A productive week

As it turns out, this week proves to be very productive for me. I just completed this pretty black hunter bridle with raised nose & browband, and a dropped noseband. It fits the Peter Stone ISH perfectly, and it needs very little stickywax to stay in place - very handy to put on quickly for shows. 

I really like how the little extra strap for the dropped noseband came out! It was a bit of a fuss figuring out how to make the noseband with the little loop that the extra strap threads through, but we got there.

And it was a relief to finally make a bridle again that did NOT have laced reins! The last three or four bridles all had them, and as much as I love the look of laced reins, they are a pain in the butt to make. 

Hunter bridle

This blog has been neglected terribly for the past four months! Sorry about that folks, I promise to keep better track of my tack making :)
In the time that I haven't posted, I've been able to complete several bridles and halters, including this commission piece - a dark brown hunter bridle with laced reins. It's now on its way to the USA (where it will hopefully arrive in time for a show that the new owner is attending!). It was made for the Breyer traditional Cleveland Bay mold, so it does not fit my Idocus perfectly, but you get the idea :)

Laced reins came out very well!

Time for tack

The last few days have been quite productive. I have finished the racing bridle (pictures will follow in another post), and I have started on a black snaffle bridle with flash noseband (a commission).
The pictures below are a sneak peek of the new black snaffle :)

Hunter bridle

Here is a newly completed Hunter bridle in a light brown/tan colour. It will be for sale through MH$P :)
It features a raised noseband and browband, laced reins, and an extra strap attached to the noseband, which is common on jumper bridles. The extra strap can also be removed so the bridle can be used in hunter classes.

Sneak peeks

My desk is swamped by unfinished projects, and with some new orders coming in, I felt the need to finish some stuff before starting on anything new. 

So here are some sneak peeks of what I have been working on the past few weeks :)

First up is this hunter/jumper bridle. It still needs the bit, crownpiece and throatlatch, and the laced reins. I am quite pleased with the way the raised noseband came out. 

This racing bridle has been in the works for a few months now (oops!), and it's still not finished. It was an experiment with red leather, and I think it came out pretty good. I'm still figuring out how to do the reins...

Please excuse the terrible photos. Will have to take better ones when these bridles are finished!

Snaffles

Yesterday I got my order from Utterly Horses in the mail :D It included some new bits (going to make a double bridle with Weymouth bit), buckles and leather lace in rust and black.

I got to work with the rust coloured lace right away and created this pretty snaffle bridle.

 It fits my Strapless model perfectly!

 I used to struggle with the raised nose and browbands, but with this new lace I find it easier to make them.

The bit was custom made using a simple jump ring and adding a tiny silver bead to it. I glued the bead to the ring with some Loctite super glue so it stays in place.

All the buckles are handmade too. They have tongues as well for extra realism (cut from a sheet of very thin metal and bent with pliers). 

And of course I couldn't just tack my mare up with just a bridle... The side saddle was made by Alicia Miller way back in 2009 I believe. The girth was made by me a while back.

It also looks great on my buckskin strapless model :) In the last picture you can also see a bit of the laced reins I did on this bridle.

Next on the list are a black double bridle, a tan coloured figure-8 bridle and a black snaffle.

Bridle!

I just finished this brown hunter bridle! It has laced reins and raised nose and brow bands. I wanted to take photos of the lacing, but my camera died after I took about five pictures (darn!).

 

I will be the first to say that I am not the best tack maker out there, but I feel that my tack pieces are improving bit by bit :) I am really quite happy with the way the reins and the tongues on the buckles turned out.