Buying H&H

Sanversera

Sanversera

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 November 2020
Messages
4,055
Visit site
It seems sad that h&h has so few ads nowadays. I don't buy the magazine anymore, hunting, racing and competition has no interest for me. I like reading about horses that have been rescued, management tips ,horse agility,and riding holidays.does anyone buy the magazine anymore?
 
Last edited:
After buying it from newsagents for some 40 years, we moved and did not have a newsagents anywhere near us, so I decided decided to get it online, but as I was already not enjoying it as much as I did, I think it went downhill, after pa year of buying online, I cancelled…
I went to buy a copy three weeks ago from our nearest Tesco and, honestly nearly fell over at the price…I did buy it but the article I wanted was disappointing…
So no I don’t buy…
 
I used to get nag and dog, often zipping to newsagents on way to yard just after 6am. From the late 70s to around 2004.

Show reports, classified ads, hunting reports, articles, I read them all.
It totally lost its way as the Internet took over and results could be posted instantly, news was shared quickly over forums and Facebook etc.

No, I wouldn't pay for it now.
 
Last edited:
Oh it’s rubbish now!! I had a subscription which was printed and online but most of the articles came out on the Facebook page first before the printed or digital versions so I didn’t bother and cancelled it. Save your pennies!
 
I've bought it either in person or posted on subscription since the 80s.
It's annoyed me for a few years with its saccharine coverage and articles and "Hello" magazine style of captioning.
I cancelled my subscription last year and honestly haven't missed it. I sometimes read the online articles but it's really lost its way.

There used to be so much more in the magazine which is sadly now online - horses for sale, adverts for shows where you had to send off an SAE for the schedule, results for all 3 major disciplines. Hunting, endurance, racing reports - much more about the horses and less about 'personalities '

I have no interest in advertorials for the latest clothing or Christmas gifts in October.

I maybe a bit of a dinosaur (at 55 🤣) but for me, it's not even that it's not worth the money - I dont think I'd pick it up if it was free now.
 
spacefaer said:
I've bought it either in person or posted on subscription since the 80s.
It's annoyed me for a few years with its saccharine coverage and articles and "Hello" magazine style of captioning.
I cancelled my subscription last year and honestly haven't missed it. I sometimes read the online articles but it's really lost its way.

There used to be so much more in the magazine which is sadly now online - horses for sale, adverts for shows where you had to send off an SAE for the schedule, results for all 3 major disciplines. Hunting, endurance, racing reports - much more about the horses and less about 'personalities '

I have no interest in advertorials for the latest clothing or Christmas gifts in October.

I maybe a bit of a dinosaur (at 55 🤣) but for me, it's not even that it's not worth the money - I dont think I'd pick it up if it was free now.
Click to expand...
A dinosaur at 55! Come now you are but a spring chicken….dinosaur indeed…..🤣🤣
 
LadyGascoyne said:
I don't know why I read the title and immediately thought that you meant buying HHo as a company 🤣

And my immediate thought was... well, it's an idea I wouldn't dismiss immediately, and are you looking for investors? Looking for a senior management team? What is the plan 🤣🤣🤣
Click to expand...

Can you imagine? Be arguments over who owned which bits of the forum 😂
 
Last edited:
Well, I wrote for them for a short while, and a lot of it was very driven by advertisers and writing nice things about and quoting companies who'd paid for ad space. Or just writing BS stuff for clickbait, 'cause some Google algorithm told them lots of people were clicking on 'x.'

If I had any sense or willpower (seriously lacking in both), I would have got on with it. In fairness, they did sometimes let me off the lead, and I wrote some good articles with proper research, and I was really happy with them. But my ADHD glitched out and the kind of non-journalism I was being asked to do all the time crashed my brain, and I couldn't deal with it anymore.
 
Sanversera said:
It seems sad that h&h has so few ads nowadays. I don't buy the magazine anymore, hunting, racing and competition has no interest for me. I like reading about horses that have been rescued, management tips ,horse agility,and riding holidays.does anyone buy the magazine anymore?
Click to expand...

It was never aimed at people who want to read about horses being rescued, horse agility etc. Your horse is probably a better bet for that style of magaziine.
It was aimed at competition riders, hunting and racing people. There used to be some very good articles in it by good writers. All magazines are struggling these days now that the internet has so much information on it.
It is also difficult not to become repetitive over the years.
I stopped buying it about 8 years ago, sad that is has been dumbed down and is click bait.
 
My dad used to send me a copy every fortnight and I'd read it cover to cover. I've still got copies of when we were in the results pages or write ups about our ponies doing well in the show ring. But I don't think the writing is as good anymore and the advertising isn't the main income stream these days. I wouldn't buy now unless it was for a particular reason.
 
Definite dinosaur here - I still have a subscription and get the print edition delivered.

Having spent my life it seems working on computers going back to the late 70s I no longer want to have as much time on a computer. I don't like reading things online. I don't have a kindle and I don't have a smartphone.

I still like to read a print book and magazines in print format.

My biggest resent about the print edition is that they persist in putting articles online that are in the print edition before the print edition is delivered/released on a thursday. I have complained to them about that!

I'm realistic about the print edition sometimes being a bit thin (particularly in the run up to xmas) but overall I reckon that the bumper print editions sort of even things out.

Finally - seeing I'm posting this on a forum provided free by H&H management (which they aren't obliged to do!) - I don't begrudge my support of the H&H brand by having a subscription if for nothing else than having this forum to use.
 
I was an avid reader but stopped my subscription about 10 years ago as I felt it was going downhill.

I re-subscribed last year because I feel it would be a huge sadness to lose the print edition. The reliance on social media and screens annoys me somewhat.
I was also sick of my mum saying "ooh did you read such and such in H&H" and me not having a clue what she was talking about.

I do wish they would start publishing competition results again though.

I am also a 55 year old dinosaur 🤣
 
I have recently taken out a print subscription as it was harder and harder to find in local shops. The Sainsbury's garage/shop used to stock it, but then seemed to stop so I gave in. I used to have just the digital, but really didn't like having to turn on the computer to read a magazine! So I cancelled that.

It does what it has always done, although no-where near the coverage that there used to be, but that is the chicken and egg situation. If you don't have enough advertisers then you can't write pages of editorial.

I think it has improved a bit lately, I certainly didn't like all those spreads of fashion items.

It covers all the latest research in the veterinary world and has a veterinary article every week worth reading. All the latest on competitions and changes to rules, reports from the the big shows and events and the dressage world and a hunting article every week. Not quite so much racing as in the past - Remember those Audax articles, they were great.

It doesn't seem to cover driving, or hardly at all and at one time Arab racing (does that still happen?), endurance sometimes gets a mention and Pony Club and Riding Club.

It does present a rather sugar sweet image, there are things going on the background sometimes that aren't mentioned.

But if you don't take the magazine it is quite hard to keep up with what is going on in the horse world, certainly in the world of current competitions of all sorts. I feel I'm missing out if I don't get a copy.
 
I occasionally have a look at the magazine contents online, if something interesting pops up I might have a read (usually the vet advice or training articles/tips). I get it on my news app for free, I don’t think I’d pay money for it though.
 
reynold said:
Definite dinosaur here - I still have a subscription and get the print edition delivered.

Having spent my life it seems working on computers going back to the late 70s I no longer want to have as much time on a computer. I don't like reading things online. I don't have a kindle and I don't have a smartphone.

I still like to read a print book and magazines in print format.

My biggest resent about the print edition is that they persist in putting articles online that are in the print edition before the print edition is delivered/released on a thursday. I have complained to them about that!

I'm realistic about the print edition sometimes being a bit thin (particularly in the run up to xmas) but overall I reckon that the bumper print editions sort of even things out.

Finally - seeing I'm posting this on a forum provided free by H&H management (which they aren't obliged to do!) - I don't begrudge my support of the H&H brand by having a subscription if for nothing else than having this forum to use.
Click to expand...
Yes this was my biggest issue with it too! The online articles up before the print one, so by the time it arrived you’d either seen it online or on their facebook page! I did give them the same feedback but clearly it’s not a concern for them!
 
I’ve just subscribed to Libby off the back of this thread. Been meaning to do it for ages and this has made me do it Flicked through the latest HandH last night. Thanks for mentioning it. Have to pop into a village library - not my own village which lost its library to become a house about 15 years ago which disappointed me as I liked being able to just walk up the road to the library and the replacement mobile library only seem to be suitable if you were around during the day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top