going rate for plaiting for people?

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hi, i plait a lot for a friend, i plait to professional standard and they are very good horses, often taking championships/ supremes at county level etc.. it's only the mane i do, most trimming is usually already done by another person. occasionally i have to pull them a bit.

what's the going rate for plaiting? she's happy to pay me whatever, but i don't want to take advantage, and don't know what's a normal price? just want to be fair.

petrol doesn't matter as it's a ten minute drive away.

thanks.
 
Midlifecrisis said:
I pay a fiver a horse - mane and tail.
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That is cheap, I would expect to pay/ receive the equivalent of an hour of time paid for, it will not take an hour per horse but the first needs to be covering travel time if not fuel, so £10-15 for one reducing to £10-20 for two and around £25 for 3, any less than £10 you would be selling yourself short, more than £15 is probably over the top.
I would run it past the owner and see what they think is fair but if they are competing at County level and cannot do it themselves they are lucky to have someone that can plait to that standard to do it for them, I assume you are going over very early some mornings to plait so take that into account when setting a rate.
 
I'm not sure I would pay only for a mane. To turn out the entire horse - yes, or to groom for me on the day. But unless you are doing some very convoluted or unusual plait - or the horse is really exceptionally difficult to plait - it takes a maximum of 10 minutes and is probably the easiest bit. Sorry.

Cross posted with be positive. If you are traveling and plaiting up several then that is different. I read this as asking about just plaiting up one and presumed it was at your yard.
 
A pay £12 for someone on the yard to plait a mane for me for hunting. She uses elastic bands which is my choice as I can take them out quickly before I get back to trailer. I hate plaiting so I think it's worth it.
 
Shay said:
I'm not sure I would pay only for a mane. To turn out the entire horse - yes, or to groom for me on the day. But unless you are doing some very convoluted or unusual plait - or the horse is really exceptionally difficult to plait - it takes a maximum of 10 minutes and is probably the easiest bit. Sorry.

Cross posted with be positive. If you are traveling and plaiting up several then that is different. I read this as asking about just plaiting up one and presumed it was at your yard.
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I can plait quickly to a high standard but would take at least 20 mins to do a decent job stitching them in, a well pulled mane with bands is around 10 mins, I would allow 30 mins to plait a show horse properly, which is why I said 1 hour for the first.
 
Well I take my hats off to anyone that can do pro standard plaits in 10 mins.
I could do a quick banded job in 15 mins but wouldnt want to do that for decent competitions. I allowed 45 mins to get the 4* horse done for trot up & dressage although he is a dinosaur. So really at least 30 mins for proper stitched job.
Mates rates here at £10 or favour exchange.
 
For a plaited mane and forelock done with thread and either a plaited tail or a tidy up (if pulled) I would pay up to £50 for a top quality job. Especially if any mane prep is used, and if the person doing it uses all their own supplies. I appreciate some may find that a bit of a wild amount but especially for important shows, having your horse looking beautiful is priceless! Plus different types of plaits take different amounts of time (big dressage ones take me less time than tiny sewed in box ones like the americans have for instance) and so prices could vary there... But maybe I'm thinking too much into it :)
 
I am appalling at plaiting and used to pay £10 mate's rates. (friend had groomed professionally and could practically do it with her eyes shut).
 
ihatework said:
Well I take my hats off to anyone that can do pro standard plaits in 10 mins.
I could do a quick banded job in 15 mins but wouldnt want to do that for decent competitions. I allowed 45 mins to get the 4* horse done for trot up & dressage although he is a dinosaur.
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Same here on the banded plaits. But if someone wanted me to plait their horse for a competition it would surely take me longer than ten mins :) Plus, it must be remembered that not everyone keeps their horse's mane in the most easily plaitable condition!
 
I used to plait my YO's hunter - charged her a tenner. That was banding, I was on site and it took me on average 12 mins. Small horse, thin mane and I did it every Sat Nov- March so it was very familiar.
 
SEL said:
I've got one with a Tina Turner hairdo right now - probably take 10 mins just for one plait!!!
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I'm with you on this. Mine has a very thick mane and there is only so much you can thin. It takes me an hour to plait with bands (about 11 - 13 in total). I'm gobsmacked (and very impressed!) that anybody could do a whole mane in 10 minutes!
 
Oh blimey I should have qualified my post - bands used not stitched but very professional finish..mane is pulled and tidy first. Ive always thought this particular lady is worth her weight in gold but a fiver is what she charges.
 
I'm obviously expensive!

I charge £15-£20 depending on how easy the mane is. I allow a minimum of 40 mins per horse, completely sewn in to a professional standard. I have turned out for various levels, up to and including HOYS. Often I am travelling to plait 1 horse and consider it a luxury if I am doing it after 6am!
 
ruth83 said:
I'm obviously expensive!

I charge £15-£20 depending on how easy the mane is. I allow a minimum of 40 mins per horse, completely sewn in to a professional standard. I have turned out for various levels, up to and including HOYS. Often I am travelling to plait 1 horse and consider it a luxury if I am doing it after 6am!
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That seems perfectly fair and fits with my estimation, to get up and travel a distance to plait early has to carry a premium, I would do one on my yard in basic banded plaits for a fiver as long as the mane was properly pulled but would not want to go off the yard to plait to show standard for less than £15.
 
Shay said:
I'm not sure I would pay only for a mane. To turn out the entire horse - yes, or to groom for me on the day. But unless you are doing some very convoluted or unusual plait - or the horse is really exceptionally difficult to plait - it takes a maximum of 10 minutes and is probably the easiest bit. Sorry.

Cross posted with be positive. If you are traveling and plaiting up several then that is different. I read this as asking about just plaiting up one and presumed it was at your yard.
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Most professional show grooms cannot plait a horse to county standard with thread (bands are seriously not ok at that level) in 10 mins and they plait horses day in and out all year round.

I would charge a minimum of £10 plus travel if the mane is in a decent state.
If i have to sort the mane first then i often charge £20-25.
 
Surely length of time would differ according to whether you have 7 or 9 big plaits or 25 tiny ones? I've seen both types in the ring.....
 
thanks for all the replies. the tails are pulled, and the owner likes bathing them but she can't plait and doesn't want to. they've qualified for hoys etc. i normally only plait as part of my full time job so didn't know what was fair. it takes about 30 min as i want them perfect and they have to hold overnight, mostly for 3am type starts. i do it for free for friends as a one off thing and i'll do stable work for free for friends if they've an emergency, but there's normally two to plait, and i do it a few times a month. i've done different plaits on various breeds but these ones are all sport horse/ hunters. i did plait one in the dark once when my torch died.
 
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