Write for Us!

(flickr.com/Craig Berry)
(flickr/Craig Berry)

Our mission is to create fresh, immersive articles on equestrian lifestyle and sport, current events, health and horsemanship. 

What’s more, Horse Network is a community, and we’re always looking for smart, new ideas from horse-crazy folks like you.

We are currently prioritizing submissions relating to: horse health, interviews, profiles and human interest stories.

Who can contribute blog posts on Horse Network?

Anyone. Also, everyone.

Want to give it a shot? Here’s how.

1. Pick a topic.

We try to cover all facets—big and small—of the horse community. But usually, these tend to fall into one of these categories.

  • News: Current events and breaking news in the world of horses.
  • Sports: Athlete profiles, in-depth interviews, and trending issues in equestrian sport.
  • Health: News, stories, tips, opinions and techniques from the experts.
  • Lifestyle: Fashion, trends, home decor and more for the equestrian enthusiast.
  • Laugh: Humor posts, parodies, and general ridiculousness.
  • Learn: Training tips, advice and experiences from the field.
  • Opinion: Personal views on current and controversial issues in the equestrian world.
  • Western: Horsemanship, reining, barrels, cowboy culture and all things western.

Not seeing your topic here? Don’t worry. Submit it anyway, we’ll find a home for it!

Our content is:

  • Well-researched, fact-driven, and related to equestrian sport, horse health, current events and more.
  • Humorous essays, list stories, and satirical writing.
  • Thought-driven criticism and opinion pieces about the industry.
  • Multi-media (Photos, graphics, video).
  • Barn hacks and tricks of the trade.

Write from the heart! The horse world is a diverse and bottomless well of information. If you care about an issue, chances are someone else does, too.

Our content is not:

Unoriginal, poorly researched, needlessly snarky, or whiny. (Remember, there’s no whining in horseback riding.)

2. How to format your work:

  • We’ve found that 500-750 words is a sweet spot for posts (please don’t ramble on to get there!).
  • Single-spaced.
  • Include reference links to reputable sources for all facts and data cited. (We’ll include these as embedded links in the text.)
  • Keep self-promotion to a minimum in your post. Do include a link to your website and a 75-word “About the Author” bio at the end of your post. Feel free to include a photo. (Scroll to the bottom for an example, here.)
  • Please send us images or video! If you don’t have any but have an idea what might illustrate your piece, let us know and we can buy or create some. Please note: images need to be photos you own the copyright to and/or that are copyright free.

3. It’s time to submit!

  • Submit your story to submissions@horsenetwork.com.
  • We’ll let you know within 30 days if your work has been accepted by our editors.

How we promote:

  • Horse Network promotes every article published on Facebook. We also promote most (but not all) articles on Twitter.
  • When your article is promoted is based on a variety of editorial and scheduling factors. It may take us up to a week (or more) after a post is published on our website before it’s promoted on our social media channels.
  • Some of the stories we publish on Facebook will be backed with paid promotion at the discretion of our editorial team. (Note: the more well-crafted the post, the better the chance it will be backed by paid promotion!)

Payment:

We pay for original, published content on Horse Network. In addition to regular article fees, contributing authors have the chance to earn social share bonuses for their stories.

What are social share bonuses?

If we publish your post and it gets shared more than 1,000 times on social media, we’ll pay you $100! (Yep, it’s that simple.) Simply screenshot the social media share buttons at the bottom of the post and send it to us.

And if it doesn’t get shared 1K times?

Horse Network is always in search of thoughtful, witty, and creative writers to join our stable of regular contributors. If we like what you write, and want to see more, we’ll pay you ($50+) per post, regardless of how many times it’s shared.

Terms:

By submitting your work to Horse Network, you understand and agree to the following:

  • The content is original work. Its use by Horse Network does not infringe on the intellectual property of any other party.
  •  Please let us know if your content has previously been published. Horse Network pays for original pieces, not reposts. However, we may choose to syndicate or pay to promote it. If your story has been published previously, you warrant that Horse Network has rights to reuse the content. (If a link is provided, we will link back to the original post.)
  • Payments are based on a flat-fee. After publication, a 30-day bonus may be issued based on total likes and shares on Facebook. (Remember to also promote your work within your own network to drive social shares.)
  • Horse Network has the perpetual right to publish and use the content on any of our current or future media platforms, including for commercial purposes, unless arrangements are made in advance.