A little bit of advice needed..

C

chunklovescooks

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OK - So I'd like to set up a small business providing mail order products to a niche market of horse people, I was thinking maybe I could try to cater to people that own abnormaly large horses, for example I could provide:

• Rugs for 6’9” plus
• Bits 6” plus
• Saddles in X-Wide +
• Boots in generous sizes
• Large bridles

Do you think this is a viable business option? Or do you think catering for such a small market would limit potential income? Maybe just offering high quality products slightly cheaper than most mail order businesses would be more viable?

Last of all, do you think people in the equestrian community prefer to see products before they buy them? I do with some things, but others, I don't really mind.

Thanks for helping

S
 
Hm. Not sure there's enough of a demand on the rugs front - places like EC often have only the bigger rugs left.

Bits might be different, especially if you post worldwide.

Good luck
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hey, im a business manager and my first thought would be market research... is there another business like your idea, if so how are they doing and how do they do it? and if not then why is there no other idea like yours? a great idea not tried yet or tried already and folded. maybe also a little research into what other retailers etc offer in large sizes?? and whats already out there
 
Most rug stockists will either stock or order in big rugs - not many rug manufacturers make them tho - small demand so prices seem to be less negotiable.

Big bits and boots I think would be harder (altho my big boys still have 5.5 or 5.75 bits and don't wear boots so I have ltd experience of this side)

It is hard to get quality leatherwork in large sizes altho I've always gone to a saddler and had bridles made to measure which has worked out cheaper than off the peg ones - got lovely hunting double made for £100 exc bits.
 
Agree with Mrs M re. bigger rugs.

However, I would suggest there might be a market for larger boots; I recently bought the Woof Wear Oxy tendon boots in Full/XFull and they only just fit my mare - and she's only a 16.2hh TBx (in my siggie). She's often in Extra Full boots and there must be people with bigger horses looking for bigger boots (unless I'm just looking in the wrong places!
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Large bits are VERY difficult to source, which results in a very limited number of options for the horse with a big mouth. When we had a large shirex we had no problem with rugs, but did need to buy made to measure brow bands and nose bands. Also it can be difficult to find reflective stuff big enough for the very large horse.
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Thanks for the advice spacefaer and Ziggy_, it is much appreciated. It is pretty interesting regarding the boots, I will do more research into that.

I could also look into finding larger sized bridle work.

What do you guys think about catering for the Male rider market? I find that a lot of products are orientated towards female riders (understandably) and whilst shopping for myself there is often limited choice.

S
 
You might be on to something re. the male riders: I've noticed catalogues are carrying more male orientated lines. Fuller Fillies has plugged a nice niche, so maybe this is another one - maybe look at the FF model.
 
Thanks for the info YorksG, so there may be a gap in the market for safety gear for large horses? (On the topic of that, I saw a young girl riding out today with no hat/bp or reflectives... makes me wonder..)
 
I was on the Your Horse website/forum the other day and they have started a campaign to get bigger boots manufactured, think it was Equilibrium which was the company they were talking to. They had to get a minimum order of 50 to go ahead if I remember correctly. Not sure if this helps your idea or steals your idea as it were but some more info and obviously a problem some people are having! Good luck
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I run a mail order co, and can vouch for the fact that the least popular sizes, colourways etc can be the hardest to shift, so you often have to discount to clear a line - but so are your competitors as they'll have the same problem - the trick is to get there first.

Also be aware you may not be able to choose to just stock one or two sizes and that for some products/manufacturers (particularly clothing) the minimum order you have to place for a product line has to be for 'a case' which might comprise for example 2 small 4 medium 8 large 4 XLarge 23 XXLarge ie they dictate what you have so they clear all their stock which they've had to pre-order from the manufacturers 6 months+ previously and had to guess the quantities they'll need.

I think if you're aiming for the 'bigger horses' market it won't necessarily be such an issue as for human clothing which is more 'fashion' and subject to become out of date more quickly. However I'd suggest you may find it easier to market your range to a particular sector eg cobs (as they're fashionable) and to word your site carefully to ensure search engines find your products 'for large horses' etc as well as 'for cobs' for example, and name drop in lots of bigger breed names eg shire etc. so that if someone is searching for eg 'rug for shire horse' you'll be on to a winner.

Whatever you do, do make sure you've researched your market thoroughly, have a proper business plan ('Fail to plan, plan to fail') - make sure you know what everything will cost, and don't buy in too much stock (not my strong point!) - check availbility and despatch times from your suppliers and work that into the equation, there's nothing more satisfying than placing an order with a supplier with 2-3 day delivery as you get towards the bottom of the box and the courier arrives with the next box just as you take out the last one to pack.
What I really hate is the one supplier currently on 8 week + delivery times - and I ordered thinking 2-3 weeks for delivery grr!
 
I used to own a heavyweight cob who had really chunky legs, I could never find any boots to fit him as he was 15.1hh his cannons were quite short, the only boots wide enough must have been made for shire horses as they were far too long. So I had to give up and ride him in bandages which were never as good especially for things like cross country were they'd get wet and I'd worry about them falling off! I know I wasn't the only one with this problem. So if you could develop some good protective boots for cobs I'm sure there'd be a market for it. You see lots of cobs doing xc and showjumping, I'm sure there owners would love some well-fitting boots.
 
Here is my lovely old cob to show you what I mean about the stocky legs thing. His feathers had actually recently been trimmed as short as they would go in this photo.

cuteboy-1.jpg
 
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