An Unproductive, Productive Day

I know I just contradicted myself in only four words, but that is how my day has felt.

I got up and went to see Sonny = Productive. He was very good! But as my family and friends point out, there are only about two days a year when I say he wasn't very good :P.

He jumped 2 feet for the first time = productive! I know that is barely anything, but a huge step for us! When I first got him, he wouldn't even cross a ground pole. Today he jumped 2 feet (without hesitation!) three times :).

Here is how our progress has gone. This was a video I took 9 months ago; it is one of the first times he had jumped.



Here is what he did today :). Such a good boy! My lesson for today: I do not have the coordination to control a horse, a 22 foot rope, a carrot stick, and my camera. From now on, I will be dragging someone to the barn with me if I want more videos.



Then I went to hobby town to get some stuff for a diorama = productive. I found everything I wanted except water and shrubs.

Next I went to Joanne Fabrics and got a ton of ribbon for halters! In my book, that is very productive!

Now, it is 7:30 and I have YET to study at all for my bio midterm = major non-productivity. Or maybe you could call it procrastination? Thankfully, I still have a week before my midterm. I was hoping to knock out most of my reading today, but it doesn't look like that is going to happen :/.

Mummy Horses: A Thing of the Past

The title is supposed to be more figurative than literal, but you can take it however you want ;).

After my beloved Valentino suffered a tail crack on the way home, I knew I had to look into alternate ways of shipping. The old toilet papered/mummy horse just wasn’t cutting it. So I asked one of my best friends, Susan, if she had any suggestions. Like always, she told me how to solve the problem: gun cases!

Here is what she told me to do:

You will need 1) a four pistol gun case 2) scissors and 3) a permanent marker.
The gun cases can be purchased here, or your local Wal Mart. Just make sure they are the four-pistol kind.

To get started, open up the gun case. You will see both sides contain “bumpy” foam. Lift up the thicker side to reveal “smooth” foam underneath.

Take out the “bumpy” and “smooth” foam and replace the “bumpy” in the bottom. You are going to be cutting out of the “SMOOTH” foam!

Once the smooth foam is out, lay it on a flat surface and place the model in the middle. Begin tracing the model with a permanent marker. Be VERY careful to not get any on your model. This outline does not have to be perfect. So a good way to keep marker from getting on your horse is to always hold the marker straight up and down. That way if you do get close, because of the way the horse is shaped, the handle part of the marker would hit the horse before the tip did.

NOTE: You only need to cut out the side of the horse that is lying down. So in the case, Harley is laying on his right side so I only need to cut out his right legs. This might be different for horses with crazy legs, but most of the time you only cut out two legs and a tail.

Start the cutting in the center. In the begging it only needs to be a rough outline. I never go all the way to the pen mark at first; I always leave about a centimeter of space. You want your horse to be snug! You don’t want him to have room to wiggle. So it is better to start small and work out rather than cut too much at once and not be able to go back.

Throughout my cutting I periodically place the horse back onto the foam to make sure I am on the right track. This also gives me an idea of how much of the next part I need to cut.

Legs and small places can be tricky to cut. I have found that holding the scissors vertical and making small snips is the best technique. It takes a while to work all the way through the foam, but it works a lot better than holding the scissors horizontal.

Once I think my foam is finished, I place it back in the case with the horse. Here I can check the fit.

Because of the way Harley is shaped, his leg hind leg is sticking out a bit. I solve this by taking a piece of foam that I had cut out and place it under his leg. You might have to do this with a tail. ALSO, you do not need to have the head and ears perfectly tight. They can have some wiggle room, but make sure the body is secure first. Since my foam is really tight around Harley's head, I may go back and give him a bit extra room.

And here is the finished product :). I understand this can get expensive, especially if you have a lot of horses. But, if you collect more over time, it isn't so bad! I usually just have them for my fragile resins, but I know Susan uses them for OF's, too! Feel free to asking questions or post suggestions!

Halter #2!

I have finished my second halter! Obviously, it is still not perfect, but I am much happier with it!

My skiving was much better this time; I am so happy with it! I think on my first halter I kept it pretty thick because I was scared I was going to cut through the leather lace. Now that I have improved my skiving skills, I was much more confident and got the leather pretty thin!

Also, my size has improved a lot! Rather than using the Rio Rondo size chart, I customized my fit for my mare, Dreamer. It took a lot more work and could be a pain sometimes, but the overall look is much better! It is not so sloppy anymore.

I took Jennifer's suggestion and tried a rolled throatlatch. I really had no idea what I was doing, so I just glued it together. It is does not look great by any means, but since this is only my second halter I thought I might as well experiment!

As always, I am open to comments and suggestions :).

Busy as a Bee With a Beveler

Okay, Okay, I'll admit it: I love my safety beveler! As crazy as it sounds, I was excited to come home from class and start skiving! You might think I am crazy, but I really enjoy it. I put on some Jack Johnson and skived away! I got quite a bit done; hopefully I will have something to show for it tomorrow. :)

Updates

Nothing new to report just yet. But, I have some really cool projects in the works :). So check back soon!!

In the meantime, Sonny wants to say Hi.

Go!!

After getting ready and getting set, it was finally go time! I used the Rio Rondo instructions for how to make it, so it wasn't very hard. I know I need to work on tab size, making my buckle strap smaller, making the noseband small so if fits better, and figuring out how to make my leather less stiff. Overall, I am pretty pleased :). But, I have a TON to do before my live show in March if I want to use one then. Ahhhh....

Feel free to critique or leave a suggestion!

Lions, Tigers, and...Horses?

Oh My! I am not sure about your horse, but I know that my horse, Sonny, would totally be down for this. There is nothing scary about letting a few hundred pound animals that would normal eat you ride around on your back. Yehp, pretty sure Sonny would love it ;).



Anyways, nothing too exciting going on today. EXCEPT my hardware from Rio Rondo came :). So hopefully I will have a halter post tomorrow. Stay Tuned!

Get Set

WHOA...was the first word out of my mouth when I sliced through leather with my safety beveler for the first time.

Previously, I had been using some random blade that I found in my kitchen drawer for skiving. It was getting the job done, one ratty, rough, time consuming piece of leather at a time. But, I wasn’t complaining. I know that skiving is no one’s favorite thing to do on a Saturday night, so I wasn’t expecting much.

Then along came the safely beveler. There is nothing to compare the smooth, easy slice that it performed on that little piece of leather. I have had a harder time cutting through cake than that. If you can’t tell, I love it! I bought it here for $3.99.

It is not perfect; it will definitely take some getting used to. I am sure it would with an exacto knife, too. You have to be VERY, very careful! It cuts so smooth it will easily cut right through the whole piece of leather before you even know what’s going on. After some experimentation, I have found that it is good to go with cutting off short, thin pieces. Obviously it is more time consuming, but it works better. Then once you get most of he thickness gone, sand out the rest. Once it gets to a certain point, it is really hard not to cut through the leather when it is so thin.

This is what can happen in one slice. It completely cut through the leather on top; the bottom piece is how the leather lace is originally.

Here is another example of how it can cut right through the leather.

I also got my wood mallet yesterday! I have picked up some mechanical pencils at Micahel’s a few days ago to try Jennifer Buxton’s technique for hole punching. It worked as great as I expected it to! It will take some practice to get the holes even, but overall it works perfect. As far as what mechanical pencil to use, it doesn't matter as long as the tip is metal! I got mine at Michael's, but I am sure any place like Staples or even grocery stores have metal tip pencials.

After some time and some Gum Tragacanth, I ended p with three pieces of leather that I am decently happy with!

Dressing For Dressage: Lower Level

Lately I have seen many photos from live shows (including NAN) of dolls dressed inappropriately and still winning in dressage. After crying myself to sleep a few nights in a row, I decided this would be a perfect subject for my blog! Before I begin, I just want to note that even though almost all the pictures are of me, I do not take responsibility for any of those horrific faces I am making in most pictures. I never noticed them until now LOL. Also, please click on the photos to see them larger! They are quiet big and may appear blurry on here.

Starting with the bottom up:
Footwear: “Dress Boots” are typically used in dressage. These are standard tall boots, almost always black, and do NOT have shoestrings. “Field Boots” are also common, but are seen more in Hunter than Dressage. They are basically the same thing, but they DO have shoestrings.

This is obviously not me; it is my trainer George Williams. Here he shows a perfect example of dress boots.
Breeches: Contrary to popular belief in the model horse world, any color other than white breeches are RARELY seen. Yes, occasionally you get the quarter horse Hunter person who wears tan breeches and uses brown tack or the pony cluber who wears tan breeches, too. But there is no reason what-so-ever for a doll to be wearing tan breeches in dressage! If you doll is not appropriately dressed, you might be better off not even using one. Almost all dressage breeches are full-seat, meaning the leather not only covers the inside of the calf, but covers the butt as well. It is sometimes common for young riders to NOT have full seat breeches to help them learn how to sit the trot.

It is hard to see full seat breeches in a picture because they just wash out. So here is an example of how the leather is shaped.
Gloves: Dressage gloves are typically white. It may be common for young riders with shakey hands to wear black to draw less attention. But, by first level everyone should be wearing white gloves to show how steady and quiet their hands are.

Here I am in the olden days wearing black gloves. Also note the gold buttons on the cuffs of my jacket.
Coat: Dressage coats are almost ALWAYS black and almost ALWAYS have four buttons. Navy blue coats are sometimes seen at low levels, but they should always have four buttons to be considered a dressage coat (opposed to three buttons typically seen in Huntseat). Lower levels require short coats. They usually have 3 flaps and sometimes have piping.

Stock Tie: Lower and Upper level dressage riders wear stock ties. A stock tie is basically a piece of fabric that hangs from your neck and is bunched up to look “poofy”. Stock tie pins are used to “poof” the fabric and keep it in place. The gold pin seen on mine is the stock tie pin.

Hair: The most common way for riders to wear their hair is in a hair net off the bottom back of their head. Full head hair nets and tucking hair into the helmet are not as common.

Headgear: Currently, there are no rules requiring riders wear approved helmets. After Courtney King-Dye’s accident, it wouldn’t surprise me if helmets are soon required. Usually Intro to 2nd level riders wear regular helmets, or hunt caps. Third and Fourth Level riders are more likely to wear “Derby Hats”, but hunt caps are still common.
EDIT:USEFjust passed a rule requiring all riders under 18 or those competing at USEF levels (Intro through 4th Level) have to wear a helmet. So if your horse is competing at Prix St. George or above, you are fine. But if it is showing at Fourth Level or below, -by the new rules- your doll should be wearing a helmet with a chin strap! Thank you Cassi for this link!

My friend Sara wearing a hunt cap.
There aren’t any rules that say you can’t wear a green hunt coat or brown boots. But, for anyone who rides any discipline of real horses will know that there are certain fashions and trends that stand out in each discipline and are followed without rules. Why dressage people love to wear clogs and polos, I don’t know. But it is a trend and people tend to follow it. ALTHOUGH, there is a rule stating that colors must be conservative. So, I highly suggest not trying a pink coat ;). I don’t know if this would relate to or work for models, but riders are always allowed to wear their military/police uniforms.

If I am leaving anything out, or you have addition questions, please FEEL FREE to e-mail me or leave a comment! Or if you need addition reference pictures, I only have a couple thousand from dressage horse shows ;)

NOTE:Thanks to my blab friends, I wanted to add a few key details. THESE ARE NOT RULES. You will not be disqualified for wearing tan breeches at a dressage show, but it is VERY *common* to wear white. I wrote this blog with the intentions of education and styles and trends, not the rules. The above descriptions are from my experience. That means this is for traditional dressage shows in the US. Such shows as eventing, specific breed, and pony club dressage shows may be more casual or have different "in-styles". Also, this does not cover dressage shows outside of the US. I hope have a section about those soon.

Merlin (Ironically, not the Breyer)

Well, nothing much to report today. I have a bunch of reading for school and need to get on it!

But, here is a cool video for all of you performance showers.

Although I do not agree with the sport, how can you not just love Merlin? As many times as I watch this video, I still get chills. Can anyone say Alborozo?

Mail Time!

As childish as it may seem, every time I come home to a package I always think about Blue's Clues and "Mail Time". The only part of the song I remember is "It makes me want to wail MAILLL". And then the little mail box would come flying through the window.

Unfortunately, there was nothing flying through my window. But, Armani is home, and I couldn't be happier. If you happened to read my first blog post, at the end I posted a picture of my Valentino resin, Armani (If you didn't see it, don't worry, you didn't miss much). I got him about a month or two ago, but on the way home he suffered a cracked tail. Kate was sweet enough to fix him up for me (and put some shoes on him) and now he is home and ready to go :). I am still pretty scared to touch him. In fact, I might put him in my curio cabinet and leave him there until my show in March.

This came a few days ago, but I still want to share. I had jump standards for a trail set up, so I just ordered some poles, a panel, and some jump cups! Carrie Sloan Meyer made them for me and they are great! The panel is a little too wide, but I am going to try to sand it down.

Get Ready

Do you find it weird that the name of my blog is "Sonshine Saddlery" and I have yet to make a saddle? I do. Or maybe it's just silly. But, saddles are my intention and in order for anyone to get anything helpful out of this blog, I think they should see my work in progress.

So, today's progress is to start getting everything I need! I started by going through Jennifer Buxton's blog and creating a list of things I should get.

My list looks something like this (in no particular order):

1. 3 piece pound wheel set (leather stitching)
-Micro-mart $22.65

2. Wood Mallet (Hole Punching)
-Tandy Leather Factory $4.99

3. Metal tip Mechanical pencils (Hole Punching)
-.05 and .07

4. Gum Tragacanth
-Tandy Leather Factory $5.99

5. Beacon 527 (Glue)
-Hobby Lobby $4.47

6. Safety Beveler (Skiving)
-Tandy Leather Factory $3.99

7. Mini Dremmel (Sanding)

8. Exacto knife (Skiving)

I think I am going to get a Keri Okie saddle set to get started, so until I do that I don’t think I am going to buy any tools. Just in case I am leaving something out.

Instead, my progress of the day was getting my leather, buckles, jumper rings, and slotted rings to at least make some halters! My order came to $33 including shipping, which I don’t think it TOO bad considering I got pretty decent sized quantities.

Now I have to run over to Hobby Lobby and get some glue so I can get started!

Happy MLK Day!

BBF Storm Chaser

A Bit About Me

I figured I should probably introduce myself. My name is Emily, I am from Ohio, and I have been riding since I was 5 years old. I have loved horses and horse things my whole life. I always had Barbie horses, but wasn't introduced to Breyers until later on. I remember my first Breyer was Lonesome Glory. I started photoshowing in 2005 when I got my first resin, and went to my first live show in 2009.

My first resin on the day he arrived in the mail.

I currently own one horse, LCP Sonny Barpasser. Sonny is quite a character and really is a joy to be around. We play with Parelli and just have fun.I have shown dressage for most of my life, but it became too much of a job and lost the "fun" part. So, I sold both of my dressage horses a few years ago ad purchased Sonny as a horse to just have fun with and that is what we do!

I am currently attending the Ohio State University, so I am particularly busy. But, I have the motivation to keep up with this blog.

Hello!!!

As a new years resolution, I have decided to finally get a blog! I am not sure how this is going to go, so I guess we will just wait and see!

My idea for this blog is to have it cover as many model horse topics as possible. Anything from photo showing, live showing, real horse references, tack, customs, and whatever else you guys want to see!

A few other of my new years resolutions for the year are:

1.) Attend more real horse shows to obtain more reference photos

2.) Start making English saddles

3.) Keep up with this blog

4.) Pass Parelli Level 2 online with my real horse

If you interested in anything model horse, please stay turned or send me suggestions!

Valentino Resin by Kate Schick (photo by Kate as well)
BBF Armani