When Natasha Raina of Two Horse Tack approached me, I was intrigued by her claims about her custom tack. What I discovered was a wonderful story and products that have applications for just about any discipline, breed or even one’s imagination.
What first intrigued me were the applications for the Registered Irish Draught horse community. Every week I see owners sending out queries asking where to find tack to fit these odd-sized horses. I realized how useful her company could be to equestrians with mounts that didn’t fit standard sizing norms while standing up to horse shenanigans (RIDs are a mouthy bunch). When she indicated every order was custom-made to given measurements, I had to see what she produced. My driving reins arrived this week. The quality and feel of the product was beyond my expectations.
Natasha has done some incredible things with Two Horse Tack. Her product – and lessons she has learned – should not only have big appeal for the frugal horse owner seeking quality products (her strategy to offer wholesale prices direct to public makes this stuff affordable for anyone) – but also those who are drawn to our Inventing Your Horse Career initiative.
I learned a whole lot about what she’s doing in a recent Skype interview.
Why did you start your business?
“I like what I do. I’m working two to three times harder than I would at a regular job but I enjoy it. I’ve always tried to work with horses. Working with tack gives me a creative outlet that you don’t normally find with horses. We would like to see people use their horses more.
“We were recently featured on a blog called Snarky Rider. The owner, Robin, and I brainstormed that the best way to do this was to offer as many different things or ways to enjoy your horse as possible. The winter months are especially hard. I’ve always been interested in a sport called Skijorring, where you ski behind your horse. Robin (the owner of the Snarky Rider site) had done it as a kid growing up with a makeshift harness she used. We are working with her to design a safer, more efficient harness. I feel like it’s kind of my duty to do things like this. Your traditional tack companies can’t do it because the market is so small. The market or sport can’t expand because folks can’t find the equipment to give it try. It’s a vicious cycle but one I am determined to break.”
Can you explain what beta biothane is?
(Editor’s note: this is the primary material Natasha uses for most tack orders, but she fills custom leather orders too)
“It’s a web-coated nylon. It sounds a bit like a miracle product. It’s easy care – you wash it off with soap and water; extremely tough and durable – basically the strongest material available in the equine marketplace and also has a following in mountain climbing, so you know it’s strong. You don’t really sacrifice anything – it has a better feel than leather. It’s an American product, invented and manufactured in the U.S.; no Indian or cheap Chinese knock-off. Biothane has been around for about 20 years. Beta is fairly new. It came out in 2005 and is a wonderful product. When people hear the word biothane they’re thinking of the first biothane – super thin, glossy kind of plastic looking. This is a whole new product but the benefits are the same.”
How do you provide custom tack with your price points?
“We just stock the raw material. There are 70,000 variations at this moment with $7 million worth of inventory. Twelve colors of beta biothane and 13 overlay colors. You can also add rhinestones or bling. We have also recently starting carrying reflective and camouflage biothane. All of these can be made with stainless steel or solid brass hardware.”
How long can buyers expect to wait for their order?
“People hear the word ‘custom’ and automatically assume it will take weeks to receive their purchase. We have fine-tuned and organized our shop so that we are able to get items shipped out amazingly quickly. Most orders are ready to ship in just 1-3 days. The only exceptions are harnesses, which take about 3-7 days. Most folks will receive their order within 3-5 business days, even with our standard shipping option.”
Want to see her recent promotional video (it’s only two minutes – well done and worth the watch):
Check back on Tuesday for the continuation of this interview where we’ll discuss business lessons learned including launch challenges, huge e-bay success, transitioning to a website platform, Natasha’s background and some other fun stuff that came out in our conversation.
Have you always dreamed of a career that kept horses in the mix? Share your dream in the comments below. You might be surprised who chimes in to help you get there.
