Starting a horse business! Give me ideas/input!

[celine.eq2023]

Hello! I am making a horse apparel business. I am very excited because I finally get to do something of my own that I can be proud of.

I will be making mainly apparel for horses and riders. I have some ideas I think are good, but I want to see what everyone else wants for the future of riding.

Just tell me things that annoy you about horse clothing or horse tack that you wish you could change.

For example, I have a really specific length of shirts I like. If they are too long, then they scrunch up and look interesting. If they are too short, then they don’t stay in my belt and sometimes come out of my breeches after tucking them in.

I also don’t like how leather belts are so expensive, but barely adjustable. My favorite belt does not fit me anymore because I lost some weight, but it was 70 dollars and I do not want to buy another good quality belt for that much.

It can be anything, I am all ears!

(Also if anyone has any tech ideas: using technology to improve Horseriding)

Thank you!

[endlessclimb]

More breeches in curvy fit, to avoid the gap in the back.

Breeches in petite, so they don’t double as bras.

[clanter]

Come up with a trademark which you register that is applied to everything you make as nothing you make is a protected design that others can not duplicate

Unless you have the marketing connections to get your products before the public if by chance you do come up with a very interesting concept other larger companies will just pirate your ideas.

[Scribbler]

You are a junior looking for ways to finance your lease horse right?

I think the startup costs and the business savvy to start up a full scale business will be beyond your scope right now. The equestrian apparel industry is pretty saturated and keep in mind it’s a shrinking industry, someone posted recently statistics that the US horse population declined by 40 per cent since 2008 which is shocking and worrying.

If you are a junior with a good sense of what other juniors like, I’d suggest you could try easily customizable accessories like T shirts with cute horsey slogans.

Have you thought how you will market them? Getting things in stores is a whole process. Selling things online is fine, but again the world is oversaturated with little online retailers. Will you go on Etsy or similar or build your own web site? How will.you drive traffic to it? Will you order your items to your home and then package them or work with a drop ship company?

Do you have an adult mentor in this? If someone in your family knows the ropes,that’s one thing. If you need to learn all this on your own, that’s another.

Also keep in mind that you will.need to.sink significant money and time upfront and you may well lose money overall.

[trubandloki]

@celine.eq2023

For example, I have a really specific length of shirts I like. If they are too long, then they scrunch up and look interesting. If they are too short, then they don’t stay in my belt and sometimes come out of my breeches after tucking them in.

I have to agree, that a perfect length shirt is a great thing.
The problem comes in when you realize that the perfect length for you is not even close to the perfect length for me, who is long bodied, or for those who are short bodied.

[Virginia_Horse_Mom]

@Scribbler

I think the startup costs and the business savvy to start up a full scale business will be beyond your scope right now. The equestrian apparel industry is pretty saturated and keep in mind it’s a shrinking industry, someone posted recently statistics that the US horse population declined by 40 per cent since 2008 which is shocking and worrying.

This.

I think the rise of social media influencers in the equestrian space has created an impression that the equestrian apparel industry is growing. But… it seems like it’s just a matter of a lot of start ups in recent years, who have leveraged social media for marketing and are running on their own e commerce sites. And that’s great… but they are all marketing pretty similar products at similar price points.

Anyway… if someone wants to start another equestrian apparel brand - go for it. Just realize it’s a crowded and competitive space full of people who are all doing the same thing (social media influencing and marketing, using Shopify or Etsy, and many actually selling nearly identical riding tights and shirts… just with different brand names).

I guess it’s still profitable right now. But… maybe plan on keeping your scale small to start.

[fivestrideline]

Agree that the apparel market is SATURATED. And what people really need are non-standard sizing of relatively basic items.

However, that isn’t to say you can’t be successful. There is a lady near me that has a booming monogram/customization/cute shirt and hat brand that she runs out of a nice trailer at the shows. She has some signature motifs that she screen prints and embroiders on tees, hats, belts, towels, etc. She also does on-site embroidery and custom orders things like Ogilvy pads for people. Her Instagram alone is a full time job for an adult without a ton of extra commitments.

Still, she started small, her main market is local shows, and she has a little online shop. The startup costs were less than a technical clothing line but she’s got some heavy duty equipment as she’s upgraded. The startup costs for such a business are FAR smaller than trying to source and manufacture breeches/tech shirts/etc. Most of those boutique brands are selling the same $15 silicone patch yoga pants anyway, so if you want a niche you’ll have to find something unique to sell!

A shop like this isn’t a pipe dream, but I’d start small first to get the hang of the process. The above shop took off with some cute unique motifs that people like, so that’s something to make your shop stand out. Also, take advantage of any small business education or workshops you can - what kills most businesses like this is poor planning and unrealistic expectations. Good luck, at whatever you choose!

[MunchingonHay]

Let me know when you want your own commerical embroidery machine or printer. That is what I do for a living, I am neck deep in the apparel decorating industry.

Most businesses in the US are using post production apparel and they customize it with their branding, logo, etc. Cut and sew manufacturing is a whole other ballgame like Fivestridesline stated above me.

PM me if you like a link to our podcasts on how to start a brand/business with apparel decorating.

[Jo]

@MunchingonHay

Let me know when you want your own commerical embroidery machine or printer. That is what I do for a living

LOL - can you teach me how to use my little baby Brother embroidery machine? I’m intimidated so it just… sits.

[celine.eq2023]

Yeah! I have quite a few friends who have small equestrian businesses, so I could probably get some advice from them. I’m not expected much, just want to have some experience because I want to own a tech buisness one day so this could be a practice.

[celine.eq2023]

Good idea. I have some tech ideas, they might be useful for vets and grooms that would connect to a mobile device and give health updates about your horse.

I am not looking for money or a lot of business success I just want to make something because I really enjoy doing these things.

[clanter]

@celine.eq2023

. I have some tech ideas, they might be useful for vets and grooms that would connect to a mobile device and give health updates about your horse.

well I believe my Morgans would appreciate an app to request room service rather than using that squeaking chicken which has limited range

maybe use Dog Buttons for Communication? grand kids have program some these for their goats to request food

https://www.amazon.com/RIBOSY-Training-Buzzers-Recordable-Buttons/dp/B094HT1XM5

[dogsbody1]

I think there is a huge market for little hacks and devices designed to improve people’s body awareness and application of their aids. For example, the brand “Correct Connect” has a number of these types of accessories. Between the riding schools and older returning riders, I just think there’s a lot of demand for innovation in that area! Especially if you can devise a simpler, cheaper version of some existing hack, or a way to make their current bridle/saddle/reins/you-name-it work for them in that way.

Innovative stirrup leathers, stirrup irons, reins, saddle pads, fly bonnets… basically just take any normal piece of tack or accessory, put a spin on it that alleges to help people with their riding or help their horse to be quieter, and it would be marketable.

[MunchingonHay]

Hey Jo,

The Brother is a step down from what we have meaning its a home machine and I have no clue howto operate it LOL, but I believe that Joanne’s and other fabric stores offer classes. The hardest part is learning to digitize. A great way to cheat that is to learn Adobe Illustrator or another program that converts do SVG files. Most digitizing programs will take an SVG file and auto digitize.

Brother is funny that there machines only read PES files and you have to use their software.

In a nutshell, embroidery is simply these steps:

1. upload art,
2. select art in the control panel
3. select colors for thread
4. run a trace design to make sure art fits in the hoop you selected
5. press start!

[dogsbody1]

@Virginia_Horse_Mom

This.

I think the rise of social media influencers in the equestrian space has created an impression that the equestrian apparel industry is growing. But… it seems like it’s just a matter of a lot of start ups in recent years, who have leveraged social media for marketing and are running on their own e commerce sites. And that’s great… but they are all marketing pretty similar products at similar price points.

Anyway… if someone wants to start another equestrian apparel brand - go for it. Just realize it’s a crowded and competitive space full of people who are all doing the same thing (social media influencing and marketing, using Shopify or Etsy, and many actually selling nearly identical riding tights and shirts… just with different brand names).

I guess it’s still profitable right now. But… maybe plan on keeping your scale small to start.

I think there are ways to make it work! It just takes a little outside-the-box thinking. Watching a show like Shark Tank can be great inspiration. I remember the first time I watched it, I thought some of the ideas they got excited about were so unremarkable. Even lame. One was a guy selling a design for a water bottle with a removable bottom (so that you could clean it more thoroughly). I thought that was such a dumb, simple idea. Where was the flashy tech, the true innovation? And yet the big success stories from that show are often the simplest ideas. They are cheap to manufacture and have low overhead, but they just happen to solve a low-stakes yet common problem. Every time I long to scrub out the bottom of a dirty water bottle, I think of that guy!

Anyway, the “secret” is identifying one of those common pain points and an easy, low-tech solution to fix it. Imagine someone devising the perfect wall-mounted hula hoop thing-a-ma-jig and then saying, “look, loop the sides of your hay nets over this and you’ll be effortlessly stuffing 3-5 flakes with less wastage than ever before! Only $19.99!” Or something to make hoses effortless to coil back up. Or something to prevent horses from dumping their water troughs. I mean, the minor nuisances we encounter in day-to-day life as horse people are truly inspiring if you have the right mindset and can think of a nifty little device to help.

…and not just around the stable either, obviously. Think of nuisances that crop up while riding or while teaching novice riders. Then you arrive at clever ideas like extra wide stability stirrup leathers, or those shoulder braces designed to keep riders from slouching. Surely those aren’t the only problems people have with riding. It just takes a clever person to find a problem and market a product to solve it.

A couple years ago, it seemed like these fly bonnets with built-in ear plugs were all the rage. No more losing an ear plug in the middle of a round. Some genius decided to make padded ear bonnets that function like ear plugs and voilà. Who wouldn’t want to buy one? Feels like ideas like that are everywhere… just takes someone with the right motivation and resources to make them a reality.

[aregard]

I have wanted vented breeches for years. Riding in sunny California is so darned hot, and I don’t understand why breeches have to be (1) skin tight (2) non-breathable fabrics and (3) lacking vent panels on the outside of the leg.

And/or water cooling. When I get ready to ride, I dunk my exterior shirt (cotton) in the trough and get it thoroughly wet, then I put it back on and it keeps my torso cool for nearly a whole lesson. “Wet fins” on breeches might serve the same purpose.

[Scribbler]

I think most of the running an equestrian focused business is going to be the same as any other micro business on line

There is a lot of interesting videos etc online. I was following a video channel on visiting wholesalers and factories in China to source goods. It’s much easier now than in the past to order small runs of wholesale clothing, like 75 tee-shirts made to your specifications not needing to order thousands

But quality control is a huge issue doing this especially long distance.

Anyhow my first suggestion would be to do a really thorough market survey

I’d go online and make a spreadsheet of all the companies, online shops, etc that ship to the USA. Figure out the brands and the costs. But also look at the shady drop ship companies selling fake helmets and the crafty Etsy type stores selling hand beaded sparkly browbands. Temu, Wish etc

You need to find a gap in the market, rather than compete with what’s already over supplied

In the meantime you can also be researching sales platforms. In addition to how user friendly you find them, look at the fees and what you need to pay in commission.

Before you start creating anything do a business proposal. This should contain how much you can source the items for (whole sale cost), how much you can sell.them.for, what your expenses are for selling (advertising, fees, postage, shipping etc) and how much you need to sell to recoup costs, break even or make a profit. Also where you will store product and where you will work from

I’m sure many many e-sellers have boxes of unsold products in their basement or storage locker.

But also. Do you have time? You go to school and have a nice lease horse now. Creating an e-business could be a job in itself.

[LilRanger]

Cotton is great in the heat! Tech can’t beat it, especially for not holding stink.
And it can be composted!

[CHT]

1. Make a thermos/travel mug that lets you know the temperature of the contents so people like me don’t burn their mouth every week.

I am thinking colour changing strip.

2. A “checking in” app. Could work for riders going out on their own for a ride…hikers, or single people who are worried they won’t be found in a timely manner if they die. Just an app where they need to check in by a certain time, and then instructions as to what to do if they don’t.

3. Gaiters to wear over runners or ankle boots when feeding hay or walking in the snow (to keep snow/hay out of the boots). Also Hay aprons to wear when handling hay when wearing shorts.

4. Gloves or mittens that are warm, but don’t collect hay inside or sticking to the cuff.

5. Jump cup standard cup holders. Or whip holders.

6. If you live somewhere cold, bring back the fashion of full chaps.

[celine.eq2023]

I have some time, I ride about 5 times a week but my school honestly does not have a lot of homework, I am very time efficient and I do homework on car rides to the barn and whatnot.