How nice would it be if all it took to transform from your hat-haired, post-yard self to a clean and polished member of non-horsey society was two flicks of your fairy godmother’s wand?
On reflection, Cinderella’s transformation was pretty easy. A few swift magic waves and there she was, ball-ready, plus no farrier required to replace her lost shoe.
Anyone who had horses will know that there are never enough hours in the day.
Trying to fit in jobs, families and a social life requires planning skills of the best PA, with extra time factored in for errant equines and becoming presentable enough for non-horsey society.
While Cinderella’s fairy godmother (sadly) is just a fairytale, a new equestrian store has come up with a way to help riders speed up their magical transformations.
Pointers Equine & Country founders Emma Grellis and Emily Purvis have set up The Muddy Nail Bar at their Forest Green store in Surrey, where riders can have their rugged hands sorted out while picking up essentials for the tack room.
No more apologising for your eau de horse, goodbye to surreptitiously pulling stray bits of hay out of your hair, all is welcome here.
“We decided to combine my nail technician skills within the shop as we know horsey people generally have pretty unloved hands so it’s nice to give them a bit of a pampering,” said Emma.
“It’s great as people can come straight from the yard and not have to think about ‘dehorseying’ beforehand.
“We all fork out for new shoes for our horses every month so why not treat ourselves?”
The pair took over the store in November and completely gutted the space, reopening on 1 December and also have an online shop and booking system.
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Clients even sit on a specially designed saddle stool — created by Emily — while their hands are treated.
“Emily is really creative and took the idea and ran with it, my face must have been a picture when she started to butcher a stool and an old saddle we bought on eBay to make the saddle stool,” added Emma.
“It has been a massive success both in store and online with 10 bookings in the first week of being open.
“Gel nails have been the most popular treatment so far as they are perfect for making nails look nice and to make them stronger with no damage to the natural nail.
“I’m even brave enough to tackle feet so with this flip-flop weather you can be sure to have as nice hooves as your horse!”
For all the latest news analysis, competition reports, interviews, features and much more, don’t miss Horse & Hound magazine, on sale every Thursday.
In this week’s edition, out on 24 May, don’t miss our “cob special”, including how to find the perfect cob, meet champion cob Our Cashel Blue and more.
Filed under: Riding Tips
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