How to Groom your Horse for a Photography Session?

You’ve booked your photography session. You’ve selected your session theme, outfit, and location. Now the only thing left is actually getting your horse prepared for the session! It’s so important to ensure that on the day of your photoshoot you’re not having to run around stressed, trying to figure out which choices to make. Should I bathe my horse? Hoof oil or no hoof oil? Trim mane or not? So many decisions! In this post I will give you all the tips and tricks for getting your horse to look like a million bucks in time for their portrait session.

First things first, big changes such as clipping should be done a week or two early. The same goes for pulling or cutting the mane or tail – it’s very important to allow time for the hair to settle. The actual grooming prep work begins ideally the day before your session, or optionally on the morning of your session. When planning the timeline for bathing your horse, there are a few things to keep in mind. When considering the options, remember that it is very important that your horse is completely dry by the time I arrive with my camera – including their mane and tail!

What time is your photoshoot? If in the evening, you will likely have enough time to bathe and dry your horse on the morning of the session. If your session is in the morning, you may want to bathe the day before.

Does your horse live in a paddock or a stall? There’s no point in washing your horse the night before if you know they’ll be having a lovely mud bath in their pasture overnight!

Access to sun or a solarium? This will help you determine how early to bathe your horse if opting for day-of preparation. On a rainy day with no artificial heat lamps, you’ll want to plan for several hours and blanket changes to ensure your horse is dry. On a sunny day or with a solarium, you may manage to get away with less time. Regardless, a little waiting around is better than having to rush!

After deciding on when to bathe and groom your horse, let’s move on to how. The goal is competition-ready! A good, full-body shampoo wash will do wonders. After bathing your horse, spray some detangler into their mane and tail and allow for your horse to dry completely before bringing the brushes into the picture. If you have a long-maned horse and you’d like to create some nice curls, you might wish to braid them while wet and allow for them to dry while braided. Once your horse has dried completely, groom them carefully. You can add some baby oil in the corners of eyes, nostrils, and the mouth to create an extra special shine. Only use about half of what you would use for a competition. Any liquid product used on a larger surface of the coat should be sprayed on (not wiped on with a towel) from a far enough distance and allowed enough time to dry. This also applies to bug spray! In addition, do not use wet towels to get rid of dust when doing the final touches, as this will create stripes. Also steer clear of pigmented horse makeup, as this will rub onto your clothes! For safety reasons, make sure not to use any product in the saddle area if planning on riding bareback. This way we can prevent slippery situations.

Oiled hooves create an extra sleek finish, but when freshly oiled, they’re prone to dirt getting stuck on the surface. If you choose to use oil, do so close enough to the shoot so that your horse does not have to enter their box anymore, yet giving it enough time to dry before moving outdoors. Hooves also look great if they’re simply brushed well and wiped down with a towel!

Braiding is a matter of taste. Pick whichever style you feel looks best for your horse, or leave their mane open. Eleonore chose to leave William’s mane unbraided to match her casual outfit selections. For black background images a braided mane does however look especially stunning!

Last but not least, make sure your horse has a little bit of down time after all the preparation work and before we begin the photoshoot. Ensure your horse has had enough to eat and drink to prevent food anxiety. Also provide a chance to pee before we start photographing. By this time your tack should also be cleaned and polished, and now it’s time for you to get changed and ready for your photoshoot! In upcoming posts you can read more about how to best prepare yourself for a photoshoot.

Now that we have finished all the preparation work, enjoy the resulting portraits of Eleonore and William, photographed in The Hague, The Netherlands on a hot, sunny summer day.