Meet the 'Horse Barber' creating spectacular equine designs

Meet the 'Horse Barber' creating spectacular equine designs

[size=1.2]By combining her two passions, Melody Hames produces some of the most unexpected and spectacular designs in the equine world.

[size=1.2]Dubbed the "Horse Barber," the design graduate has set up her own business clipping creative artwork into the hair of horses.
[size=1.2]"They've all got a unique meaning," Hames told CNN Sport. "I've always been into art and design anyway so I love to do it."

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[size=1.2][size=1.2]'I had never done it before'
[size=1.2]The unusual passion was borne from an early age when Hames taught herself how to clip her own pony in a traditional manner.
[size=1.2]Her much loved pet suffered from Cushings disease --meaning its coat didn't shed properly -- so she would spend her time tending to it out of necessity.
[size=1.2]Friends would then ask her to clip their horses and demand spread through word of mouth.
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[size=1.2]Having identified an opportunity to create a traditionalclipping business, one of her clients then requested a creative cut.
[size=1.2]"I had never done it before but I've got the attitude of just saying yes and worrying later. So we did it and she put it online," Hames said, in a phone interview from her home in Greater Manchester, England.
[size=1.2]"All of a sudden more and more people started asking so that's how it started."
[size=1.2][size=1.2]'Inspiring' others
[size=1.2]Having set up the business six years ago, her work was eventually scouted by a clipping company in America -- Andis -- who invited her to showcase her skills and help train others.
[size=1.2]After two-years stateside, Hames returned to the United Kingdom where she continues her educational program.
[size=1.2]"It's been an incredible journey, it's gone further than I ever thought it would," she said.
[size=1.2]"The key really is the educational side of it. I want to share my knowledge and share my craft with others. To inspire others is a big part of what I enjoy doing."
[size=1.2]Hames credits social media for helping her business develop. As more photos of her work were shared online, the more her popularity grew and the more opportunities she was presented with.
[size=1.2]She has been clipping full-time for four years.

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