SmartPak’s Perfect Pony Selfie
What does it take for you to get that #SmartPakPerfectPonySelfie? Our SmartPakers share their tips and tricks (and fails!) with you.
Updated July 2023
Know your angles
"Turn your phone at a about a 30 degree angle so you can get most of your face and the horse including their ears. I always give Stanley a scratch under his jowls which encourages Stanley to also smile. This way we both have matchy-matchy smiles. (For bad selfies leave your horse's feedbag on and stand directly underneath them. This way your horse can tower over you. This set up also allows you to cut your horse's ears out. Don't forget to stare blankly into the horizon too.)"
- Beth M. & Stanley | Customer Care
"Selfies with a pony with a giant head can be hard, but when he’s always attached to your shoulder, you can at least get part of his adorable face in the shot. Low angles are best, so this is not one of our finest works of art. ;) "
- Megan I. & Walle | Customer Care
“Boy have I tried so many ways to take a horse selfie and it always seems that I chop off their ears! One way I have worked around this is by being a headrest for my horse. He gets to rest his heavy head and I get a stacked picture of both of us! Win-win!”
- Riley T. & Patrick | Customer Care
"For big ears it is important to get the low angle for maximum coverage. Armani enjoys his own reflection so if he can see himself in the camera that is always a plus! And treats are always a good idea."
- Danielle S. & Armani | E-Commerce
2. Bribery is always an option
“With Phoebe, I crinkle a mint wrapper. She thinks my phone is the treat and tries to get a closer look. Sometimes I get horse slobber on my phone, but it’s totally worth it! As for my last horse Toby, the two of us were not the most photogenic, but we always managed to take photos that made me laugh at the time and still make me laugh today.”
- Sophia H. & Phoebe and Toby | Marketing
"Getting Waco’s attention for a selfie is never really difficult; he thinks everything in my hand is a treat, and if it’s shiny, all the better. So my problem is trying to actually be seen in the picture because, as you see here, he’s so interested in the phone , that he squeezes me right off camera!"
- Sara M. & Waco | Customer Care
“How to get the perfect equine selfie? Cookies. Always cookies. Justin is so used to the selfie gig that he knows they’re hiding somewhere, he just has to find them (which makes for great selfies)!”
- Marissa K. & Justin | Merchandising
3. Smile!
“My advice would be, always smile, you never know what face you will be making if you don’t! See the first photo for evidence, I learned my lesson from that one!
(And a second piece of advice would be to always have a friend with a peppermint to crinkle and get your horse’s ears forward! If you're both looking happy that's usually pretty cute!)”
- Melissa S. & Ellie | Customer Care
“Teaching Zazu how to smile has made for some great selfies.”
- Rachel H. & Zazu | Customer Care
“Selfies are extremely difficult with a horse that is food motivated! Lucky is looking for treats, looking for grass and the last thing he wants is a photo. All I can do is take 20+ photos, smile a lot, and hope one comes out presentable.”
- Linda C. & Lucky | Customer Care
4. When in doubt, hope for the best
"One of my favorite tricks is to use either the Live Photo or Video feature on my phone. Snap a couple Live Photos or Videos while smiling your best and there's guaranteed to be at least one good moment in there!
(And if that doesn't work , sometimes you just have to take a true selfie of just you with your horse living their best life in the background.)"
- Jenna B. & Pickles | E-Commerce
“I have a little pep talk with my horse every time, like “ok, buddy, time for pictures, let’s look our best!” (doesn’t always work as you can see – haha).”
- Jess K. & Max | Customer Care
“This might not be the best time to take a selfie, but it always gets an ears forward shot: when your horse suddenly finds something very interesting, maybe scary, maybe just new and unexpected and they stop dead in their tracks with 100% focus to take it all in. I whip out my phone, grab an attentive selfie, and then convince the horse that it was just wind and not really monsters in the bushes."
- Al K. & Faneuil | Merchandising
"JP and I have literally no good selfies. She is the most uncooperative horse to selfie with. The following are the best I have, it was when I was attempting to do a SmartPak profile photo. Note the defeat ... "
- Tamika S. & JP | Customer Care
5. Bonus: With Minis!
"Step 1: Crouch down.
Step 2: Prepare to be mugged"
-Elizabeth R. & Finn | Business Analytics
What tips tricks have you tried? What would tips would you share with our SmartPakers? Don’t forget to tag us in your next equine selfie with #SmartPakPerfectPonySelfie !