I don’t want to post on a well-worn subject, but I do have a question on braiding. I see that there are several posts on braiding, but I don’t see any discussion that references the average per-day charge. Several of the posts refer to keeping the braids in. I am in California and at the shows I would go to, they re-braid every day here. Can anyone tell me what they pay for initial mane and tail and then the per day charges they pay at the A shows in Cal? Thanks
Not in Cali but we pay daily for rebraiding, we take the braids out after the horses are done for the day. Never heard of a “per day” charge on top of braiding…what would that be for? Tidying them up after they sleep in them?
It runs around 35-50 for mane and a little less for the tail in most areas, can be more to almost double that at major venues. Nobody I know braids them in the morning, shows all day then leaves them in overnight to show again. That’s well more then 24 hours and never looks as crisp as the first day plus hard on the hair.
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Here in NY, manes are 65 and tails are 35. The braids are removed at the end of the day. If the horse is showing the next day, braids are redone the night before or the morning of. So, two days of showing is two manes and two tails or $200.
There are folks that try to eek out two days of showing from one braiding job, but the braids are worse for the wear by day two and a lot of hairs get pulled out. Not a choice I would make, but that is just me.
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I show hunters in CA. Manes are generally $55 and tails are $30. Add $30 in expenses (one charge, not per day) and additional for mane pulling if needed. We usually rebraid every day but I did have one mare who didn’t mind leaving the braids in every night and I did that a time or two.
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My usual bill for one mane and one tail braided one time (I gasp leave my braids in for 2 days and sometimes make it a 3rd) is usually in the $120 neighborhood. I think the charges are the same as mentioned above - $55 (ish) for a mane and $35 (ish) for a tail, and the travel fee is (or expenses or whatever it’s called) is $25-40 one time for each week per horse.
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Those prices sound right for braiding. I’ve never paid a travel fee. You can leave the mane in for two days if you need to save money and are not worried about horse’s comfort or how perfect they look second day. You cannot leave the tail in for two days. That’s really bad for your horse’s tail. If you are trying to save money and are doing a hunter or eq division that starts on Saturday, it’s kinder to your horse if you just do the mane for Saturday and do the mane and possibly tail on Sunday. If you are doing a hunter classic on Sunday you should technically braid the tail, but it’s not uncommon not to at the smaller A shows.
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The prices sound right for braiding, and there is a travel fee.
My current horse gets the mane left in for two days, but never the tail. We don’t generally do manes at B or C shows and don’t always do tails at the smaller A shows unless its a hunter derby or regional medal final. His tail didn’t get braided for the day at a big A show when we only did two eq classes and no hunters.
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Thanks very much. By “per day” I just meant that they would charge every time they braid, so if you are at a 4 day show and they charge, say, $50 to braid the mane then the charge for the week would be $200.
Got it, thanks. So for a 4 day show you would pay $220 for your horse’s mane and there might be a single initial expense fee.
Thank you. That’s about what I figured. I haven’t shown for years and am starting back again. Just trying to get a handle on what my expenses will be .
Thanks everyone for your responses. 
I’m just trying to figure out what my expenses will be. At this particular show, I am guessing they might not braid the tails, but I know they will braid all the horses manes every day.
You could talk to your braider to see if she offers deals for multiple days of braiding.
Your trainer probably knows what are the typical fees for braiding in your area.
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Depending on the show, particularly A rated Hunters, don’t think leaving the braids in to save 50 bucks is a great contribution to cutting costs. Learning to braid yourself and picking up a few others might be.
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Respectfully disagree. I have two horses, times at least 10 horse shows…that’s 20 manes at $50 = $1,000 over the course of a year if I skip one day of braiding.
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Back when I was showing in Ca. I braided my own horse, and if a “real” braider was running behind, she would ask me to do one of hers. That is the best thing I ever learned. I saved thousands over the years. But, be aware: If your braids are not up to the standards of the professionals, your trainer may nix your effort to save money.
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I agree, catch braiding funded quite a few horse shows for me. Of course I also blame the all night braid-a-thon for causing me to sleep ride and go off course in the second trip of a 3K classic when I was in the hunt for good money after the first trip… But I still made more that night braiding than I would have made even if I won, so it’s all relative (and I made enough to pay the class entry fee plus some, so not a total waste).
But I get it, braiding every day is some serious $$ and I’ll be the first to admit I didn’t always pull MY horse’s braids when I was catch braiding. I would pull/re-braid the ones that got a little sorry looking, braid the tail again and go to the ring looking just fine (see reference to learning how to braid, so I could fix them). But there is nothing more aggravating than a client who insists on letting the braids stay in overnight, and then wants a braider to fit them in to fix it the next day. That’s not everyone who leaves braids in, but we all know those people exist.
As for tails, tails never stay in. Friends don’t let friends do that to tail hairs. Or a tail dock. Good braiders try to schedule tails as close as possible (in their overnight list) to the class for exactly that reason.
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You got it!
You guys/gals who leave your braids in to save money are funny. Even with two horses. So you save $110. Big deal. Your show bill with training, grooming, braiding and hotels is $3000 for the week. So now you’ve irritated your horses mane and crest (just like leaving in the tail), your turnout is pathetic from messed up braids the second day, and your weekly show bill is reduced to a mere $2890. Wow, look at your save money!! Laughable.
Fun fact, not all two day shows cost $3000. Thank God.
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