Horse blankets repair

[Handstitched]

2 hours ago, jcuk said:

Here in the UK it is a legal requirement to have the rugs washed and cleaned before any repairs are carried out.

Thats where things are different here. Thats not required. 

2 hours ago, Mulesaw said:

I charge an hourly rate + spareparts/materials.

I charge differently, but  not by the hour, I wouldn't get any repeat business if I did that ( here in Oz) .  Theres  someone that I know that charges just for a quote , hmm ?  needless to say the customers come to me.  We're all going to have differences  in the way we do things, depends on your market. At the end of the day, so as  you, and the client is happy with the work........ and they  make recommendations to others......and they come back, reputation is everything in a small town like mine. Thats exactly whats happened to  me    However, COVID slowed things down a bit. 

HS 

 

Edited February 17, 2022 by Handstitched

[Mulesaw]

@Handstitched How do you charge then, just curious? 
When I say hourly rate then they only pay for what time I actually use, down to minutes. I just thought that it was much easier to do compared to having rates for changing a buckle, and changing this or that. Because not all buckle changes are equally fast etc. 

I keep a piece of paper near when I work, and I write the start time and stop time, and any materials I use. 
First I always make a quick assessment of the blanket, to see what needs to be done, and then I make a loose plan inside my head for how I want to go about the repair job. The assessment also helps so that I am sure that I will fix all the little faults and not accidentally send a blanket out the door where something is still bad/broken.

If the owner delivers the rugs / blankets themselves, sometimes they'll say what needs to be done, but often I just get a pile and then I just repair them as I see fit. 

Most of my customers have come to me because I change zippers in riding boots. That's a great way to get new customers I have found. WHen they come to pick up their repaired boots I always make sure to tell them that I also repair blankets and other tack, such as the straps on a saddle etc.

Brgds Jonas

[Klara]

I would strongly suggest not to buy a lot (or anything) before you have found out what types of blankets are used around you (with which hardware) and might need repairing. And whether there is a market at all (my horse had one rug all his life which he hardly ever wore and I repaired it myself).

I also have my doubts about seat belts: I cut some out of a car wreck and they are not just nylon webbing (at least those weren't): Inside it's almost like glass fibre. Very hard to cut, very difficult to sew. Not easy material to work with and not necessary for horse rugs. 

By all means, line up your suppliers (I second the recommendation of Pethardware, as far as I know they are the best for pet-related hardware with a nice selection of stainless steel buckles and snap hooks), but don't get carried away with ordering before you know exactly what you need. Paracord.eu is brilliant for roes and webbing, they sell by the meter and individual pieces of hardware. You know Decocuir? Leather, tools and hardware, but more aimed at light-weight things for humans.

Btw, I have no idea what "binding" is exactly, but I had a quick look into our local Self Tissus today and thought their rubannerie looked quite promising.

 

[DrmCa]

5 hours ago, TomE said:

We bought this seat belt webbing for $0.17/ft at https://www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com/seat-belt-webbing/ to repair horse blankets.  Free shipping in the US.

One has to dump $100 into the purchase, and o/s of US the shipping will be at least $50. Compared to free seatbelts that can be had at scrap yards it's a no-brainer. For someone who never goes to scrap yards it might make sense to buy.

[jcuk]

5 hours ago, Handstitched said:

Here in the UK it is a legal requirement to have the rugs washed and cleaned before any repairs are carried out.

I bet there are some here still repairing them without being washed, i did it many moons ago have to say not one of my favourite things i have ever done, but repairing rugs is not something i like doing anyway.  Would you prefer them being washed and cleaned first ?. Its a big health and safety thing here and for me its not a health and safety thing gone mad, i have seen some pretty minging rugs in my time.  

JCUK

[Klara]

12 hours ago, jcuk said:

.... Would you prefer them being washed and cleaned first ?. Its a big health and safety thing here and for me its not a health and safety thing gone mad, i have seen some pretty minging rugs in my time.  

JCUK

OT I think it's a health and safety thing that proves that people nowadays are sorely lacking in common sense and decency. Nobody should need to be told to clean a rug that's disgusting before handing it over. On the other hand, I wouldn't mind a rug with a few hairs on it (cause it was dry when the horse tore it up its first wearing).

@Catharina I looked up horse rugs on Padd and found that there's quite a good selection for about € 50. Do you think you can do the repairs cheaply enough to make it worth it?  Or do people in your area have expensive rugs? 

[jrdunn]

2 hours ago, Klara said:

@Catharina I looked up horse rugs on Padd and found that there's quite a good selection for about € 50. Do you think you can do the repairs cheaply enough to make it worth it?  Or do people in your area have expensive rugs? 

I wondered this but assumed everyone would know what a "cheapskate" I am for buying such a cheap blanket.  

[jcuk]

2 hours ago, Klara said:

I wouldn't mind a rug with a few hairs on it

Just remember those few hairs may carry the Ringworm which you don't want into your workshop maybe onto your bench, tools. and your clothing, other pets as well.

2 hours ago, Klara said:

  Or do people in your area have expensive rugs?

Some people do pay stupid money for rugs which could be ripped and ruined the first time their horse has it on i have seen this happen someone i know paid £600+ for a new rug for their horse only for it to ripped apart the first time the horse had it on overnight and no amount of good repairs would make it worth while to repair it. 

Hope this helps

JCUK

[TomE]

21 hours ago, Klara said:

I also have my doubts about seat belts: I cut some out of a car wreck and they are not just nylon webbing (at least those weren't): Inside it's almost like glass fibre. Very hard to cut, very difficult to sew. Not easy material to work with and not necessary for horse rugs. 

 

Seat belts in the US are a soft polyester weave that is a good match to existing on our blankets.  You can have a choice of colors, black or black.  It rarely breaks, but we use new webbing to add reinforcement to the fabric or reconfigure the straps.  What does break is cheap zinc diecast bolt snaps on the closures. 

[TomE]

One tidbit from the Steinke saddlery and harness repair book that I found interesting.  He recommends the single needle backstitch, instead of a saddle stitch, when sewing leather billets on fabric.  Suggests the longer stitch lengths on the backside (against the fabric) grip the weave and are more secure than a saddle stitch.  Of course, this doesn't apply to machine sewing which is how we do larger repairs on blankets.