Newsworthy's Bridle

Here are the results of my now sore neck and sweaty fingers:

A bridle for my pretty pony! The browband is too small, so I plan to make a newer, longer one. Oh, and a new development: Stud hook clasp thingys on the bit ends of the headstall:

I ride English with three different bridles that all have the same buckle-things, so hey! another thing to recreate into miniature! I still have to finish the noseband and reins ( I won't be able to lace them because the lace is 1/16" - too small!).

Doesn't my little boy looks so cute in his new duds?

By the way, sorry I haven't been posting daily - there just doesn't seem to be much to post about if I'm not working on tack...there's one New-Year's resolution ditched!

Photo Showing Performance Shots....

I whipped out some cash to buy some foam core board for a nice, clean arena wall today. I also scrounged out as much tack as I could to get some nice, candid (and realistic) performance shots as I could:

Breyer Traditional Jumping Saddle - FINISHED!!

Okay, IT IS FINISHED!!! (sorry, I sound like Aslan off of "The Chronicles of Narnia")

I wasn't horribly happy with the way the panels came out, and the RDLC tree was a little long for most of my models, but hey, live and learn, right?

 These pics are just the saddle, because the first girth I made was too short - it fit my Newsworthy, if that gives you an idea of size. So, instead of streatching out billets to use the short girth, I was making a longer one: you can see it on the bottom pic.

 See hoe bulky the pommel is? The tree had no cutback area - I made an aluminum tree that had a cutback section, and that tree is the right size for my model's backs.

 I didn't cut enough leather to cover the panels, so I ended up stitching them together instead of gluing - you can see the thread :-( *Sigh* Oh, well, like I said, live and learn.

 My panels look oh-so-pretty from the bottom though! I Love it!

The girth on the right is the first one - for Newsworthy - It not only was too short, it was a bit wide, so I made the one on the left narrower and longer, with a different "overlay" piece...

Any feedback is appreciated!

Book Review Two

This review? Here goes:

Phantom Stallion Wild Horse Island, by Terri Farley.

Darby Carter loves horses, and when her Grandfather, who lives in Hawaii, invites her and her wild Nevada mustang filly to come and live with him on his horse ranch, Darby glady agrees. The filly, however, longs for her home of desert playas and sage-scented wind. Can Darby break through the filly's resistance to train her? Or will the filly always be wild?

My First Trade....

....two Stone ISH customs for two English saddle sets - don't worry, the tack items were my two first attempts at English saddles...it was a fair trade.

The blue roan: Very nice coloring, he does have some texture to his paint job, but he'll make a great tack display model/photo showing model unless someday I decide he needs a new paint job.

 A closer-up shot of his eye - I like the detail on his.

 The bay - nice shading, but I can tell he was a first-attempt for his painter...still very nice.

 close-up of his single sock - I think it's cute!

Now, just pray with me that the tack gets to it's destination safely!

Book Review One: The Phantom Stallion

Okay, you're getting a double post today because I was not feeling up to staring at a computer screen all day yesterday....so, you get a book review - or, a book SERIES review:

Series Name: The Phantom Stallion
Author: Terri Farley
# of books in the series: 24
Side note: Ms. Farley also has another series that came after the original Phantom Stallion series: I'll post a review on that one later.

Storyline: Samantha Forster is a teenage girl coming home to her family's ranch in Nevada after spending two years in San Francisco because of an injury caused by her black two-year-old mustang colt who was never recaptured after the accident that put Sam in the hospital. Sam is greeted by her father, grandmother, and Jake, a half-indian cowboy who calls Sam "Brat" and rides an ill-tempered mare, Witch.
Sam soon hears of the local legend of a wild white stallion that haunts the range. When Sam sees the stallion for herself, one thing is certain; the white mustang is her colt Blackie, all grown up and grayed to a silvery white. But no one else belives that the stallion is Sam's colt, until she proves it by whispering the one word to her stallion that only the two of them know...

Want to know more? Here is The Phantom Stallion website: http://www.phantomstallion.com/

Enjoy!

First Dressage Saddle Photos

Here are some photos of my very first Dressage saddle - shipped it off for my trade deal a week ago.

 And the bridle:

 Closeup of noseband:

Not horribly pretty, but hey, at least I can find my own faults!

Beginnings of First Drastic Custom

I had a brainstorm yesterday - why not take my mom's old, beat-up Breyers and turn them into nice Customs? One is the PAM Palomino, Bay Clyde mare with a broken ear, appaloosa running stallion with a partially-broken tail - if you lift his tail, you can see the crack around it - rearing mustang, Diablo I think? Appy lying foal, Appy scratching foal, Misty of Chicoteague, Justin Morgan - Big long list...

But, Justin Morgan is first...

If anyone here has read The Phantom Stallion by Terri Farley, I was thinking of making him a bay like the main character's horse, Ace...

First Step: I separated his tail from his right hind leg:

Now, off to take a shower - me and my little brothers helped dad split and stack firewood for three hours, so now I smell like chain saw exhaust AND B.O....

Oh, the joys of country living...

Stablemates English saddle Part Two

More photos - and some size comparison with my pinky and the measuring stripes on my cutting board:

I know it's not perfect, but my mom and I just can't get over how TINY it is!!!

Next up....



The bridle...


UGH!!!!!

I can't seem to cope with tinier than tiny buckles and split 1/16" lace...another day when I am not shaking from trimming my OTTB Sam's feet and holding a pigmy goat while her tail was being doctored...

...life on the funny farm goes on...

Stablemates English Saddle

Today I felt ambitious (and bored, even after taking a soak in the rain with two stubborn mini-donkeys and a mini-mule that didn't want to be moved into their new pen), so I put together my Stablemates saddle:

SOOOO tiny! Any critiques would be welcome - this is my first SM saddle, though, so I see room for improvement!

Completed Jumping Bridle

Another drum roll......

I finished it!

Finally...whew. That sure took alot longer than I expected - I'm just glad i was able to scrape up the patience needed to finish my best bridle so far...

Here are some pics for you:

AHA!!!! Well, there is one of my new Stone ISH customs...HA! Can't believe I got it to load!

Anyways: (click on the pictures to enlarge)

So, I am pleased, though I find all of the flaws that stick out like sore thumbs - lots of em - but hey, it gives me something to want to do better, right?

Let me know what you think!

Jumping Bridle Update

Here are some photos of my in-progress Jumping bridle:

Some features include:

Laced reins
Figure 8 noseband
Three-ring Elevator bit

Everything is buckles - buckles, buckles, buckles! And LOTS of keepers! That is why this has taken me so long - I have been working on this since Sunday - actually, Saturday night.

I am waiting for my trees to get here so I can make the pattern for the saddle...waiting...waiting....I hate waiting, lol!

New ISH Cm's

I recently made a trade deal with my two lower-level English sets for two Stone ISH CM's...

Let's see if I can get the pictures up...

Hmm....seems that the blog uploader doesn't like the file type...ugh.

One is a pretty bay with a left-front sock and a stripe. The other is a blue roan...and I can't wait for them to get here!

Pictures of my bridle coming tomorrow...and maybe a riding video....

My new work area...

Today, I had an awesome idea...

Set up my own tackmaking area!

I brought out my dad's old art table (the kind that tilts up and down), set it flat, and arranged my supplies and tools on it accrodingly:

Also finished the reins to my English set today...pics later!

Scenery Shots for you...

Today my dad and I went and picked up a parts vehicle with the help of a friend and his truck...I got some lovely shots of Mount Shasta for you, and some other scenery shots...oh, and some cute pictures of my dad's friend's daughter's horses...boy, that's a mouthfull...

Believe it or not, this took all - dang - day...but I still managed to dye the lace that I got in the mail from Rio Rondo (it came while we were gone) after dinner - six yards worth!

Enjoy!