In order to get the best out of your photoshoot, you have to have your horse looking their best! Take a look at these grooming tips to help make that happen.
Plan It Out
It's always best to plan for more than enough time to get your horse ready. If you show, you'll have a good idea of how long it'll take, but still plan for even more time just in case something goes wrong. Plan so that you don't have to rush- rushing usually results in black hoof polish on white socks or a poor clip job, which is not exactly the look you're going for.
Within your plan, you'll need to decide a few things: will they need to be body clipped, just a few things, or not clipped at all? what will you do with their mane- nothing, band, braid, roach? will you be putting a fake tail in? will you polish their hooves? if so, black or clear?
Lastly, you'll want to plan for the inevitable eye boogers, green mouths, and spontaneous mishaps- so pack a small grooming bag to bring along with us during your session including a couple rags, wet wipes, fly spray, face oil, bands, soft body brush, lint roller, water bottle and anything else you may need!
Horse or Baby?
If you choose to put makeup on your horse, please, please, please, I am begging you to only use clear and not black. Black will get all over your clothes and I do not want to photoshop it out of every image. You can use the popular Silverado Face Glo, or I like to use baby oil or PAM too.
To get their white spots as white as can be, use baby power and tap it into their white markings. This works nicely if they have a freshly clipped blaze- turn it back to white instead of pink!
And lastly, use baby wipes or a damp rag to clean the inside of their ears! Those little dark caves can get really dusty.
Protect Yourself
If you choose to use black hoof polish, please wear gloves to protect your fingers! That is another thing I will not be excited about photoshopping out of every image. I also recommend getting all the clipping, painting, and oiling done on your horse before you put your nice clothes on (so basically get your horse completely ready before you get changed)! This way you reduce all the chances of getting your clothes dirty before we even take one photo.
Just Hire Someone
Can't do a good band job yourself? I'd definitely recommend hiring someone to do the job for you so you have one less thing to worry about. I always say no bands are better than bad bands, so if you're not able to find a professional, consider leaving their mane free flowing (or my favorite, roach it). If you won't have enough time to prep your horse at all, the best idea would be to hire someone to do everything!
Don't Sweat the Small Stuff
They're horses and horse love to hurt themselves right before important outings! Don't worry if they get a new scratch on their face or have some scars you don't like to show, that's what photoshop is for ;)
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