Random question, horsey businesses...

[Nudibranch]

Ok maybe a daft question but the people who do horse-drawn carriages for weddings and funerals - do they make enough to do it full time? Or is it more a case of a hobby which pays well on the side? It just struck me as quite an enjoyable way to make a living. Can't think of a better way to spend my working hours than with a pair of well mannered friesians.

 

[Nickijem]

I used to help a friend do horse-drawn carriages for weddings with his 2 welsh cobs. He did it for a hobby really as he had his own business in computers but I don't think it made enough even to cover the cost of keeping the horses!

 

[dianchi]

Would guess it would depend on how many you did a week!
A friend of mine does it as a side line thing!

 

[BigBird146]

I had one horse (shire) with a carriage for my wedding 5 years and he charged about £300/ £350, I would say he was more of a 'sideline' type of bloke though and as the wedding was near his home base he had no transport costs. There is a 'professional' carriage woman does it near us though and she charges £6-£700 from memory (that was 5 years ago though). So I'm sure you could do it as a weekend thing through summer to make a good contribution to your costs. I think the only thing is, if you are into showing/ competing they are also usually on weekends in summer so it's probably one or the other!

 

[OWLIE185]

Funerals are a better earner. Take a look at Cribb & Co as they do them in the South East fulltime.