3 Tips For Including Your Horse in Your Engagement or Bridal Session

Congratulations! You’ve found the love of your life and are now planning a wedding. The next step is to plan out your engagement photos. But what if you want to include your real first love, your horse?! It wouldn’t feel right if you didn’t include him or her! I’m here to tell you that I’m all in, shouting yes, absolutely, YES to this grand idea! You should absolutely include your beloved horse in the engagement or bridal session. Here are 3 Tips For Including Your Horse in Your Engagement or Bridal Session.

Choose the Right Photographer

If you’re going to include your precious pony in your photos, then you’re going to want to work with a photographer that knows horses well. There are big differences between a photographer that can capture photos with your horse and a photographer that can create incredible engagement or bridal photos with your 4-legged best friend as the third wheel. A photographer that knows horses will be able to read the horse’s mood, help them destress, and make sure that you get plenty of images with their ears forward!

They’re also going to have the best tricks up their sleeve to make the most of your images with the three of you. Capturing horses is a completely different ball game and the horse experience helps tremendously!

Prep Your Horse Ahead of Time

I like to recommend bathing and/or trimming your horse’s whiskers and bridle path early in the day or evening before our session. This gets them prepped for the session without covering you in horse hair and grime just a few hours before your photo session. If you have a clean stall, then I would keep him or her in to help ensure they stay as clean as possible. If you don’t have a stall, then don’t stress too much! A little dirt won’t hurt anything. A light brushing and mane detangling before the photo taking happens will be easy enough. I would definitely keep some baby wipes on hand though so you can wipe her face and nose down to remove any of the unwanted dirt before camera time.

You will want to prep any tack you’re planning on using too. Oil your bridles and leather halters a couple of days in advance so that they’re shiny and dirt free. That’s one less thing to worry about on the day of your shoot!

Do a Trial Run

Before you head out for your engagement or bridal session, it’s important to do a trial run. Your horse might be familiar with the location of your shoot and may only need a few minutes to get used to the new equipment and photographer, but there are some things that are unique about each session.

I recommend bringing along an assistant, who can help ensure everyone is safe during this process. If possible, bring a friend along with you who has experience with horses, so they can be an extra hand, help get those ears forward, hold treats/baby wipes/extra leads, and hang onto the horse! This will also give us a chance to capture some images without your 4 legged friend and focus on YOU!