Can You Train Your Horse to Model? Absolutely!
Have you ever tried to take a quick photo of your horse looking amazing but they end up with their ears not forward or they start walking away? Or have you ever asked a friend to take a cute photo of you and your horse dressed up and they refuse to stand still? Or worse yet, have you had professional photos taken and had to apologize to your photographer because your horse has never acted this poorly before?
Believe me, I have been on both sides of this! With my first horse Wasabi, I had just accepted he was not very photogenic and that there was no way to improve his modeling. He used to always walk towards me, not pay attention, try to eat grass the whole time for portraits, and worse. But one particular year he was essentially on stall rest and I had recently started pursuing photography as a “paid hobby” as I called it at the time. Since I wasn’t able to ride Wasabi, I decided to take it slowly and commit to teaching Wasabi to be a good model for my newly started photography business.
After years of reinforcing my training, Wasabi’s modeling skills were unparalleled. I taught him to stand unattended without a handler (with or without any tack on) and I could walk 10-20 feet away and he would stand there until I came back. I used him as a model for sessions where clients who didn’t have horses wanted to take photos with a horse, friends’ quinceanera and maternity sessions, and any new idea I wanted to try on him. While there was always room for improvement, he showed me how much modeling can be trained and I will teach you some of my tips and tricks for teaching your horse too!
I do not expect any horses to be near as well trained as Wasabi was, but there are definitely some ways to help your horse prepare for a session if you wish! It is a great thing to do if you are looking for something easy-going to do in the winter or while your horse is on a break for example. That said, I am happy to photograph difficult or anxious horses and use my tricks to help them be more comfortable while taking great photos. I do like a challenge, so never let your horse’s behavior stop you from booking a professional photography session!
Now let’s discuss some useful skills you can practice to help your horse become more photogenic, then I will discuss how I personally trained my horse and others to become better models in a future Blog post next week!

Behind the Scenes- Solo Photoshoot of Wasabi with the Spring Trees
First, let’s go over some basic skills that will help horses be better models before moving to more advanced skills.
Standing Still
This is essential to any type of modeling. Ideally we want a calm attitude towards standing still so that there is no stress during sessions.
Handling and Leading
Your horse should be able to lead well in-hand and comfortable being touched on their face or neck for some poses.
Moving Body and Placing Feet
Horses should be comfortable being asked to move over or back up if needed to reposition or pose them. While placing feet isn’t essential, it does come in handy when posing for fine art sessions especially. At least comfortable with feet being picked up is helpful.

Black Background Glitter Session

Updated Conformation Photo

Image taken by Unbridled Media. (no halter in real life!)

Halloween Pirate Painted Background
Next, let’s move on to some skills to work on once good with the basic skills.
Standing in Different Locations and Times
our horse may stand great in the barn after being fed, but what about the beautiful field you may want for your portrait session during golden hour? Practicing standing in new locations can be a good test before your session.
Desensitize to Different Clothes
Are you planning on wearing something non-traditional during your session like a long flowy dress or a bright, shiny material? I’ve had a few horses be surprised about some large or colorful dresses that the owner assumed would be totally fine with, so I recommend doing a test run especially if it’s an expensive dress (such as wedding or quinceanera) or if riding is involved.
Standing While Handler is Further Away
For starters, I recommend just teaching to stand a step back without following you. Many horses want to be right in your pocket and start moving their whole body instead of just their head when guided for some poses. For fine art sessions or solo portraits of your horse, it can be helpful for your horse to have some independence. Additionally, it can be nice to be able to move around your horse while they stay standing in place if you need to place their feet or to guide their head around for a pose without moving their whole body.
Parting Advice
I recommend starting small and implementing positive reinforcement when teaching these skills to make the process stress-free and even enjoyable. For a lot of horses, modeling will be one of the easier things they do in a day and often get lots of treats, so it should be a fun experience for all! I will go into more specifics of how I personally trained Wasabi to be the best model and other horses to become better models as well in my next Blog post in a week!
Please feel free to follow my social media and reach out with any questions or future Blog post topics you would like to be covered!

Sunflower Field Portraits

Graduation Photos at Northwestern University

Tricks are always good too!

Wasabi's first Quinceanera Session with a friend.