If you love horses and have experience working with or just riding horses for fun, you could get paid to write to do it. You may be surprised how many publications are dedicated to horses and the people who love them (and we may have missed a few).
How Can I Get Started as a Freelance Writer in the Horse Niche?
You can get your foot in the door in the horse or horse-riding niche with your personal experience as a horse lover.
Let’s say you have spent many years around horses and love them. You can use your years of accumulated knowledge of horses to get horse magazine and blog editors’ attention with a letter of introduction and a few article ideas.
You can join an association that matches your horse breed or horse-riding preferences (for example Dressage, Trotting, Western, or English riding). If it’s a already a hobby you love, you can network with members and write for the association’s magazine and blog. With a little experience as a horse writer and some articles for your portfolio, you can attract more writing gigs.
If you’re looking for an association, you’ll find plenty of choices in the list below (and a little Google-searching will help you find even more). This list only includes publications with confirmed $50+ pay for freelance writers (but many others probably pay these rates).
Do I Need to Own a Horse to Write for Horse-Riding Magazines and Blogs?
It certainly helps if you own a horse or two if writing about horse-riding is your dream writer job (but it’s not a requirement). You can build up an extensive knowledge about certain horse breeds or horse-riding styles without owning one.
If you take care of other people’s horses as a part of your job (or just because you love it), horse blog editors will still love working with you as a freelance writer.
Horse-riding magazines and blogs need skilled freelance writers with an understanding of horse breeds, horse-riding styles, and their readers needs. If you can show an editor you understand their readers and can speak their language, they’ll likely be more open to working with you on the writing skills.
Horse Riding Magazines and Blogs That Hire Freelance Writers
APHA Paint Horse Journal
If you know what a Paint Horse is (and love them), you could get paid to write about them. The Paint Horse Journal is 100% focused on this beautiful breed of horse and they’re always open to hiring freelance writers for their journal. Please always send a query before pitching. If you can also take great photos, you’ll have a better chance of getting a freelance writing gig here.
- Homepage: https://apha.com/phj/
- Contributor info: https://apha.com/phj/about/guidelines/
- Pay: We hear from $100 to $400.
- Contributor byline: Yes.
- Contributor bio: No.
EQ Living
Equestrian Living Magazine or the EQ Living blog are looking for stories about equestrian society. Want to cover a local equestrian event or profile a well-known person in equestrian society? Pitch this publication. You can also write about travel, home decor, culture, and even relevant (and exceptional) fiction or essays. Have a closer look at the website and magazine before you pitch them your ideas.
- Homepage: https://eqliving.com/
- Contributor info: https://eqliving.com/writers-guidelines/
- Pay: We hear $100 to $300.
- Contributor byline: Yes.
- Contributor bio: No.
Hoofbeats Magazine
Hoofbeats is the magazine for the US Trotting Association. This association establishes the rules of harness racing and gives licensing exams for future professionals in the sport. If you have an interest in harness racing, this is the publication to pitch your ideas. Great news: 70% of Hoofbeats‘ stories are written by freelancers. They’d very much prefer you send a query (instead of a completed article). If you’d like a sample copy of the magazine, just ask (and of course read the website too).
- Homepage: http://www.hoofbeatsmagazine.com/
- Contributor info: http://www.hoofbeatsmagazine.com/contact.cfm
- Pay: From $100 to $500.
- Contributor byline: Yes.
- Contributor bio: Yes, a short one.
Horse and Rider
Love riding horses? You may be a perfect fit for Horse & Rider Magazine and blog. Their readers are horse owners who love riding and spending time with their horses. Check out their writer guidelines (so much helpful information about their readers and how to write an article if you’re new to it). Their readers want helpful stories about training, healthcare, trail riding, and more. As always, read the site and magazine to get a feel for their style before you pitch.
- Homepage: https://horseandrider.com/
- Contributor info: https://horseandrider.com/page/submission-guidelines
- Pay: From $25 to $400.
- Contributor byline: Yes.
- Contributor bio: Yes, a nice one on a separate page.
Horse Illustrated
You don’t have to specialise in a specific horse breed for the Horse Illustrated Magazine and blog. They’re looking for topics like horse health, trainer and rider how-tos, humour, and interviews with famous riders. If you’re new to the publication, send some relevant past articles with your pitch ideas. Brand new writers can also write for this magazine and blog. Send them a letter of introduction with a completed article so they can see how you write.
- Homepage: https://www.horseillustrated.com/
- Contributor info: https://www.horseillustrated.com/horse-illustrated-writers-guidelines
- Pay: We hear up to $150 (usually 500 to 1,200 word-articles).
- Contributor byline: Yes.
- Contributor bio: Yes, a short one with a photo.
Horse Network
The Horse Network is a blog for horse lovers. News, interviews, profiles, health articles, lifestyle stories, and opinion pieces are all doable. They’re especially interested in horse health, interviews, and profiles at the moment. Read the blog, do your research, and send your completed article to the editor. They’ll let you know in 30 days if it’s a good fit.
- Homepage: https://horsenetwork.com/
- Contributor info: https://horsenetwork.com/contribute/
- Pay: We hear $50 and up for 500 to 750 words usually (plus bonuses for social shares).
- Contributor byline: Yes.
- Contributor bio: No, but you get a writer’s page.
The Chronicle of the Horse
The Chronicle of the Horse Magazine and website (as well as their equestrian lifestyle magazine Untacked) pay freelance writers. They publish stories on topics like dressage, foxhunting, and steeple chasing. And they rely on freelancers regularly. They’re always looking for horse sports news stories, horse care articles, profiles about important figures in horse sports, and other ideas their readers will love. Read through their website and magazine to see if your ideas fit their style.
- Homepage: https://www.chronofhorse.com/
- Contributor info: https://www.chronofhorse.com/page/writers-guidelines
- Pay: We hear $150 to $400 (for feature or news stories).
- Contributor byline: Yes.
- Contributor bio: No, but you get a writer’s page.
USDF Connection
The United States Dressage Federation has a magazine and a website that pay freelance writers. If you’re already familiar with horse dressage and how it works, you could get freelance writing gigs with the USDF Connection Magazine and its online publication. They’re looking for health, dressage personality profile, training, dressage life, and even amateur-focused articles. Pitch emails are preferred.
- Homepage: https://www.usdf.org/publications/connection.asp
- Contributor info: https://www.usdf.org/publications/contributing-guidelines.asp
- Pay: From $40 to $400.
- Contributor byline: Yes.
- Contributor bio: Yes.
Young Rider
The Young Rider Magazine and blog focus their articles on children from 8 to 15 years old who want to ride (or already do). You can write about English or Western riding styles, arts and crafts for horse-loving children, relevant kid-friendly horse how-tos, stories about real kids who ride, and quizzes. Read through the blog for more ideas.
- Homepage: https://www.youngrider.com/
- Contributor info: https://www.horseillustrated.com/submission-guidelines
- Pay: We hear from $100 to $200 (for mostly 800-word articles).
- Contributor byline: Yes.
- Contributor bio: Yes, a short one with a photo.
This List Needs YOUR Help!
Have you written for one of these blogs? Will you tell us about your experience?
Or do you know of another blog that pays at least $50 per post on horse topics?
If you’ve got a tip about a blog that pays writers $50+, please send it to teambafb@gmail.com in exchange for our undying gratitude — thank you for your service.
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