Stallion Promotion - Your Stallion's Magazine Ad

Stallion Promotion

Your Stallion's Magazine Ad

By Lisa Atkinson

This article will cover what mare owners look for in a stallion ad and the information to include in it.

Everything about your ad tells prospective clients about you. A professional looking ad with a photo of a clean, groomed stallion gives a good impression about the high quality of care you will provide. On the other hand, a dirty stallion standing in a pasture will not attract many mare owners and gives a poor impression of your farm or stable.

Your ad must be clear, easy to read and uncluttered in order to attract attention and to make it stand out above all the other advertising in the magazine. Additionally, leaving lots of white space ie. not filling all of your ad space with type or photos, will attract attention to your ad. It is a good idea to take a look through stallion magazines and see what catches your eye and then examine the ad to find out what it was that attracted to you that ad.

Your ad only needs to provide a lead in to your stallion with enough information to interest the mare owner into contacting you for all the details. It is not necessary or helpful to include everything in the ad and to do so will make your ad too cluttered.

Text should be straight to the point and in an easy to read type (font). Dark letters on a light background always stands out nicely. Fancy type, textured background, too many colours and too much information make your ad hard to read and therefore more likely to be skipped over.

Important information that should be included in every ad is breed, breeding approvals/licenses/nominations, colour, height, stud fee, pedigree, competition/testing highlights and if shipped semen is an option. Be sure to include the owner’s name, farm name, address (city and province), phone number and e-mail address. While it is important to be straight to the point, being mysterious and having limited information, may not provide enough to hook the mare owner’s interest into contacting you for more.

If you have enough space, information about successful offspring or siblings is of interest to mare owners.

If you have more than one stallion in your ad, it needs to be very clear to which one the information refers.

Another absolute must is a clear photo that shows your stallion as the champion he is. Be objective when choosing your photo, while it is tempting to choose a favorite cute or fun shot, you are trying to show everyone how beautiful he is and how correct his conformation is. It also needs to be in focus and the background uncluttered so the viewer is not distracted by what is in the background. It is often a good idea to get input from your horse friends as to what they think is the best photo.

The type of photo of most interest to mare owners is the side conformation shot. It should show your whole stallion, from hooves to ears and nose to tail, with all of him clearly visible, not hidden in tall grass, blending in with the background or with his tail hiding his hocks. The photo should have been taken with his front and hind quarters an equal distance from the camera. It goes without saying (almost) that your horse should be spotless, in his sleek summer coat and appropriately dressed in show halter or bridle. If your stallion is being ridden, the rider should also be appropriately dressed. For more details on what makes a good photo and taking good photos, see our articles at www.stallionsofcanada.com/articles.htm.

A good choice if you have space for a second photo is a nice performance or movement photo. Again all the same things apply with regard to your photo being in focus and uncluttered with your stallion easily visible. Offspring are a good third choice if you have enough space. Head shots are acceptable but not considered as important to most mare owners.

Interestingly, mare owners like to see stallions treated carefully and some will reject stallions and farms with photos chosen to show their sweet and gentle personality ie. kids sitting on them or owners lying between their feet.

Photos mare owners don’t want to see include: pictures of your facility, pictures which overlap each other, poor quality or badly cropped photos, photos where your horse blends in with the background and fuzzy, out of focus pictures.

As to ad size and colour, most mare owners look over all the photo ads and black and white can be just as effective as colour. It is best to be in the stallion issue because it will likely be kept as a reference for at least a year and often they are kept for longer.

Just remember the most important things are a clear, easy to read design and attractive, in focus conformation photo of your stallion.

Now is the time to start thinking about your next breeding season.

For more information on stallion promotion, check the other “Articles” on our website

Updated March 20, 2003