“A friend at the barn asked me to make her horse a sleazy,” states Brooke Doss the woman behind the business Slick Horseware, based out of Grover Beach, CA. “I was just a kid who knew how to sew,” she continued. Soon more friends were asking Brooke to make their horses sleazys; and tail bags too. That was back in 2013.
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Getting Started with Slick Horseware
Fast forward to October 2023 while Brooke is on maternity leave from her critical care nursing job. “What am I going to do?” she wonders. Well do, she does . . . She decides it’s time to rebrand the horse sleazy business and put effort into expanding her market. Brooke has refined the sleazy conception over the years. The result is design and function aspects which focus on durability and top quality. Not only that, she also offers dazzling bright and sparkling metallic colors and fun patterns.
The Business Takes Off
Brooke doesn’t slow down – well maybe just a bit to have her baby – she takes on the higher business volume in stride. She does get help from her husband who designed the Slick Horseware website.
This amazing woman is the company founder, product designer, seamstress, financial manager, marketing director, shipping department and manufacturer. She adds a new role as mom to an already full schedule of being a rider of a beautiful, successful dressage show horse, and a now part-time critical care nurse. Yet, this past Fall and Christmas seasons were the businesses best.
“You can do something quickly and well when you do it a thousand times!” was her reply at my astonishment at all Brooke accomplishes. However, with even more expansion in mind, she is setting up a standard pattern for the different sizes and products to get some help with manufacturing her Slick Horseware line.
Uses for a Horse Sleazy
What is a horse sleazy used for? This horse workout wear starts at the face or ears (the faceless version) and continues down the neck to the body and ends at the tail. So, at top of the list of uses is: keeping a show horse clean (really handy for gray horses/ponies) and braids protected. The sleazy also brings a shine to the horse’s coat. It can be used under a winter blanket. The material is breathable and moves with the horse, like workout wear. A tail bag preserves and protects a horse’s tail hair while keeping the hair past the tail bone clean.
Slick Horseware Expansion Coming
Getting a standard pattern set for the basic sizes and products will free Brooke up to do more with custom orders, like her favorite: costumes. She plans on setting up a booth at local horse shows and barrel races. Having customer’s walk away with a tangible product has drawn more sales and expanded brand awareness. To expand market awareness and distribution Brooke is developing a Slick Horseware Brand Ambassador program.
Slick Horseware Products on Website and Esty
If you don’t see Brooke at a local event, you can see her top-quality Slick Horseware products on the website and Esty stores. You can also keep up with the latest products on the Slick Horsewares Facebook and Instagram pages.
This Local Business is Blooming
Photo credit: Sharon Jantzen photos
“Being your own boss means you work 24 hours a day,” responds Brooke. “I’m a real person, not a chat bot. It’s important to keep the human component. I am also committed to keeping the manufacturing in the USA. I’ve shipped to every state in the US, even Alaska – except Hawaii!”
What began as a simple request from Brooke’s barn buddies has expanded into a blossoming business covering almost all of the United States. Slick Horseware is taking off; and in no time she should be shipping to that last state – Hawaii.
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