cost of education and fun

Do any of you work with leather? As in make saddles?


Horsey Teen's best buddy was casting about for different training to take and didn't find anything that appealed to her. BUt she does dabble in leather work. Has made a few tooled belts. Very nice. THen she found an artisan, a craftsman. A fellow who builds custom saddles from the tree up. He gives courses. For 6 weeks he gives you one on one instruction in how to build a saddle and the course costs....are you sitting down...
$14,000. A $14,000 saddle. I am stunned!

I am all for experimentation and risk taking when you are young and have time and energy to recover from life foolishness. And I support this young woman and pursuing a dream and interest that perhaps does not make the best sense. Heck, she has her whole life to make sensible, rational decisions. BUt holy crackers! $14,000 for a 6 week course?

Horsey Teen Daughter was looking into some farrier courses in the States, 14 weeks, for $11,000, which I thought was a staggering sum. But at least you come out able to do something. In fact, the school she asked for information said they do not recommend anyone under the age of 25 take the course since they simply do not have the guts and drive to stick with what is an intense, exhaustive and gruelling 14 weeks. I thought that was honest.

Is this normal, this cost of education? Or have I been up here on the mountain playing with chickens and horses for too long? I looked into a bridle making course myself, that was a more reasonalbe $6000. Gack! A $6000 bridle for a horse I can't give away? Seemed like a bad deal to me. But is life all about the good deal? WHen do we get to have fun if not when we're young? I wish her well even as I gasp at the price tag.

In the old days every skill you mentioned would be taught as an apprenticeship where you would give up your current like to live and work with the artisan/tradesperson, gleaning his/her knowledge on a daily basis. Potters in Japan gve up many years of their life to enter slave-like conditions apprenticing with a master potter. I suppose in today's world where time is money this may work out as an equivalent.

Sue

Uno you can't think of it as a $14000 saddle or a $6000 bridle, you have to instead look at it as education, so you can make more, and then recoupe your costs. I know a good roping saddle can be upwards of $10000, and know many ropers that pay that. So you have to look at it as a broader spectrum and not just a one time item.
I have heard farrier school is very intense, hard on your back, and not for the weak of heart for sure. But if horsey teen is going to continue into horsey things it might pay in the long run for her to know how to do and take care of her own horses hooves...

It does seem pricey compared to other education routes but trades do tend to run higher. I am just not sure that in 6 weeks yould could learn everything you you needed to know about making saddles and then go out into the world and make a living at it. There are not many custom saddle makers in this area but as you know horse people are funny and are not going to drop $10000 for just any person to create a saddle.

Yes farrier school is hard. I had a fantastic women farrier when we lived at the coast. Something the area definatly needs and you can make a good living but the work is hard. My farrier got hurt this year and was out almost 2 months and is still not rigth but working. Thats another problem as then you are self employed and no money comming in. I think its something you have to really want to do.

Is she interested in vet medicine at all? The animal health technician program is great. The best one in the country is in kamloops. There are several in alberta with olds being a little more large animal orientated. Its a two year program and always a job in demand. She can go small or large or mixed practice. Pay is okay but its a really neat job ( they actually pay way better in alberta then they do here)

Anne

My farrier says that 10 years after he finished his training 90% of his class has given up - back and shoulder problems, horse related injuries, just hard to make a living - either too much local competition or too much driving to get enough customers (my farrier's problem). I think there is a certain build that is ideal for a farrier.

As for the cost of education - $16,000 for 6 weeks might be worth it if you came out able to make a perfect saddle right away, but if you aren't it is a lot. I suppose it is one way to weed out those who aren't serious about the trade? Still, it seems more than a little stiff. Does it include tools too?

I think it's great that this young lady is pursuing an interset. Life can be too much 'doing the sensible thing'. I was just shocked at the price tag! The other consideration is that making saddles requires some specialized tools and equipment, that are NOT included in the course. So she gets knowledge, but is not set up with some of the huge machines she will need. That will require even further investment.

There might be people somewhere that pay big bucks for saddles, but as Fuzzy pointed out, the market in this area will NOT support a custom saddlery. I think the local custom saddle maker makes his income giving lessons and not making saddles!

Heda, your observation that certain body builds make better farriers I think is a good one. Hubby is very tall at 6'6". I am fairly tall at 5'9". Horsey Teen Daughter is a relative midget at around 5'6". She does enjoy physical labour, currently working the night shift at a local sawmill piling boards and wrapping lifts of lumber for shipping. Hard work in the out of doors. This is not automated, modern, unionized mill work. No way. This is small scale, independent, no bells or whistles grunt work. So we know she can do hard physical labour....but maybe being kicked in the head by a horse has lost its appeal.

I am just going to watch with interest how this saddle course unfolds. Hope she is happy with herself at the end, because regret is a bitter pill. I will encourage best friend to make the most of the experience...sort of wish I was with her.

For that price I'd expect at least some of the hand tools etc. I think it would be better to do a shorter, cheaper course at a college perhaps to see if you like it, then make a decision based on more experience, however brief. Maybe she'd done that already? But yes, good to pursue an interest. I was very sensible for the first 30 years of my life and then went a little crazy. Which was good for me.

My farrier is short with no neck and a triangular barrel shaped body - all shoulders and chest, short strong back and short stocky legs. It was as if he were bred for farrier work. No doubt lots of experience building muscle too. I always love watching him as he is so good with horses and they are quite sweet on him - and such authority - he only needs to walk around a horse and every one of them lift the leg nearest him. He can just put his arm down and they lift the nearest hoof into his hand.

But he always regales me with the stupid customers he has and how they abuse or spoil their horses (mostly the latter). So that must be a frustration. He sometimes arrives at a customer's ranch and finds the horses are still out running around a 100 acre pasture.

So few people out this way would buy a new saddle, much less a custom one. And if they could afford that they might be happy getting one made in Texas or by someone really famous, you know?

Here is one for you. I thought it was a bit of a scam.....

I am a certified Master Groomer and a certified Master Companion Dog Groomer Instructo. I taught grooming at an Alberta government certified school. The 6 week course gave you a diploma for "Companion Dog Grooming" People paid $4000 for the course. The 6 month course was $10K. It made you a
certified "companion Canine Stylist".

Here is where I thought it was a bit of a scam.
You CANNOT learn to be a real groomer in 6 weeks. Heck you cant really learn it in 6 months. The people left the 6 week course barely able to groom 1 dog a day, and generally poorly at that. They learned a couple of clips, really basic bath and blow technique. BUt they rarely were actually GOOD at it. The people who took the 6 month course often were only doing 2 to 3 dogs in a DAY. They also were only OK at bathing and at drying. They could not deal with most scissor work, they culd only do poodle, poodle type and maybe cockers.

Now, in the mean time the shop was putting through 10 to 15 dogs a day and GETTING PAID $40 to $50 per dog!

The students PAY to be there, the clients PAY to get thier dogs done. This means that these people were PAYING to work for free! They would have been far far better offf doing it the old fashioned way. Apprentice. Work for free for a while, even just satrudays only or something. Learn how to bath, then dry, then brush, then rough in, then de-mat, then eventually finish. You would start being paid as a bather, then bather dryer, you would learn everything properly, by bathing a dozen dogs a day for 4 weeks, THEN bathing a dozen dogs and drying a few etc, not just jumping in whole hog and learning a bit of this and that, but not atually learning anything well. When you are only grooming a dog a day you only bath a dog a day! I would rahtre my bather bather bathed a dozen dogs per day and learne d what to do! then moved to the next step.

Any way,. that is my rant for the week!
S