When browsing a miniature horse website....

[Chaos Ranch]

I was just wondering about a couple of things. Like....

When you see an ad on the computer about a horse or horse product for sale/stud, and it does not have a website... do you ever inquire about the horse or product or even continue reading the ad?

And... in what order do you view the web pages on a miniature horse site? I go in this order (if they have them all)

Stallions (if the stallions don't impress me at all, I leave the site)

Mares (gorgeous stallions bred to "lesser mares" can still produce bad genetics)

Sales (want an idea of how they value quality)

Foals (must see what's being produced)

Links (good horses on this site normally means equally good breeders on Links page)

Once in awhile "Show". (I don't show, but go doe eyed over horses in their formal attire!)

What about you? What order do you visit in and why?

What about the "extra" pages... like Sold; Pets; Fun Pics; About us; Past Foals etc. do you ever visit those?

What about pedigrees on a website.. I myself like to look at them and see who's where and what they're producing. Do you?

Over-all... what is the very best way we can represent our awesome little breed of horses that you don't feel is done enough on today's websites?

I think one thing that would greatly define the little ones... is to show more photos of "what they do"... professional photos are great (I absolutely LOVE them)... but what about the pictures that show their curiosity, affection, playfulness, their draw to the kids, their versatility, humor, driving, jumping, visiting the sick, parades, things like that.

I think the number one question I'm asked is .... "What do you do with them if you can't ride them?".... do you think we should direct a little more attention to that than we do?

(told you I was curious about a couple of things :bgrin )

 

[Relic]

l'm not very nice l go to the stallion page first and if l don't like them l go to the links if they have them and keep going. l always found if the stud isn't what l like then the mares usually aren't either. Head problems here l guess.

 

[Marty]

I want to see a website, yes. Atleast one page. It can be any kind but I really feel more comfortable with looking at a horse on a website.

First of all, I don't rush through anyone's websites. I don't go looking at websites unless I really have some time to spend on them. I like to do a thorough job and hit every link they have in the order that they have it in. That way, I don't miss a thing.

No, I do not stop at just one picture of a horse and say "that's not what I like"....I keep going to see what else they have. I want to see all the horses.

I really appreciate it when people would put their name on it! There are lots of websites where you don't even know what the people's names are. I also like phone numbers listed. That's a lot easier than an email if you are getting serious about a horse they might have.

I love the extra pages, the fun pages and extra photos. It gives me a chance to try to get to "know" them as real people instead of "cyber" people. I want to get a good idea of what they are all about. That helps me learn a lot about thier animals and how they are taken care of.

I want to see their barns or shelters. I want to see thier pastures. I want to see everything I can! I'm terribly nosey.

I love to see horses standing up nicely and posed. That's because if I am interested in a foal for instance, I want a real good look at the sire and dam. The more poses and information the better. But also, I like to see free standing shots as well.

On my sales page I have included a variety of pictures and poses and close up pics of the sales horse's legs and bite too, and much information about personality and bloodlines. This is to show the interested partys up front what I have here and to keep them from going back and forth with a million e-mails about basic questions. Just wanting to cover the basis.

 

[lvponies]

I guess I do things backwards!! I usually go to the sales page first as I'm always looking. If I like something there, I then go back and look at the stallion and mares pages. Don't normally look at the show pages unless a horse I'm looking at has been shown. Don't look at the fun pages either. Getting ready to have my very first website built, so have been looking at alot of existing websites to see what I like and what I don't.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

On the salespage for example, if it's just an oridinary text ad I usually skip it. Unless its something I'm real interested in than I click on the details. Often I look for a website, no website skip it, rarely I would email and see more info but if its something that Im greatly interested in I will email. Pictures makes the ad stand out IMO.

Stallions

Sales page

Foals

Mares

Geldings

Shows

Links

The homepage should be the very first thing anybody sees. If its something I like I will go to the other pages.

If I go to any extra pages it would be About Us, Fun Page, Past Foals, now the Sold Page if I'm greatly interested in this site I will go to it. Rarely I would go to pets page.

Pedigrees if I'm interested in the horse sure.

I love to see professional or well done photos of horses. To show off their personality is great too.

Any other photos probably should go to the fun page, like nursing home visits, going to schools, etc... If those visits are important to you make sure you mention it on your home page or your About Us page to draw your audience attention to those pages. Other than that people might just want to see the horse itself and those added pics might load the page itself longer, unless you have each individual page of that horse.

On your home page or About Us page, explain what you do with these little guys. I like to give a little story about each of my horses, but of course text doesn't take long to load at all, pics do.

 

[hobbyhorse23]

I'm the opposite of most of you. Since I don't breed I usually visit the stallion and mare pages last. I start with any fun and interesting pages, ALWAYS the show pages. Not so much because I care about the show records but because I want to see how the horses move and all the harness and appointments and how the handlers are dressed. Trying to learn, don't you know!

: I visit the foal pages in hope of some cute baby pictures and I almost always end up on the sales page because that's usually how I got linked to the website in the first place. A bad website (i.e. trashy pictures of ugly horses, bad text--boring, poor grammar, obvious exaggeration or ignorance-- or poor organization) will make me leave ASAP. The more friendly and personable the text is, the more negative aspects of a site I will put up with and continue to browse. Or if the horses are truly incredible I will stay regardless of bad text.

I love the individual animal websites. You know the ones. They have a bunch of well-chosen and cute pictures of someone's favorite gelding, both show and candid, with a description of the personality and some cute stories about him. Or those diaries of growing foals or a dwarf's life. I love those!

Leia

Edited to add: I don't mean the less professional sounding the text is, the more I like it. I mean the more I can get a feel for the person or people behind the keyboard, the more involved I feel. You can be professional and still sound like a person with interests and opinions and a sense of humor!

I also look closely at the driving pictures to judge how they train and handle their animals. You can usually tell by the horse's expression and neck posture if they are happy and have been taught to be "through" and on the bit, etc. I will become wildly excited when I find one of the few sites where the minis have clearly been trained with dressage principles or a very sensitive handed driver. Sites with one horse like that I remember, ones with every horse like that I bookmark and write in stone as one of my favorites.

 

[txminipinto]

I usually hit the stallions page, then foals, and show/sale pages. But, if you don't have nice photos (not professional, just nice) of your horses, then I don't spend too much time looking. Heads need to be up. Pasture shots are fine, but not if the horse's nose is buried in the grass!

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

I usually go to Sales or Stallions first if not what I like I am outta there

If the sale page has old pics I mean like newborn pics of 2,3 5 yr old horses, or a big group of horses and you are supposed to guess who is who, or head down pics, or a pic of a horse galloping (those are all cute extra pics but I want a clean picture of the horse I am looking at before those) I am outta there

I do look at about us type of pages if i am interested in the rest of the site.

I dont and wont look at show result pages unless they have the number of horses and other such info on there but usually even that isnt somewhere i spend lots of time.

I like to get a feel of the person from there site and find that most I have surfed seem to do that

:

That doesnt mean that you have to have professional photos in fact I would prefer not to be honest at least when I am looking at sale horses but a good clear conformation shot.

 

[Bluerocket]

hmmm - interesting question.

I start with the Sales Page -- to see WHAT they are selling (vs keeping) and what price range.

I then visit the MARES page - to see what the mommas look like (for the babies I fell in love with on the sales page!)

I visit the STALLIONS page next - usually out of curiosity - again to match with the babies

I like the SOLD page and the SHOW page to see what they had -- that is out there somewhere else.

I don't usually visit the FUN pages etc.. or the LINKS page.

I find that people don't ALWAYS breed to their own stallions -- and some people are simply AWFUL at taking pictures -- so a bad picture of a stallion or mare does not turn me off -- UNLESS they have bad photos and HIGH PRICES.

 

[ivytoro]

I usually start with the stallion page. From that page, you get a pretty good impression of what that farm breeds for. To me, it makes a big difference of whether I like the pictures or not, I don't need professional pictures, I just want to see that the owners put a bit time and effort in the photographs. I see no need for pictures of hairy, dirty and ungroomed horses out in the pasture.

If I don't like the pictures, I'll probably leave right away. If I like the pictures, I go on to the mares pages, then the foals and the sales.

If there are additional pages with fun pictures etc ... I like visiting those, too. I've also seen once on a website a description of this farm's very own standard of perfection and thought this was very neat and very interesting. Once in a while, I also find it interesting to read the "About us" pages.

I hate sold pages and outdated news pages. Plus, I hate it if a website has no mares pages AT ALL. Other than that, I pretty much like viewing anything. But decent pictures are a definite must (BTW not only for the stallions, but also for the mares!).

:

Julia

 

[mininik]

What a fun topic! I always start with the Sales pages, then go to Stallions, Mares, Foals, etc. My thinking is that even if I don't like what a farm is breeding they just might have gotten lucky with a certain cross or have a horse for sale that I will like that isn't from their farm.

: To be honest, I usually DON'T like the great majority of Mini stallions I see being used. Poor quality pictures are always a big turn-off to me, as is music playing in the background of a site and NO PRICES on a Sales page. I do enjoy seeing show pictures and being able to read a bit about a farm. When I'm done I also like to check out a Links page to see who a farm would send me to if they don't have what I'm looking for...

 

[Firefall]

I usually start on the sales page to see what they have. If its a foal I like, then I look for the sire and dam, then on to the pedigree to see who's in the back ground. But I usually also see what all their mares look like and what the stallions are producing. If they don't have nice mares or stallions, I move on and also I usually don't bother if the prices aren't listed.

 

[CyndiD]

I guess Marty and I have this in common...I LOVE to browse and see what all the pages are like. I like good pictures, but also pedigrees, if I am shopping.

Otherwise, I like to learn all I can about the farm and the more pages they offer, the more I browse. I get ideas too on how to set up horses (or TRY to set up horses) for photos..have a lot to learn in that dept.

:

 

[txminipinto]

Ohh, just thought of this. I don't like websites with music. Especially, if I'm not expecting it (makes it hard to surf at work!

: ).

 

[kaykay]

im guilty of old outdated pictures!! i swore i was going to redo them all this year and then our lives had way too much stress with the move. so now im hoping for new pics this year LOL. I am thinking of putting pedigrees on mine. Do you guys all read pedigrees?? I always put in the description the main bloodline of the horse but never the full pedigree

I like others go to the sales page first. Then if i like what i see i go to the stallions and mares pages. I also agree that I am really turned off by sites that have an awesome stallion and so so mares.

My biggest pet peeve is the free hosted sites with ads. I just click off them. Also cant stand music on websites (sorry marty!)

 

[Lisa-Ruff N Tuff Minis]

I dont mind music most of the time I can just turn down the volume. I dont need to see updated as in new pics often of mature horses and I even understand a weanling with baby pics till spring of there yearling year or same with yearlings going to 2 yr olds.. usually t hey get way to hairy before we even think of it and then not much you can do but wait lol

it is the newborn pics of sr horses that I have to wonder about. And yes pop up adds will make me leave most of the time.

 

[chandab]

I guess for me it depends on why I've gone to the site in the first place.

If I'm just looking for the sake of checking out a website, then I usually start with the stallion page and go down the list; stallions, mares, foals, for sale and then whatever else they may have to look at.

If I'm looking to buy (mostly window shopping right now, need to sell an APHA filly first), then I start with the sales page and then go from there; usually mare page, then stallion page.

I don't care for music on the websites, but then again the volume control doesn't work right on my speakers, so they are usually blaring loud.

 

[SunQuest]

I don't really have an order that I look at sites in. I just like to look, so if the site keeps my interest I will stay and look at the whole site. But, most of the time I make sure to at least hit the stallion pages and the mare pages first. The sales pages are not always looked at as I find that most times the same horses are listed elsewhere on the site.

But... Things that do get me to leave a site rather quickly are music, sites that make my cursor change where garbage follows it around the screen, and pop-ups.

But, there is one that I hate more than all others and when I find it I don't even stay long enough for the first page to load. That thing is the curtain or fade in effects. They annoy me to no end. Even when I look from work when I am not on dial up they annoy me. They just slow down everything and frankly I don't have time to sit and watch the page slowly materialize.

 

[MiniHoofBeats]

Boy I LOVE visiting other peoples websites!! First of all to see what their website layout looks like, I am really happy with ones that are put together really well, though I do figure them all out eventually!

For me I like basic and simple, too much clutter is just un-necessary and mind boggling! But anyhow here's how mine goes - i'm usually at a website because i'm looking for a new addition to my show line, later to become part of my breeding program so I visit:

Sales

Foals

then if I like any horse on the sales/foals page I pray to god their dam and sire is listed, AND that there is a photo of the dam and sire available...I don't know about you all but I feel if you have a horse or foal on your website, you should provide at least one photo of the horses dam and sire! I hate going through and going, well ok there's the dam she's ok....then tra la la....there's no photo of the foals sire??? Ok...know what I mean?

then i'll visit:

stallions

mares

show/fun

sold

I always visit sold last because I know there's usually an awesome foal or horse on there that I missed...lol!!

But yeah I suppose my biggest thing is PROVIDE PHOTO'S OF YOUR SALE HORSES SIRE AND DAM!!! I also like to see full brothers/sisters of the foal.

=)

 

[littlearab]

WOW I really like this thread! :aktion033:

I have always wondered about what people like to see on web-sites. I know what I like to see but it is really good to hear what others like.

:

Frist thing I look for is where the farm is at. An adress and phone number a must also. Nothing fun about getting all excited about finding that perfect foal only to find out the farm is 1/2 way across the counrty(

sorry but shipping is a real factor for me. A few state away is OK but not 1000s of miles.

If the farm is not too far away I look at the sales page...I do like to see pedigrees.

And I do like to see prices.. so if they are out of my price range I know and do not waste my or thier time.. I do have to say if the prices are not listed and the horse are not to die for I go right to the link page..But if they are listed

I then go to the foals.. not only the cutest page most likely the ones for sale. The next page and my favarite page is the mares , because I have always of the mind set of you can't get a pearl out of a sows ear. Pretty mamas make pretty babies!!

I then look at the stallions page, but if they are like me and just getting started it always seems there are foals out of stallions they do not have pictured. LOL I do try to have photos of the sire to send to people ,but do not post them on site as they are not mine horses.

I do go to the links page and see if there are other site I have not seen. And most lilely there is a link to the stallions owners farm that not pictured LOL

I do not go back to site if it has not been updated for along time. I use to be surprised to see lots of the bigger names have out dated sites. But was even more surpised when I e-mailed abot a horse once I never got a reply... But now that I've been around the mini world a few years I'm not any more.

I look for small farms with the same bloodlines.. better prices!! And nicer horses!