How to Market a Breeding Stallion

A breeding farm or private owner may own an outstanding stallion that would be an excellent choice to breed. The stallion that is an incredible athlete, with superb conformation and temperament, can pass all those traits on to his offspring. But unless mare owners know about the stallion, the bookings will be low. A strong marketing plan and good advertising are vital for stallion owners to reach their target audience of mare owners.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

1. Check out the stallion's specific competition. Look at other breeding stallions in his disciple, but also look at possible crossovers. If you have a grand prix dressage stallion, he is naturally going to be a great mover. This may attract mare owners looking to produce hunter or jumper sport horses. See what the going rate is for similar stallions and how successful their marketing strategies have been.
2. Set an advertising budget. This will depend not only on your starting cash, but on your stallion's breeding fee and how many times you realistically expect to breed your stallion for the year.
3. Identify your stallion's strengths. Is he a proven competitor, obviously winning and generating buzz? There is always a demand for certain bloodlines, but be reasonable and objective. Once you identify the stallion's individual strong points, finding mare owners looking for those qualities will become easier, your advertising message will be clearer and you can spend your advertising budget more efficient.
4. Look for potential weaknesses in your stallion. You want to know any possible setbacks before they blindside you. Take steps to offset any weaknesses and counteract any possible future problems. For example, if your stallion is young with no prodigy, many mare owners will be hesitant to breed to him. The horse industry wants proven stallions. Early on it can be difficulty to tell which types of mares crossed with your stallion will produce the best offspring. You want to win hesitant mare owners over by constantly reminding them of your stud's strong points, any wins or well-known championships, his superb movement and temperament and any other admirable traits he could pass on to offspring.
5. Spread out your advertising dollars, and don't put it all into one media or one advertisement. Instead, spread it out over several different media types to give your stallion the best exposure. Make sure to hit the publications and websites that are going to be viewed by your target audience. If you own a Quarter Horse stallion that specializes in reining, you don't want to advertise in an Arabian magazine or on a hunter-jumper website, no matter how large it is. You want to invest in ads in the AQHA Magazine and Western Horsemen. Many publications offer joint deals for running a print ad and placing an advertisement on their website.
6. Create a slogan and logo for the stallion and incorporate it into your breeding campaign. Place it in all ads and if you show, have it embroidered on his cooler and on his stall guard and/or stall drapes.
7. Invest in quality photography and video that shows off your stallion. A thousand good words can't undo the damage of one bad photo, so don't skimp on a photo budget.
8. Print stallion fliers to post at local feed stores and at prominent shows. If you can afford to print on both sides, put a picture of the stallion, his performance info and "bio" on one side and his pedigree on the other.
9. Create a webpage or an additional page on your farm's website for the stallion. A webpage has the advantage that it is working for you 24-7. You can also use it to provide possible clients with additional info, more photos and even an online video of the stallion.

Tips & Warnings

• Wonderful foals are the best advertisement for your stallion. Breed some of your best mares to him early on in his career to ensure his first foal crop is a success.
• Get your vet to evaluate how well his semen performs under the different shipping methods, ie fresh cooled or frozen.