I always give $50.00 tip directly to grooms on show days, usually 4 days a week. On the regular rest days at the shows my day care costs I assume provided adequate compensation paid for them by the trainers.
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At my last ASB show where I showed, it was fairly standard to tip minimal 100.00 a class (2-3 classes a week). I also groomed at ASB barns and I was tipped from 100-200 a class depending on show. At Louisville and the Red Mile it was 150.00 to 200.00 tip per class.
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That number was what one owner would be paying for one horse, not the groomās entire salary. Presumably the groom has more than one horse in their care?
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That is the case at my barn!
I think the going rate is between $50-$100 per class for an ASB/Hackney/Morgan for a regular show - but it varies from barn to barn. My barn brings between two to three grooms for a show, and they generally share the work - so I divide my tips between them.
Usually full time grooms are salaried rather than having a day rate or paying by the horse. But a day groom/freelancer who just does shows might charge per horse like that (although usually they have a day rate set to accommodate the job as a whole), and freelancers generally do make more, because short term convenience costs more money. 450 a horse would be quite high, though.
If we back into @00Sevenās math, āI thinkā she is suggesting when she goes to a show with her trainer, she is paying (or expects to pay) $75 a day for grooming or $450 for six days at a show. She is suggesting tipping $300 ($50 a day) on top of that plus food and drinks is a lot for a client to pay for one horse.
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For those prices, I would do my own grooming (and tip myself accordingly. 
)
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Yeah unless her services are contracted with the groom directly, rather than paying the trainer who then pays the groom, groom isnāt getting 700+ a week per horse. More likely as I said abover groom is making around 700 for the week with all horses, plus tips, and the barn/trainer is collecting the bulk of the fees.
I donāt think anyone disagrees that the groom typically receives a straight salary and the āgrooming feesā a client is charged at a show donāt go directly to the groom.
It is a little bit like going to the auto garage. The customer might be billed $130 an hour for labor while the mechanic is paid $25 an hour. The rest goes toward overhead and general expenses.
I think that @00Sevenās point is that $750 is a lot to expect a client to pay for the combination of āgrooming feesā and āgroomās tipsā for a six day show for one horse.
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Iām not disagreeing 
the question was what to tip a groom. What you pay for grooming unless thatās your groom honestly bears little relation to what the groom is being paid, unfortunately. Is 50$ a day in tips too high? Thatās pretty dependant on the tipper. Also what services the groom is providing; that can vary widely. Itās just not a simple question, the only answers I can provide come from my experience as a professional groom, who knows a lot of professional grooms. It probably comes as no surprise that some people tip well, while others tip nothing.
Yes, that was exactly what I was saying! Iām not sure why Ladyj quoted me to make her point, considering she was talking about something completely different than I was. I certainly hope that the hypothetical groom is making more than $450/week, for sure. I think we just got our wires crossed somewhere upthread.
lol!! good idea but I canāt be at the shows the entire time so not possible.
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Last few years on the West Coast it was $50-$75 a day, per horse, plus their hotel paid for. No tips. Guys each had 3 to 4 horses for all 7 days. So that could be bumping two grand. Mind you, they are getting cash!
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I quoted it because, again, what you are spending on grooming fees can have zero relation to what the groom is being paid, unless you are privately contracting with a groom. So what you tip can be highly variable depending on the services the groom is providing for you specifically, understanding your groom might be a pro making a grand a week, or a working student making zero-100.
you in general are better informed about the workers your program contracts with, their pay, their perks, as well as your own industry standards.
it seems from the above that the saddlebred industry, Which is I believe the OPās discipline, tips per class. Thatās not the norm for hunter jumpers or dressage so that was an interesting and valuable bit of information that is probably most pertinent for the OP.
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It is off the original topic but to address the 750 is a lot, it depends, as I said above.
is the groom a full service groom? Are they doing feedings and boxes and hand walking or lunging and grooming and tacking and helping in the paddock and before/after the class? Taking the horse, untacking, washing, and cleaning tack like you have your own personal private groom regardless of how many other owners and horses they are serving? Then no, I donāt think 750 would be out of line.
adjust your tip accordingly for how much not full service it is.
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Iād recommend talking to the trainer about recommended practices.
Iāve been at barns where you pay the groom fee to the trainer (who then either passes it all along to the groom, or pays the groom out of it), barns where you pay the groom fee directly to the head groom (who keeps it if heās the only groom, or passes money along to his assistants, barns where tipping was encouraged, and barns where tipping is discouraged. The latter was one of the situations where the groom fee went to the trainer and the grooms were paid a salary.
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I know that isnāt the case
That would pay for a couple of new breeches lol
