Stallion Promotion

Stallion promotion begins with a perfect picture. It ends with a happy customer and business success for years to come.

In order for your breeding operation to succeed, promoting your stallion is extremely important. An effective ad is very important; it must jump out and capture the breeder’s attention, maintain it with detailed additional information, and encourage the breeder to choose your stallion. Once chosen, it is of the utmost importance that you take care to please the breeder; her experience with you will make or break your business. Explore different mediums with your ads; there are multiple print and electronic options. Power up your promotional strategy and see your business flourish.

Creative effective advertising:

First and foremost the ad must capture the breeder’s interest. Make obtaining a beautiful photograph your top priority. Hire a professional to ensure the picture is of the highest quality and truly highlights your stallion. Professional photography also increases the picture’s adaptability in various formats (online, print, etc). In addition to photography, include multiple professionally edited videos to highlight his spectacular movement, conformation, color, and performance. The photographs and videos must be available to customers in multiple mediums.

After capturing your customer’s interest, you must maintain it. After drawing I the reader with an excellent picture, maintain the breeder’s interest by preparing information on the stallion's performance record, pedigree and progeny. Listen to what the breeder values when they contact you, and then stress how your stallion best suits their needs. Send an attractive brochure (available on either electronic or print copies) with detailed information on your horse. According to Andrea Laycock Mattson, a stallion promoter with 35+ years in the business, “Part of the fun and excitement of choosing a stallion is to talk it over with friends and family, and be able to discuss your stallion's merits as compared to other available choices. Make it easy for them to convince others they have made a good choice. “ A detailed brochure allows customers to have a personal copy of your stallion’s information that is easy to reference. Include contact information in the brochure; make choosing your stallion as easy as possible.

Offer a variety of superior services to ensure customer satisfaction. Once the breeder chooses to use your stallion, fulfilling his needs is extremely important. Ultimately this means returning the mare healthy, happy, and pregnant. Make the process simple and personalized. Partner with an artificial insemination specialist if shipping semen, especially frozen semen, seems to be increasingly popular with your customers. A satisfied customer will spread your name and return for breedings to future mares.

Share your advertising

Explore different mediums to market your stallion to the fullest extent. Both print and electronic sources are very valuable when promoting your stallion.

Print advertising

Register your stallion in breeding directories for immediate exposure to your audience. The breed registry sends the magazine stallion directories directly to breeders; additionally most registries also boast an online directory too. Magazine ads provide additional marketing opportunities; the more the breeder sees your horse’s name, the more curious and willing he becomes. Post flyers in local tack shops and feed stores, and make sure business cards and your breeding brochure are readily available.

Electronic advertising

According to the US Census (updated June 30, 2009) 251,735,500 people in US use the Internet, approximately 73.9% of the population. Take advantage of such a large market to promote your stallion. To begin with, investing in a domain name is an invaluable marketing move. You may purchase a domain name in several formats for varying fees; the most effective domain name is a www.yourstallionorfarm.com name. Websites such as GoDaddy.com make purchasing a domain easy. Build a website that underlines your stallion’s best features, your services, and his progeny. Include customer testimonials. Make contacting you to schedule breeding effortless by including a page used solely to show your contact information.

In addition to building your own page, promote your stallion in online directories. Do your research to see which directories gain the most traffic. Check horse classifieds, breed registries, and showing organizations. Consider the social networking site Facebook. Facebook provides significant networking opportunities; create a page just for your stallion or breeding operation. Friend as many equestrian people as you can. Upload pictures and videos that highlight your stallion’s strengths and the services of your facility.

By promoting your stallion in several locations, you increase his exposure and the amount of opportunities to attract breeders and mare owners. Explore your options with the different marketing mediums and take advantage of prospective chance to expand your stallion’s presence in the industry—you will find success through extensive, professional promotion.

Expand Your Horizons—Go International

In recent years, the demand for imported horse has increased dramatically. Specifically in the upper levels of dressage, show jumping, and eventing, the desire for imported European warmbloods gives United States trainers and breeders an excellent opportunity to expand their businesses.

Communication between the local trainer/breeder, the customer, and the breeder/trainer abroad is essential to creating a successful international business. Eliminate unnecessary confusion and commission fees for the customer by dealing strictly the customer, international contact, and veterinarian; do not employ more agents and “go-between” men. A close relationship with the trainer abroad will only enhance the knowledge of the horse and its suitability for each individual customer.

Ultimately, the customer has the means to go abroad himself and search for a horse; he seeks your advice to quicken the process and find a horse that will truly match his desires. Therefore, a trainer must take into account that he imports for a customer, and he should make the process as straightforward and effortless as possible for the customer. Although customers will want to be involved in the process, the trainer should address all aspects of the purchase before it begins and should have a flawless, proficient system in place that eliminates any possible customer stress.

Services to consider when importing for a customer:

• Customer-horse suitability tests
• Extensive pre-purchase veterinary exams before import
• Partnership with a transportation company to decrease risks and complications associated with the importation and quarantine processes
• Importation insurance policies and horse mortality insurance policies
• Proper registration with American showing and breed organizations

The trainer/breeder should have a personal contact in Europe. Ideally, the local trainer has visited the European facility in order to best evaluate the foreign trainer, the quality of his horses, and his suitability to work in a professional setting. Both trainer need to have a common understanding of terms so the customer-horse pair may truly be a match. Certain suitability tests accompanied by videos and explanations will help to ensure customer satisfaction.

Trusted veterinary examinations prior to the purchase are crucial to avoiding future frustration. Most customers prefer to work with their local veterinarian. Provide uncomplicated, efficient means for this vet to work with the veterinarian abroad; they will need to share test results, x-rays, and video footage of the animal in motion. If necessary, address a language barrier by hiring a translator with sufficient knowledge in equine terminology. Do not import a horse without it passing extensive pre-purchase exams.

Partnering with an equine transportation company may diminish complications during the actual importation and quarantine of the horse. These companies are well established and have a thorough understanding of the processes. Research and choose a company that offers several quarantine locations, air transport that complies with US regulations (regulations vary from country to country; its best to choose a service with its base in the US), and registered US Customs brokers license. Horses must meet the criteria of both US Customs and the US Dept. of Agriculture.

Please see the United States Department of Agriculture website for more information on current animal/animal product import and export policies: http://www.aphis.usda.gov/import_export/index.shtml

Horses travel at their own risk. Customers must be made aware of this fact. Provide your customers with a means of insuring their horses by offering the names of insurance companies that offer importation/mortality policies.

Since the majority of imported horses show competitively in the US upon arrival, offer the customer easy access to showing and breed registries, such as the United States Equestrian Federation (USEF). This is a simple procedure, but offering to register the horse for the customer will only improve your standing in his eyes.

Expanding abroad requires a sufficient amount of research and partnering, yet once set, the system works itself. Success in the equine industry relies heavily upon word of mouth—exemplary customer satisfaction is absolutely necessary to profit; provide the customer with a straightforward, stree-free international experience an your business is sure to meet success in the long run.

Requirements of a Barn Manager

The current economic market allows employers to uphold increasingly higher standards with their employees. The equine industry, too, requires more skills, certifications, and experience from its members. The changing requirements for the position of barn manager sparks the recent debate over which skills and experiences are most valuable and relevant for employers to consider when hiring a barn manager.

A barn manager is essential to the overall success of a facility. According to equinest.com, a website dedicated to finding careers in the equine industry, the following is a list of barn manager responsibilities.

Responsibilities

· Hiring & firing of barn / stable employees

· Training new employees

· Overseeing barn / stable staff

· Developing & enforcing feed & cleaning schedules

· Ordering supplies & feed

· Maintaining equipment, supply & feed inventory

· Dispensing & applying prescribed medications and treatments

· Developing & enforcing exercise routines and lesson schedules

· Available for emergency after-hours

· Managing disposal of waste

· Arranging and overseeing vet visits, worming & shots

· Arranging and overseeing farrier visits and schedules

The barn manager oversees all aspects of horse care, requiring an expertise that spans the entirety of the industry. Which begs the question, which skills and experiences are the most important?

In the past, being hired as a barn manager required little formal education; employers valued horse experience above everything else. Now however, as employers gain more liberty in choosing appropriate candidates, a higher education greatly increases one’s chances at obtaining the job.

An education in management or veterinary practices is invaluable. The business knowledge gained in a formal education enhances one’s ability to oversee the facility. From managing accounts to improving computer skills to adjusting budgets, a barn manager with a business education will boost the facility’s efficiency and organization. Veterinary skills allow the manager to react quickly and appropriately in situations where the local veterinarian cannot assist promptly. A manager with veterinary skills may also decrease the owner’s overall cost, as he will be able to treat minor aliments without the medical diagnosis a veterinarian.

As beneficial as a formal management or veterinary education is, employers must continue to assess candidates’ personal experiences with horses. Horse sense is an elusive quality, highly valuable and obtained solely through experience. Only through years of working around horses may one acquire horse sense. A barn manager must have horse sense in order to run the facility successfully, as he must understand the horse and his actions in every situation, prepare for them, react to them, and prevent them if necessary.

In the end, a barn owner must assess his priorities and consider his aspirations for the barn manager. A barn manager with a formal education will increase his facility’s efficiency; a barn manager with horse sense and experience will run his facility effectively. A barn manager with appropriate, balanced skills and experiences will fulfill his role most desirably.