Preparation of the horse- Start at lest 2 weeks ahead by adding a small amount of corn oil to your horses feed. This will help improve there coat, main and tail. A few days before the shoot wash your horse, this gives time for the coat to recover its natural shine before the photo shoot. Before the shoot curry with show sheen & cowboy magic.

Background (shooting location)
It is important to pick a level area with a complementary background with out many objects that could draw the eye from the horse. Ideally a green pasture or other natural back ground usually gives the best results. Check the location the day before to make sure that nothing there will shadow the area the horse will be in.

Poses for your Horse. You need to check and see what poses are expected for your breed of horse. Check magazines for poses for your breed of horse. Quarter horses are usually shot from slightly behind. Each breed has certain poses that are looked for. Pay close attention to the placement of the legs.

Equipment
You want a camera with a long lens, at least 125 mm or greater is preferred. As long lens will distort less that a short lens. The shorter the lens the greater the distortion is in general. You might end up with a horse that has an oversized rump and head with a small body.

Time of day.
The time of day you shoot your picture will greatly effect the quality of your photo. Photography has been described as painting with light. Its a very apt description of what a photograph really is. The best times for taking a picture of your horse is within 2 hours after sunrise and 2 hours before sunset.

Placement of horse
Stand with your back to the sun – have your horse handler lead the horse so that the horse is at a right angle to the end of your shadow. If the horse has a weak rear shoot them slightly form behind.

©2012 Joan Dyer

The horses back legs are well underneath him- rounding and lifting his back and arching his neck. thr horses front legs, This reduces weight on the front legs alowing the horse to respond more quickly and improves the horses balance. 

As a beginning / intermediate rider the focus is on feeling and recognizing the roundness of the less advanced horse.

Observing horses trotting lose in a field, most horse will be some what hollow with neck and head forward and with there back legs to far out behind them.

The horse that has its hind legs more underneath themselfs , filling there back with and allowing them to arch there  neck .

A horse  ridden with incorrect reins ie from the head  back will have a bend in the neck – caring the head vertically but with the back hollow or depressed and the hind legs behind him.   This forces more weight on the forehand and results in an uncomfortable ride.

Riding a horse that is correctly rounded gives you a felling of lightness.  As the horse rounds the back producing a slight side to side swaying  at the trot, and not the harsher up down motion of a hallow horse at the trot.   The reins are used to keep the head and neck strait so that so that leading can be done with other aids.

The horse head is not pulled back by the reins, but held gently and used to help keep the horse round.

Free trotting horse exhibiting roundness

The best emergency plan for trailering you can have is one well practiced. Having an experienced hauler and being used to operating your rig is always the best. One thing the recent flooding on the East Coast and the many fires in Texas should have taught us, is evacuation is sometimes necessary, and you don’t always get a lot of time to get things done.

Plan it out:
How many animals do you have?
How many can be hauled in one trip?
Do you have special needs horses? Such as: Stallions or mares with young foals?

Map it out:
Map out and prepare a list of places you can go to. These can be your local expo center, rodeo arenas, vet centers, or farms in your area but out of what would be a local evacuation zone. And most importantly have alternate routes in case you find your primary or secondary routes blocked.

Who’s going to help:
Who will help load the horse?
Can you load every one by your self do you need help?
Do you have a list of people to call for help, either extra sets of hands or extra trailers?
Your local riding clubs are a good place to network.

Have tack and equipment ready:
Make sure you prep extra halters and leads as well as loading tools, whip, lunge line. I keep these items in my trailer at all times. that way they are there when I need them and I never have to go looking for them when an emergency arises.

Evacuations don’t have to be frantic if you’ve prepared ahead of time