Braiding horses - business idea?

[celine.eq2023]

Hello!
I am a junior rider that is looking for ways to fund my Horseriding as I go into the upper levels. My parents are willing to support me but I feel bad and I since I am going to college, I would rather have them save for that.

I love to braid and I have been trying to do the show braids. I’m not super good but I’ve been practicing and I will continue to learn every day. Since I am trying to pay for horses more independently, I thought that I could braid horses manes and tails for showing.

First of all: Do you guys think this is a good idea?

I think it would be amazing, considering I love horses and I love showing. I could travel to shows and I have a lot of friends who are in need of braiders. It would save me a lot of money as well because I spend so much on braiding.

Question 2: How much do show braids go for and how much should I charge as a junior?

I usually pay 260 as a base price for experienced braiders, sometimes higher. (I live in California btw, in an expensive area). Since I am not yet an expert and I would like to start in November or honestly as soon as possible, should I charge 150-200 as a beginning price?

Thank you!

Also any tips would be appreciated greatly!!

[SusanO]

If you can do button braids you can get some experience/ practice braiding for breed inspections. I don’t think they pay those kind of prices but you are not doing as elaborate braids and the braids are not expected to look as perfect and stay in as long. You can usually do those types of braids faster than hunter braids and can do more horses. And it gives your fingers more practice. And you can start getting your name out there.

[Absolut_Equestrian]

Find a good braider, and apprentice with them for a while. Of course, the braiding itself is one thing to nail down. Navigating scheduling, clients, payments and long overnights at the barn are other things you’ll need to learn that an experienced braider can help with. The horses are usually good but not always, and there are liability issues to consider as well.

[fivestrideline]

@celine.eq2023

Since I am not yet an expert and I would like to start in November or honestly as soon as possible, should I charge 150-200 as a beginning price?

Depends - are your braids up to standard and do they stay in? Can you install a fake tail seamlessly? Being cheaper than going rate is a good start, but you’ll also need to be able to braid imperfect manes.

If you can collect pics of your work, and it’s decent, there is a HUGE braider shortage so you should hopefully be able to find an established braider to apprentice under! Just posting on FB should do the trick, assuming you have transportation and are ready to do the overnight shift. You likely won’t set prices but will take home a cut, and once you’re set up and know the drill (and have an established braider to recommend you), you can start taking on your own clients. Often this is emergency braiding or as a fill braider if someone overbooks/has a conflict, at least at first.

Step one should be making sure you have a product people will pay for. Step two is making sure you have the time and resources to actually do the job (and the callouses!). Step three is finding someone to shadow. From there, see where it goes!

Also, jumper braids are far easier if you’re still working on the hunter braids. That’s could be a starting point if you don’t have perfect hunter braids yet!

[dmveventer]

@celine.eq2023

Since I am not yet an expert and I would like to start in November or honestly as soon as possible, should I charge 150-200 as a beginning price?

Braiders work weird hours, are you going to be able to manage that during the school year? Are your parents ok with you spending hours on the show grounds during off hours, potentially by yourself? You should consider the liability side of things as well - are you going to be braiding unsupervised, and what happens if you or one of the horses gets injured while you’re working on them? A lot of this really depends on how old you are, what the show scene is like where you live, how flexible your schedule is, and whether you have reliable transportation. Finding someone to apprentice under is a good idea if you can make that work with your schedule, or starting small within your own barn with people who know you and are likely to be a little more flexible as you start out. Make sure you can deliver quality braids before you start offering your services, discount or not - one or two unhappy clients can kill your business before it even gets off the ground.

[Amberley]

Do it. I made a ton of money braiding as a teen. I only did dressage braids and that’s much easier as most people show from home or only travel a limited amount. I rocked up to the farm in the am, did the braids, put the hood on and was gone by 5/6/7am and because the rides are timed I usually went over to the show grounds and braided a few more there too before lunch.

Hunter braids are WAY more lucrative but the expectation is that you braid late at night so your parents have to be OK with it. The suggestion to work for another braider is a good one. Or you can work for friends and just braid in the early am when people are at the barns- I prefer that anyway, I don’t like my horses being kept up late or having the braids in too long so you will definitely find some clients.

I wouldn’t pursue inspections- most people rubber band those suckers in about 5 minutes before they go in the ring, no-one really cares if they look perfect. About half the broodmares have gone semi-feral, and braiding foals can be a full contact sport, I wouldn’t let a kid do it unless they were my kid.

[celine.eq2023]

Thank you. I think my parents would be fine as they want me to work more and show my responsibility. The show scene is huge where I live and since I go to so many barns I know probably 60 people who constantly show.

I just hope my braids are good quality by the time I sell my services!

[Willesdon]

Sometimes, when thinking these things through, it is worth considering what would YOU want from a braiding service? What have you seen at a show that made you think “Ah hah! What a great idea” and vice versa? What impressed you most about the last person you paid to braid for you? Why do you decide to use one braider rather than another? Lots of questions to consider and then use your personal experience to answer them. It can be extremely helpful to develop a business plan as it stops you missing out something important. Cash, card, bank transfer…? Get an outside eye to read your plan and check it makes sense.

[Montanas_Girl]

Spending some time working under the supervision of an experienced, established braider is a great way to dip your toe in and see how you like (or don’t) the job. Just be sure that the person you work for has a good reputation both as a braider and a decent human being. [See the Dutch Harness Horse threads in the Hunter/Jumper forum for the name of a braider to steer WELL clear of!]

[PamnReba]

@celine.eq2023

I just hope my braids are good quality by the time I sell my services!

You should probably make that go the other way around - develop a good quality braid BEFORE you try to sell your services. If braiding for friends and they’re okay with you fine-tuning your skills on their horses, that’s one thing, but you don’t want to advertise yourself, get an actual job, then put in sub-par braids. Your fledgling business would be dead before it even got off the ground.

[fivestrideline]

@PamnReba

You should probably make that go the other way around - develop a good quality braid BEFORE you try to sell your services

Absolutely. And they need to be consistent in quality too! If horse 3 isn’t as good as horse 1, your business is probably going to fail. This is why you practice and take pics of your work, and then find someone to work under! They won’t take you on if you can’t turn out a good product, and thus you won’t ruin your reputation with a bad job.

If your braids don’t consistently look like this (pic from Google)

Keep practicing. It’s fine to braid your own horse imperfectly, but paying clients are going to expect a polished finish.

Another vote for starting with jumper or dressage braids if you’re trying to get experience. Or, focus on tails, as sometimes a braider will take someone on to do all the tails. Learn how to install both kinds of fakes and tricks to make a rubbed tail lay nicely. Tails can be easier than manes to pick up and get started, while you practice getting the manes perfect.