Using Real Horses on Web Sites
by Lori Viteo

Many of us have been PAing as far as we can remember (me,1980,a palomino family arabian stallion repainted-heehee.If I only knew then:-) ) But my lack of knowledge of genetically correct colors made me revamp everything in the early nineties. Even then information wasn't readily available as it is via the web nowadays. So, many of us when PAing like to use real parents. The search is fun -- not only to find the correct colored parents, but to find the type you're looking for. Sometimes it can be frustrating, but when you do find those "perfect parents" in your mind, you'd want to advertise and a lot of us have websites to do so.

But, when you do advertise on the web (or other means) are you giving credit where credit is due? In this day and age,someone out there is looking for an excuse to sue. So,when it comes to your website,do you have any sort of disclaimer on it? Does it indicate that your site is for equestrian fun or simulated equestrian facilities? And perhaps you'd like to add "that these are models, are not real horses and are not to reflect the real progency of any horses mentioned". Perhaps you can add how the real horses mentioned are for pedigree research and denoted with an -r after names... all done to lessen the confusion.

You can always try and contact the owner/breeder of the horses and ask for permission to use their sire/dam. But if you think our family thinks you're nuts -- the breeder is most likely going to think we are completely nuts and decide it's not such a good idea and really cause a stink. Let's play out this scenario............

"Hi...blah blah blah blah.. basically what I'm asking is your permission to use your stallion's name,stats, and pedigree to "sire" this ID that I would like to create that may or may not eventually get a plastic/resin/etc body to accompany it. And in the meantime I will continue to use the ID that I have created to create more IDs thereby making your stallion its great-great-great grandparent...." Many people just don't understand what we do no matter how much we try to explain, let along why we do it!

One thing many PAers will agree on is using names of already well known horses in the real world is really frowned upon. Sometimes you may have had the name well before it was used, which is not your fault. So be creative, (to me this is the best part!) when creating a name. Using well known stable names attached to models can be a no-no -- especially if the stable has their name copyrighted or is very restrictive about it.

Using photos of real horses can be tricky, too. Some like to do it,some don't. Use your discretion. When posting a photo of a real horse, give credit of the owner and if possible the photographer. Many times the photographer isn't known and many have it imprinted on the pix. But it's out of courtesy to do this. You give credit to who did your customized model, same here.

So, in general, I am not telling you have to do any particular rule as the aim of IPABRA is to respect each breeder and allow them to do things "their own way". All I can do is suggest and eventually it will become a common standard for IPABRA online PAers.

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