Stallion ads and promotions ...

[TrueColours]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Okay - I am putting together my budget and thoughts for the 2006 stallion ads for Guaranteed Gold.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#In the past, my coverage was limited - 3 on line equine sites, a US publication called The Plaid Horse for 4 issues,  CSHA ads in their publication, and that was about it ...#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Plus last year we nominated him to the AQHA Incentive Fund.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#This year, he is again in the AQHA IF, we are also putting him in the IHF (International Hunter Futurity), the same 3 on line internet ads, The Plaid Horse for the 4 x 3/4 and full page colour display ads, the same ad in the CSHA directory and I am now thinking of putting him in Horse Sport with a 3/4 page colour ad in their stallion issue for the national exposure.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#For those of you that breed - where do you look for stallions and how important are these fancy schmancy print ads to you?#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#When I compare a nice on line colour ad with a couple of pictures for $50.00 - $75.00 for a 6 month time frame versus thousands of dollars for (1) print ad for (1) issue only, you want to make sure that you are getting the biggest bang for your buck!  #ed_op#IMG src="/richedit/smileys/classic.gif"#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl#Do you flip through pages in the stallion issues of publications or scroll through pages on line to make your selections?#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Thanks for your input! #ed_op#IMG src="/richedit/smileys/classic.gif"#ed_cl#  Any and all suggestions would be MOST welcome and appreciated!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[xena_n_joss]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I like looking on line more#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#That would actually be a pretty cool idea, to make a webste just for stallions.. Im sure there is one out there... but it would still be cool#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[goldendryad]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I thought there was a stallion publication that had ads for differnt stallions and articles on breeding, I thought it came out once a year? Maybe it's just out here in SK/Alberta? Hmmmm.....#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I like online ads and sites, I do a lot of hunting on there. More so than anywhere else. I think you get the most bang for your buck that way and are wayyy more accessable. I've never heard of the Plaid Horse mag. When I see a mag. ad I often think the animal must be out of my price range, depending on the publication.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Horse Sport is a good mag. for your demographic. But probably pricey. So is Practical Horseman.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Ruth]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I look online more too. That being said I found Benno's Hit in a small print ad in the back of Dressage Today. However I was not reading it with stallion shopping in mind.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I like to see a good conformation shot, straight on the side, no funny angles, I want to be able to see the hoof and pasterns. If they are hidden in grass I wonder what's wrong with them. That's the most important photo to me, if there's a couple of other performance shots then that's gravy, but if I can't find a decent conformation shot of the stallion, and he's not knocked me off my feet for another reason then I move on. There are a lot of stallions out there these days, and I'm not going to spend a lot of time emailing for more pictures. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I like to see shots of offspring - preferably adult offspring if possible.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Very important - the stud fee. Booking and stud fee, collection fees. It's amazing how many stallion owners leave this information out, or make it difficult to find. If it's a horse like Idocus I figure if I have to ask I can't afford it, but most stallions are not in that snack bracket in North America.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#A brief overview of the stallions performance record and highlights of the offspring's performance record is nice. If the stallion has no performance record a reason why is nice.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Contact info, and a link to a website are also good. Even if you don't have a lot of photos of the stallion on the ad, a link to more pictures on a website is handy.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Kaleena]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Not that I'm in the market for actually finding a stallion but I have to say that I love the stallion issue of Horse Sport. I really like seeing so many stallions together in print. The ones that really stick in my mind are the ones that have all the information Ruth listed. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#While I'm still in the dreaming stage, I do pick out stallions that I like and follow their careers and babies. Rasputin being one of those. I saw him in a small add a few years ago and liked the look of him. Visited the website, really liked what I saw. I've been keeping an eye on him ever since.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#A good personal website for the stallion is a must thses days. I like when there are short video clips of the horse being ridden along with the traditional comformation still pictures.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[graciespook]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I pick up the magazines...I like the glossy ads and nice photos of the stallion..it really helps. If I'm impressed, I will remember it. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Ruth]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Yep, I'd breed to Rasputin again, no problem. Nice, nice stallion.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#The stallion issues are fun to look through for sure.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#GD - there is a Stallion Guide that they have been sending out for free the past couple of years. They are now wanting money for it, but I am A)cheap and broke, B)have saved last year's and C)#ed_op#STRONG#ed_cl#if#ed_op#/STRONG#ed_cl# I do breed this year it will be to Farrington if he stays on this side of the Atlantic, so I am not going to get it.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[TrueColours]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Thanks everyone!#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Also - The Plaid Horse is a new publication that just started up last year and they seem to have great coverage and it gets distributed at ALL of the big shows along the Eastern seaboard from Florida all the way up, so it give great exposure in the American Southeast to Northeast markets. Its at Harrisburg. Madison Square Gardens, the Florida circuit, Devon, etc#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Its at:#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#A href="http://www.theplaidhorse.com/"#ed_cl#http://www.theplaidhorse.com/#ed_op#/A#ed_cl##ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#And the other good thing is that every issue is available online fopr browsing as well #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Probably for 2007 we will make the plunge into the Practical Horseman or COTH stallion issue with a full page ad as well and then also re-evaluate which venues we will continue with and which we may change ...#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Azalee]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I'm interested in this as well as I manage my #ed_op#A href="http://www.sloacres.com/"#ed_cl#BO's site#ed_op#/A#ed_cl# (plug, plug) and she is now standing her stallion.  I'm trying to find different venues online to advertise the stud.  (She's handling the print side of things, such as CSHA directory etc.)#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Which specific sites do people look at?  I've inserted an ad here on EC.  How about equine.com?#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#BR#ed_cl#I also made his homepage on the barn's Website look a little different from the others so he stands out a little.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[zooka]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#both times I looked in the stallion issue picked out ones that I thought looked good then researched them more online.  Hope that helps#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[Kobau]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Well i raise morgans, paints and qh.. so i get the breed pubications, and i have to say the morgan ones are ones i like, it is conformation and performance shots. the APHA and AQHA ones are all photoshop'd and quarter shops, which are fine because hip is important on those breeds, but i want a performance shot, or in the very least a good side on conformation shot. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I do most of my looking online now.. if i see a stallion in a print ad that gets my attention i will then go search for him online...and when i was standing my own stallions, i kept them mainly for private use and so only did a few online ads.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#Hope that helps.. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#

[cadence]

#ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#For those of you that breed - where do you look for stallions and how important are these fancy schmancy print ads to you?  . . . Do you flip through pages in the stallion issues of publications or scroll through pages on line to make your selections?

#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#As a mare owner who always researches stallions by seemingly the hundreds each winter to narrow down to a few top choices, I do both.  I buy the Stallion Directory of the breed I want represented, in my case, Hanoverian.  If I like what I see in the directory, I will go to the website that each stallion syndicate/owner/handler has to see more. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I want to know his pedigree and lineage as many generations back as possible, his papa's performance record, winnings, temperament, conformation, trainability, as well as his mamma's.  I want to know the stallion's personal show and winnings record, his temperament, his conformation, his trainability and his handle-ability.  If he has a tendancy to be hot, I would want to know he is well suited to a cool mare, and vice-verse. Temperament is top priority for me (you can have the most gorgeous horse in the world but if he's a devil to be around, what's the point?), so I want to know his personality and temperament right off the top.  I want the stallion owner to be willing to let me come to their farm to meet the stallion in person and possibly see any some of his offspring too. I always meet the stallion before I decide to breed, even if means I have to fly there.  And I ask many questions and if the stallion owner is not so willing to court me, they don't get my mare to service.    I don't waste their time and I don't want mine wasted either, but on the other hand, I want a portion of their available time for me.  When you go with photos, make sure they are professional photos that really show off his superb conformation and the kindness in his eyes.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I want to see good pictures, write-ups or web-links of the stallion's offspring over a period of years out of a variety of different types of mares or cross-breeds.  I want to know how those offspring are doing in competition, how well this mating improved the offspring, how trainable the offspring are known to be, their temperament, their conformation, whether he has produced a number of approved stallions and mares and how much he has contributed to the improvement of the breed in general.  I would guess for those who breed for a certain colour, they would want to see his probability at producing their particular "colour", so if you know your stallion is guaranteed to be homozygous palomino or chrome or paint, I would state it. #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl# #ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl##ed_op#DIV#ed_cl#I spend all winter "window shopping" and looking around.  By March, I have narrowed the choices down to the top 5 and those 5 I go visit and get "down and personal" in my shopping, from which I then narrow it down further depending on the number of mares and their individual pedigrees, type, temperament and conformation.#ed_op#/DIV#ed_cl#