What do you want to see in a sales video? does it depend on the quality/ level
of the horse? do you want to see gates each direction? do you want to see the horse in a dressage test? what else do you want to see? do you care if its a fancy video with special effects, music, etc?
Personally please no music ! Walk trot canter both directions schooling and a test would be great. With good conformation stills from either side.
Edited to add … whatever the horse is being advertised as (schooling vs confirmed showing) just show it.
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No special effects or music, just titles with relevant info. Extra credit if you show the horse walking and trotting directly away from and directly towards the camera in addition to whatever it is being advertised as being able to do.
(If you don’t have anyone to help with this, Pivo + your smart phone can do a pretty good job.)
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Ditto no music!
Under saddle I want to see all three gaits in both directions, from the side. Walk I want to see both collected and free, from the side and from front and back. Bonus for showing trot from in front and behind too.
I especially want to see any particular movements or skills listed on the ad - for example if the horse is advertised as being at Third Level, please show a clean change in each direction, half pass, collected trot and canter, all done with an appropriate “frame,” impulsion, level of collection, etc for Third.
And please show the transitions between gaits - don’t cut from walk to canter, etc.
I also appreciate when sellers include videos of the horse without tack - a 360 walk-around to give clear views of conformation.
And I really (REALLY) appreciate it when sellers include the price in the video.
All that information is enough to decide whether it’s worth contacting the seller for more info and / or a test ride, and stops me from wasting their time asking for info on horses that aren’t in budget or don’t meet my criteria
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Another on the no music please. I like to hear the sound of the horse’s footfalls. And to hear if anyone is talking to the horse, and the ambient noise the horse normally listens to.
I feel like music covers up a lot and is used to distract. And I don’t like a lot of the music people use, so that right there makes me not like the horse as much.
In addition to the really good points raised above, I also like to see how the horse’s ground manners are.
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If there’s music, I always mute it.
Videos that show no or a few transitions are immediately suspect as hiding something.
If the horse is advertised as being trained to a certain level, you bet I want to see all of those things shown.
A test video is absolutely the best, accompanied by conformation shots, and Coming/ going vids of walk and trot.
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Horse standing square on level surface, well lit, then 360 around the animal for overall conformation, show feet and legs clearly. Horse first walking, then trotting, away and back, in a straight line, on a good level surface, again in good light. Then being ridden, in good light, and showing what the ad says it can do, not endless, pointless circles showing nothing but a horse going in endless, pointless circles (usually in semi-darkness). Basically, a professional looking video by someone who knows and understand what a potential buyer would be looking at. That would give me some confidence that other aspects of basic horse care might also be done to a good standard - less to worry about should I purchase the animal.
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Transitions. I want to see the horse getting into and out of canter. Show a good length of walk. Trot in both directions. A lengthening in trot from a good angle.
If you include music, i mute it.
Conformation shot.
Pull saddle and show me the back.
No music. No special effects. Preferably no piecing together clips as much as possible.
And BREVITY. I’m not going to watch an hour-long ride. I don’t need to see the horse walk for an entire five minutes.
Personally, my ideal sale video to watch would include:
One a 20m circle, in succession and each direction: 15-20 seconds walk, 30-45 seconds trot, 30-45 seconds canter; no splicing of clips, schooled as one 4- to 5-minute segment showing all transitions and change of direction, etc.
Followed by a run-through of a test at whatever the horse is advertised as schooling. Splicing these two segments in from two separate clips is fine.
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I like the also hear the horse breathe in rhythm with the canter. Relaxed
I prefer to see:
Someone leading the horse to be mounted. Mounting and dismounting. And a brief ride w/t/c and I want to see the horse take corners and make the transitions.
But I am generally buying 3-4 year olds. If I were buying a finished horse, I would want to see everything in the level the horse is advertised.
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360 conformation shot, braid the tail roughly if needed. If the horse is said to be trained to a certain level, show that, show all three gaits efficiently (no endless circles). However, if I am buying long distance, and this is increasingly common, I would like to see someone put a halter on the horse, tie it in whatever manner is usually done, and pick up all of its feet, put the bridle on, and tighten the girth while showing the head and hind end in the video (no clipping the pinned ears or swishing tail!). This sounds absurd, except you can see a lot about the overall current handling and the horse’s attitude from all of that.
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No music for sure. I want to hear breathing and foot falls if possible. Keep it simple, all 3 gaits under saddle and without. Walk and trot to and from the camera in a straight line.
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No music, no voice overs, no special effects, no cuts. I want to see 30 seconds max of the basic gaits. Then I was to see another 2-4 minutes of the horse working at its level to the best of its ability with the best rider available. I want to see the transitions, not just strings of 4 second clips of movements.
Most trainer’s I’ve worked with have an attention span of about 1 minute when watching a sale video, so put the good stuff up front if you want them to keep watching.
I don’t want to see it getting groomed, tacked up, led to the arena, mounted, walked for 10 minutes, etc. unless its 3 years old (maybe). Some people do want to see that stuff, but there is no reason it can’t be in a second separate video.
I want conformation shots as still pictures - don’t stick them in the video and make me try to pause it at the right second.
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Often I think it is best to have more than one video. The first video would briefly show conformation of the unsaddled horse (not a photoshopped still) then quick w/t/c on the longe (not tail over back loose in a field). Finally show all three gaits under saddle including transitions between and within gaits as appropriate. Agree no music and no slow motion and only the briefest of artsy shots.
The other video would be tailored to the horse. For a trained horse it should show the skills for the level claimed, preferably in a test. Also show any more advanced skills. Depending upon your target audience it may help to show the horse being unflappable. For younger horses include handling and anything to highlight trainability and temperment.
I think you need a short sale video that quickly shows off the horse and then an additional video or two providing more commonly requested info for serious shoppers. For the show horse a test video might come first.
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Please NO slo-mo. No fancy effects like fireworks. I prefer no music. I would rather have the video just show video and not the still pictures or bloodlines, etc, but I understand that sometimes the video serves as a general repository for all of the information about the horse. Video should show everything that the horse is being advertised as knowing how to do. Prefer it’s as seamless as possible - no one video showing walk, then new video showing trot, then a third video showing canter. Try to put it all together. A couple of breaks okay but always leads to questions (why did they cut the vid, was the horse acting up?).
MsM hits the nail on the head. Multiple videos for all the extras.
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By all thats holy no slow motion. Its a sale killer for me ha! I wont watch it. Ditto on the music, I mute it always. No special effects.
All the other points listed here. Brief, transitions, mounting, handling, not a lot of chit chat.
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and be aware of the background (junk/broken fences/trash) and lighting (sun shadows) as those become distractions which drift the mind of the viewer off from the target…the horse.
Also dress appropriately for the discipline
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Oh…and please wear a helmet. If you don’t, it doesn’t make me think the horse is any safer, just that you’re not so bright.
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And for the love of God please don’t include a photo of you standing on your horse’s back!
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