the easiest and won’t be covered by the sheet. Then once they’ve dried and I take their sheet off I spray their entire body again. I follow up by rubbing them down with a sheepskin glove and brushing out their main and tail. This is guaranteed to make your horse’s coat shine.

4. Baby powder is a necessity! We all know that Quick Silver Shampoo work’s wonders on socks and light-colored tails. But have you ever wondered how some people get their horse’s socks so shiny? Well, I use baby powder. While their leg is still damp, I will cover the socks in baby powder and rub it in all the way down to the skin. I then seal it with ShowSheen. Once my horse has dried and I am completing the final touches I will brush off their whites with a soft brush. I will then apply baby powder once more repeating the same strategy of rubbing it in down to the skin. I will then brush it off any excess and mist the legs with ShowSheen.

5. Keep your horse covered while in the trailer. If you are trailering your horse to the photo session location, you want to try and minimize any damage they can do to your beautiful cleaning job on the drive. When I trailer my own horses to sessions, I keep them covered in a sheet (usually with a neck piece), a tail bag, and shipping boots. The sheet will prevent them from getting black rubs on their haunches from the drive. The neck piece will help their mane lay flat as well as keep any hay or shavings out of it. The tail bag will keep their tail from getting manure on it, and the shipping boots will protect their legs from dust and manure. In other words, the drive to a photo session is a bubble wrap experience for my horses but it is worth it to have them come out of the trailer clean at our destination.

6. Clean anything you intend to have on your horse in the pictures! This is often an overlooked area but is important. If you are planning on having ANYTHING on your horse during the photo session, make sure it is clean and in presentable condition. If you are using tack, make sure you have cleaned it beforehand because sweat marks, dried slobber, and jockeys will show up on camera, especially in the detail shots. Also, if you are using a lead rope, rather than something leather, make sure it is in good condition, isn’t too colorful or distracting, and is clean and supple.

How to Handle Your Horse During Your Photography Session

1. Bring a brush box with you. I like to have a brush box with a soft brush, main and tail brush, ShowSheen, Hoof Oil, a sheepskin glove, and lots of rags. Having these things handy help to keep my horse looking sharp throughout the session.

2. Bring treats! I personally like to bring A TON of Altoids peppermints. These are my treat of preference because they come in a container that can be rattled to get my horse’s ears up. They are small, so they are easy to conceal in my hand if I need my horse focused on me. They can be eaten fast because they are small and they are white, so they don’t cause my horse’s mouth to foam with a distracting color.

3. Use movement to your advantage. As photographers we already love having movement in our photos. So, if your horse doesn’t want to stand perfectly still that’s okay. Walk them in circles or lead them back and forth. Just know that your photographer is going to continue taking pictures so keep your face photo ready.

4. Don’t stress! If your horse isn’t behaving as you envisioned, try not to let it get to you. Your photographer is still going to be getting great photos. Just try not to stress as it will both add to your horse’s angst, thus worsening the situation, and stress will show on your face in photos. Honestly, just try to ignore your horse and continue as normal, the photos will still come out great that way!

5. Bring a hay net! Having a hay net available will make your life so much easier during a photo session. It gives your horse something to focus on immediately after exiting the trailer so you can do your final grooming touches without them looking all over the place. It also will help them to stand calmly in or next to the trailer for any pictures you may want to take without them.

What to Do with Your Horse After Your Photography Session

1. Love them! Our poor horses put up with so much ridiculousness that we put them through. Be sure to give your horse all the treats and love after your photography session. They cooperated to the best of their ability and probably did way better than most toddlers. LOL.

2. Enjoy the pictures. Not everyone is lucky enough to have professional pictures with their best friend but having those pictures can make all the difference in the world someday. Make sure you enjoy them! Don’t just put them in a file somewhere and forget about them.

I know that having a photography session done with your horse can seem stressful and not worth the effort. But I am here to encourage you, both as a horse lover and a photographer. One, it seems much more difficult than it is. Two, it is 100% worth it. The professional pictures I have of Piper are some of my favorites and are ones I will never regret taking. Plus, call me a crazy horse girl, but a photo session with Piper means that I get to spend an entire day with him just pampering him and having a good time. That’s a good day in both of our memories, its bonding time, its time spent with one of my favorite souls on this earth, and it’s a memory that will outlive the physical images. If I truly love this horse, why wouldn’t I want to find an excuse to hang out with him and have a good time. At least that’s the two cents from a girl totally obsessed with her not so little pony.