Also the angle and position of the horse play a HUGE part.

You dont want to end up with a huge head and small rump or vise virsa, so find a photo/picture that really looks good to you and find the focus point. Do this by drawing a line from the top left hand corner of the photo to the bottom right. Top right to bottom left as well.

The center point on the photo gives you center point for the camera. If your horse is very tall or very small adjust your height to match so you are not looking up or down on your horse.

From M.P- Australia

To minimise the effect of a "big head, small rump" use your telephoto (distance setting) and stand further back from the horse

If you want a "natural" picture of your horse (ie: when he's grazing, playing, rolling, etc), try not to stand really far away. Most cameras don't have a zoom button (even from far away you can get the camera lense to focus closer up to your horse) and they normally make whatever your taking a picture of seem farther away than it is.
Also horses always look best when they have BOTH ears facing forward. The best way to do that is to have a friend take something (a noise-maker, or a lead line) and sling it around or just make a lot of commotion. Not a lot to scare your horse just a little so that you can get his attention.

From Colleen-U.S.

To take a picture from the horses back make the horse stand and try to get it to graze on the grass for a minute or two so you can get a very still picture. When he is grazing his head will also be out of the photo so you get a nice, high view and nobody will know that you are even on a horse.

Photographing takes practice, even if it does waste a role of film. Just keep at it. Ask an experienced photographer to help you.

A friend of mine is a photographer and took some fantastic pictures on the go... simply impossible to do with a normal camera even with the right film. What he did do, that we 'normal folk' don't is take a whole film - click click click - not just waiting for the perfect shot because then you are likely to miss it. Throw caution to the wind and just keep on clicking. When you first put the horses out is a good one for action. We have also put 2 in a school at a time and watched them play when there was no grass to distract them. Feed time is a great one for a head shot - nice and alert!!!!

I am doing a photography night class and hear are som of the things that I have learnt that might help. (all refer to slr camera's or ones with the option of being manual)
If you are taking a photo of a group of horses, with some in the foreground some in the mid ground and some in the back ground then set your apperture to f/11 or more. This increases depth of field (the amount of the photo that is in focus) so all the horses come out in focus. (You'll need to use a slower speed so it's not good for action shots as you'll get bluring)
When taking action shots pan the camera, follow the horse as it's moving and then squeeze the shutter release when you spot the image you want to take.
When taking a horses portrait focus on the eyes, if the eyes are in focus and the rest of the head is slightly out it won't matter but if the eyes are out of focus, even slightly, it'll look bad!
When taking photos on a sunny day or a day with bright light then use a film of about 200. when the weather is dull, such as winter time then use a film speed of about 800. This is because the higher the number the more sensitive to light the film is. This obviusly depends on where abouts in the world you are, the speeds I have quoted would be transferable to scottish weather. If your somewhere really sunny like Africa then you can use a film speed of 25. If taking photos in southern eurpoe in the summer time, can use 50 or 100. (Also when taking action shots you need a fast film of about 400 or over. For horses racing or shots of cross country can use 800 - 3200.)
Don't forget to experiment. I noticed that it is sugested to use a portrait format for head shots, but I have got some very good shots of horses heads on a landscape format as you can include the horses back, especially good if they have interesting tack on such as western saddles.
Don't expect to get more than one or two shots worth printing off one film.
And my top tip is carry your camera everywhere as you never know when a good photo oportunity will come along!
Happy Snapping!

I have been photographing horses as a hobby for a while now and something to mention is the position a horse is in for an action shot. If cantering, you can show speed by capturing the moment the horse extends its front leading leg. You can show power by capturing the moment the horse brings up all of the legs under it, or just as the front legs come up to extend again. An extremely unattractive cantering shot is when the horse is leaning in just before it brings up the front legs again. This makes it look like the horse is going to fall flat on its face!
When trotting, It is desirable again to get the shot when a front leg is totally extended.
At a walk, the horse will look more peaceful when it is lifting a front leg to step (mid air).
Also, Taking photographs from the direct front or rear will accentuate unwanted things. Either the barrel of the chest will look incredibly huge, from the front, or the rear will look... well... gigantic. The photograph is a two dimensional image of a three dimensional horse, so whatever is closest looks biggest.
A good shot for dressage horses is a 3/4 view either way. If the head is facing you, it will look more supple and graceful. If the rear is slightly facing you, and you can successfully see up the side and to the shoulder and face, the horse will appear more professional (especially if you get nice lighting!)
Photographs from the side are definately easiest! They are average horse photos and tend to give a nice effect either way, with good lighting or no.
If you want to take a look at my photos, or if you have more questions, i have some of my older photos on my webpage. http://www.angelfire.com/emo/Momerath/photography.html (Ps this is a personal webpage, not a business webpage.)

I know I'm posting a lot here, but I really do want to help.
The technique I use most when photographing horses in motion without riders is as follows.
1) choose a nice background area. A grassy hilly paddock works best. It should be non-mucky with decent footing and fenced in.
2) using a dressage whip with a plastic bag tied to the end, wave it along the ground. This will make the horse(s) uneasy, yes, but every horse I've ever used this with has forgiven me almost immediately after I'm done. If you wave the bag around, you can learn to control the horses movements with it by where and when you wave it. The horse will move away from the noise, but not so far away that you cant get the shot. This works best with two people, one with the camera, one with the whip/bag. NEVER act like you're going to hit the horse with the whip/bag... when dealing with a very un-spooky horse, i sometimes move the bag between the horses legs and that gets them moving.
3) To get the horses ears up for a still shot, or a slow motion shot, a mirror works well, as does a flashlight or waving a bright piece of fabric.
4) Dont forget to let your horse rest! A sweaty horse is not concidered attractive, and a tired horse can be very difficult to work with.
5) After you finish, be sure to cool the horse down and thank the horse with either a nice bath (_after_ letting it cool down) and an apple or treat of your choice. Almost every horse will forgive you for this, especially if treats are involved!

PS WARNING.
Recently, I photographed my own horse. He is head of his herd and very strong minded. After a few minutes of the bag waving, He decided he'd had enough and turned to me, snorted and flared his nostrils and began to walk towards me. About 5 yards away from me, he stuck his head up again and snorted at me. Then he began trotting towards me with his head down in a full force challange. He stopped about 5 feet in front of me and reared up and slammed his hooves on the ground a few times and I tried so hard not to react, but to put my arms up in front of me (Oh i wanted to run! That would have coaxed him to run after me and perhaps bite). He chilled out in a matter of seconds after I didnt react, but I was scared!! I talked to several other peopel since then and they said that they've never had that happen with a horse, so i'm thinking he's pretty unique. If this does happen, dont panic. Your greatest defence is a nicely swinging lead rope to deter any charging horse.
ALso, If this happens, this doesnt really indicate your horse is mean or impossible to photograph. Let your horse sniff the bag and relax a bit, and then try again. The horse is probably not happy with being forced into submission while in his own element. If he continues to act like that, Try asking a friend if you can borrow their paddock, or go somewhere less familiar. This should help a lot. Also, it will keep the horse more alert.
I hope this helps. good luck to all!

This is a picture of Lara Bello on her horse Jasper at our first open day at Court Equestrian.

Also, for a brilliant picture of your horse, or a horse in your local riding school, unless your'e taking a natural shot, it usually looks best if you have your horse's ears pricked and looking alert. To do this call his or her name or calp your hands just before taking the picture. When taking a natural shot, it's best to use natural backgrounds and try to be as quiet as you can. Good luck!

I'm studying photography in A2 levels, for my exam I'm doing Seen from Above & below, this means I can ge really unusual angles & make the photos look different. Kneeling under the horse head, those shots can be interesting, belly shots (just be midndfull to let the horse know exactly where you are by constantly running you hand over them to where you are so he/she doesn't kick you or get scared.) Don't just go for the orthadox stereotypical things, I've got some lovely photos of some very muddy ponies caught off thier guard.
Unless you have a fast shutter, don't do shots of frantic grazing, all you get is a nice body & a blurred head & neck!
But be warned, ALWAYS show the horse the camera, let it have a sniff & a lick & a nuzzle, if you don't, the horse may see the camera as a threat & be scared witless of it. A slobbery camera isn't very terrifying, but a scared horse is. Oh, & polos or Extra Strong mints are the PERFECT bribes! It's not only the complicated things, it's often the simple ones that make everything easier. Place yourself in the animal's position & only use a flash if you have to. To a horse that's very scary! Happy snapping people.