The Most Overlooked Step in Preparing for Your Equine Photography Session
You’ve booked your session, picked your outfits, maybe even browsed Pinterest for posing ideas. You’ve washed your horse, braided their mane, and triple-checked your prep guide. While these steps are invaluable, one crucial aspect often gets overlooked: groundwork.
Beyond grooming and braiding, ensuring your horse can stand calmly for at least 15 seconds in various settings, whether an open field or barn aisle, is essential. This prevents constant repositioning, reducing potential frustration and allowing for a wider variety of poses. For instance, capturing a serene moment with your head resting on your horse’s shoulder becomes challenging if they’re restless. Similarly, achieving that perfect sunset shot while kneeling beside your horse can’t happen if they’re going to step on you. This is especially critical for black background studio sessions when we are using a naked halter.
To get the most out of your session, I recommend practicing basic groundwork with your horse. You don’t need to become an expert in Clinton Anderson or Parelli techniques. Simple exercises can make a significant difference. Practice ground tying while you tack or untack, take your horse into a field without letting them graze, and ensure they can stand still while you hold the end of the lead and rummage through your grooming bag. These few steps will enhance your photography session and likely make your daily barn time more enjoyable.
Constantly repositioning your horse can lead to frustration, which often shows on your face in photos. In the summer heat, this can quickly ruin the effort you put into your makeup and hair. A restless horse also limits the variety of poses we can achieve. That sweet moment of you resting your head on his shoulder won’t happen if he’s constantly trying to help himself to a snack. Want a beautiful sunset shot while kneeling beside your horse? I need to be confident that you wont get run over to suggest it. And those naked black background photos? Just forget them completely.
Even just a few minutes a day can help. And not just for photos, it’ll make daily life easier too.
If you want to go further, teaching them to square up or yield slightly to pressure can really elevate your photos. But honestly, just having a horse who can hang out and chill with you for a few seconds? That’s the game changer.
If you want to go further, teaching your horse to yield to pressure for easier posing or to square up with a simple flick of the lead can be very beneficial.
This small step helps us get more variety, more real connection, and more of the images you’ll treasure. A calm horse means a calm rider, and that’s where the magic happens.
Want to dive deeper into groundwork? Here are a few great resources to check out:
If you’ve got questions about how to prepare—or want a few tips for working with your specific horse, reach out anytime. I’m always happy to help you feel confident heading into your session.
