We have just acquired a 2005 APHA black tobiano stallion. This will be his first breeding year and we'd like to do a good job at promoting him. Since it's his first year, we don't have a progeny record for him. Other than the standard webpage/showing scenario, what can we add to our promotion strategy? His registered name is A Real Smart Color. He's on allbreedpedigree.com

i know a couple of people that are promoting their young stallions. they are offering a free breeding with a booking fee of $150 and then of course they charge for the AI services.....hope this gives you some ideas....also, my friend is only doing AI to out of state mares this season to try and get the offspring spread out hrough out the US instead of just in her area.....hope this helps!!!!!!

i live in washington, but if you are willing to do AI, i can help promote him. just send me a few flyers and i can post them around town!

he is a beautiful stallion!!!!

Lets promote your stallions over internet, there are various top class websites exist there.

The first thing I would do is to have him tested for HERDA carrier status.....Color Me Smart is a known carrier and mare owners are getting wise and asking and looking for negative stallions (ones whose sire/dam are tested or who don't have lines to known carriers or to Poco Bueno). Also get him to a trainer and get him shown, probably in cutting....this will run you somewhere around $15,000 (more or less) from start to finished horse ready to compete (also takes from 1 1/2 to over 2 years time). Get him enrolled in some incentive programs...some of these will cost you more money, some are free with a donated breeding. Get him trained to collect and get his semen evaluated both fresh and frozen. If you don't have experience and facilities to breed mares (live cover or through collection and AI) you may want to send him to a stallion station for them to handle....this will cost you a board bill for him plus any training (to a dummy/collection), evaluation of semen, testing for any STD's, vaccination if desired/needed...plus most stallion stations take the booking fee from the mare owner and you get the stud fees minus anything you owe them. Be aware that some stallion stations may not get him a lot of mares if he doesn't have a name for himself as a performer (had the unfortunate experience of this happening...they would walk mare owners right past my stallions stall to show ones that they had an ownership share in...to give them credit he did come home fat as a pig!). Advertize, advertize, advertize....starting in about October and in a variety of publications/websites etc but ones that focus on performance type horses...no point in advertizing in a pleasure horse magazine for instance.....AQHA did a study some time ago and it takes about 3 months of seeing an ad for most potential customers to actually act on it. Offer major discounts to mares with show records, earnings or offspring that have earnings/show records....up to "free" if necessary. DO NOT BREED EVERY MARE THAT HAS AN OWNER WITH A CHECKBOOK!! There's absolutely no benefit to breeding the dink mare down the street.....4 years from now her equally dink offspring will be recognized throughout the area as being sired by your stud and no one will even know his dam. Evaluate mares and turn 'em down if they don't meet at least some minimal criteria of conformation, pedigree, disposition that complements your stallion and is likely to produce foals that are a credit to him. Evaluate your stallion and KNOW his strong and weak points and don't breed mares that match weaknesses...the foal will be weak or even weaker than either parent...and not a credit to either.