[columbus]

I thought this is a wonderful article about what you should consider when shopping for horses using video and conversely it is a cue to people MAKING video about the issues to consider to make a useful video.
http://www.impulsionunlimited.com/im...orses-for-sale

[Winding Down]

TO QUOTE FROM THIS ARTICLE: Be careful not to judge a horse too harshly when trying to evaluate his overall quality. Videos can be the enemy of great horses and a friend to poor-quality horses. They can make great horses look just a bit better than average and bad horses look just a bit worse than average.

This is one reason I do not like to send videos to prospective buyers. Another reason is that it is extremely difficult for me to get videos done and edited. I figure if someone is serious enough about looking, they will be looking in this area of the country, and can make a stop at my farm a part of their trip.

[judybigredpony]

TO QUOTE FROM THIS ARTICLE: Be careful not to judge a horse too harshly when trying to evaluate his overall quality. Videos can be the enemy of great horses and a friend to poor-quality horses. They can make great horses look just a bit better than average and bad horses look just a bit worse than average

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I second this and I personally prefer short clips of the the horse moving loose where no editing is required.
although a professioanl video done @ a show or event is usefull.

[IronwoodFarm]

I respectfully disagree. I sell horses to a national market. I do not expect anyone to get into a car for a long distance ride or on a plane to buy a horse sight unseen.

While I agree that videos can be problematic, as a seller I think it is more helpful than not. If you are selling a horse for any kind of money, it is expected to have a video. Is it inconvenient to make or edit? Sure, but this is how you advertise when you sell horses. I think it comes with the territory when you sell horses, just like showing them to prospective buyers takes up your time and effort.

The article is pretty dated when it comes to video technology. He is talking about editing and mailing TAPES. Since then we moved to DVDs and now to YouTube videos. It takes much less work to shoot and publish a short video. If you have a green horse, you can update it easily.

[Winding Down]

Margaret, who does your videos? I really should get a dressage video done of one of my guys.... I just don't want him to look "just a bit better than average."

I respectfully disagree. I sell horses to a national market. I do not expect anyone to get into a car or on a plane to buy a horse sight unseen.

While I agree that videos can be problematic, as a seller I think it is more helpful than not. If you are selling a horse for any kind of money, it is expected to have a video. Is it inconvenient to make or edit? Sure, but this is how you advertise when you sell horses. I think it comes with the territory when you sell horses, just like showing them to prospective buyers takes up your time and effort.

[judybigredpony]

Ironwood as do I, and I feel to much is over kill...its a fine line to acheive a quality and true representation..AND it also is important to remember a $150,00. show horse verses a $5,500. green horse.
Some video w/ artful editing, music, fade in fade outs, completely detract from the essence of the true horse, but also a poorly done video w/ distracting backgound noise (babies crying, wind, traffic, dogs barking) on poor surfaces bad light are just as bad.
Anytime a proffesional quality video is available from a competion its best.
But a poor overly long or chopped video is worthless.
Also regardless of the medium, tape,CD,DVD,YouTube crafty editing can make a less than stellar horse look like a rock-star.
I prefer to give the Buyer a good feel or essance of the horse, short but quality. Unless I have something done by a proffesioan @ a competition done w/ much higher quality equipment.
To each his own.............if it works for you go with it.

[IronwoodFarm]

Judy, clearly you have never seen my videos! They lack artistic style to be sure! They tend to be short and show what the horse does at the moment. I see their purpose as helping the buyer determine whether they want to come see my horse. Sometimes a prospective buyer will ask for something very specific and I will video it based on the request. It is a screening mechanism, pure and simple.

Do people pass on my horses because of the video? I am sure it happens. I'm not skilled enough to make my horses look like rockstars, but I'm not selling to the rockstar horse market either. I also know that I have never sold a riding horse without a video being provided first unless the prospective buyer is fairly local to me (like within an hour).

I completely agree with you that there are wildly over-produced videos and incredibly bad videos out there. I've also seen the same variation in print ads, word-of-mouth statements, Internet ads, etc. I thought the OP's point of sharing an article, albeit dated on the technology side, was helpful.

I'm quite fine with people passing because they didn't like the video. My time is limited and I really would rather spend it with a buyer who has done her homework as far as screening is concerned. The standard is video these days. I am sure changes in technology will make it something else in the future. Perhaps remote virtual riding will be possible.