Meet the ‘Horse Barber’ creating spectacular equine designs

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

Dubbed the “Horse Barber,” the design graduate has set up her own business clipping creative artwork into the hair of horses.

“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.”

READ: World’s most beautiful race courses: From beaches to frozen lakes

‘I had never done it before’

The unusual passion was borne from an early age when Hames taught herself how to clip her own pony in a traditional manner.

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.

Friends would then ask her to clip their horses and demand spread through word of mouth.

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Having identified an opportunity to create a traditional clipping business, one of her clients then requested a creative cut.

“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.

“All of a sudden more and more people started asking so that’s how it started.”

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‘Inspiring’ others

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.

After two-years stateside, Hames returned to the United Kingdom where she continues her educational program.

“It’s been an incredible journey, it’s gone further than I ever thought it would,” she said.

“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.”

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.

She has been clipping full-time for four years.

Supermoon —

Multi award-winning snapper Edward Whitaker earned horse racing's photograph of the year award with this stunning image of a rare blue supermoon in Lambourn, Berkshire in January 2018. "I knew a spot where the angle was just right," he says. Here he talks CNN Sport through seven of his favorite images.

French fancy —

Whitaker's image of French horse Arazi pulling off a stunning last-to-first victory in the 1991 Breeder's Cup at Churchill Downs made his name. "He went through the field like it was 'National Velvet' or some ridiculous film like that. I got this image of jockey Pat Valenzuela screaming his head off against the spires of Churchill Downs. My lot were blown away, it was a big breakthrough."

Shower time —

Another picture that has defined his career is this shot of the great stallion Danehill being hosed down at Coolmore Stud in Ireland in 2003. "I just love the whole effect, how the water is reacting over the horse. He turns his neck so it was almost like a massage to him, and you can see how much he's enjoying it. I had to shoot it on a slow shutter speed and there's a real sense of movement in the water, and the light is just lovely."

Kaleidoscopic —

This color-filled image of Churchill Downs is another Whitaker favorite. "I knew there was this fire exit up to a door that opened onto the roof so I went up there and caught this great dawn. There was a cold front coming in, so I knew there would be some very dramatic reds and yellows in the sky. And now they light up the iconic spires with purple light, so the colors are unbelievable. It's so American and over the top."

Chantilly face —

Horses break from the stalls in front of the Great Stables at Chantilly, France in 2016. "I love this shot because of the light and the horse rearing at the start. It's just a dramatic picture. That one horse going up gives it great strength."

Lucky horseshoe —

Whitaker's luck was in with this picture from Cheltenham last January when he discovered the flying horseshoe. It was part of his portfolio that won an eighth photographer of the year award. "It was a remote picture from under the fence shooting into a clear blue sky. It was a nice picture anyway but the fact the shoe fell off and pointed upright was just unique. I'd never seen anything like it. That's why photography is so exciting."

Scared stiff —

Whitaker conquered his fears and rode up in the TV crane to capture this image of the city of Chester and the racecourse. "This is the scariest picture I've ever taken. You go up on this wobbly plank with a safety harness clipped to a metal frame. I was absolutely terrified but the view was amazing, the light was just right and I got this great scene of Chester with the action on the racecourse."

Stunning shots from horse racing's photographer of the year

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War Horse

Last November, Hames was invited to create a design to mark the armistice centenary – 100 years since the end of World War I – an honor she didn’t treat lightly.

“I spent about six weeks on that project,” she said.

“I went down to the Imperial War Museum in London and I went to the library to read. I did quite a lot of research.”

The physical clip itself took 10 hours to complete, split into two five hour sessions spread across two days.

‘That one means a lot’

The entrepreneur struggles to pick a favorite design but some works certainly mean more to her than others.

In March 2018, she did a charity clip for MacMillan Cancer Support. The “Gingerbread Horse’” was created in memory of a close friend that had passed away.

“That one meant quite a lot,” she said. “I think a lot of people were able to connect with that one as well.”

Most of Hames’ business comes from individual requests, with people coming to her with a design already in mind – this sometimes throws up strange and difficult requests.

“It might sound a bit odd but one girl asked me if she could have chains on her horses hind haunches,” she revealed.

“It’s the only one where I thought ‘How am I going to do this’? It was very intricate, and it took me by surprise.”

Safe to say that both parties were happy with the outcome in the end.

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Safety concerns

Hames is confident her work is entirely safe and holds the horses’ well-being at the forefront of her work. She believes the stigma around artistic clipping is borne from a lack of understanding.

“A lot of people who speak negatively about it don’t actually realize that the horses they see on TV are normally clipped.” she said, referring to racehorses.

“I just want to educate people that horses have been clipped for 100 years at least, probably a lot longer. It just so happens that mine stand out.”