Good Investments

Through my very limited tack making experience, I have come across some things that I would never want to live without. In case you might find them helpful, here they are:

For ribbon work:

Strong Glue
Ribbon does not like to stick to itself. I find that my super tacky glue does work much better than the regular glue. It is a pain in the butt to use though.
Where to buy: Michael’s
Cost: $3 -$4
(Jo-Anns has it online only, I believe…)

Sewing Pins
Along with the super tacky glue, you are going to definitely need some sewing pins. The glue clumps up easily and the hole in the cap needs to be cleaned out often. I replaced the cap asap after use. Oh, and don’t leave it upside down! Even though it is a pain to get out, it is an even bigger pain when its all clumped up around the cap.
Where to buy: Any craft store, maybe even Wal-Mart
Cost: around $4, but you only need a few

Mini Clothespins
I got this idea from a fellow blogger, and boy they are great! The glue needs a good bit of time to set properly. While the glue is still wet, I move the ribbon pieces around so they match up exactly and none of the bottom ribbon can be seen from the top. Once I have it in place, I let it dry for a bit between my fingers. After it has dried enough to not come undone when I let go, I quickly replace my fingers with one or two pins and let it dry even longer.
Where to buy: Michael’s, Jo-Anns
Cost: $2 - $3

For leather work:

Safely Beveler
If you have read my blog before, you aren’t surprised to see this here. This cheap little gadget is wonderful and easy to use and really cuts down skiving time!
Where to buy: Tandy leather Factory
Cost: $6.99, but they go on sale

Exacto Knife
Although I don't use it for skiving, it always comes in handy. It is so small and so sharp it has multiple uses. Sometimes I do use it for skiving when I come across a "knot" or stubborn leather.
Where to buy: Michael's, Rio Rondo, probably Jo-Anns or Home Depot
Cost: $2-$5

Wood Mallet and Mechanical Pencils
Thanks to Jennifer Buxton, hole punching is so easy! I can't imagine doing it any other way. You just have to make sure to get the metal tip pencil, not plastic!
Where to buy: Mallet: Tandy Leather Factory; Pencils: Anywhere that sells pencils, including Michael's!
Cost: Mallet: $4; Pencils: Mine were $7, but that's expensive

Gum Tragacanth
This stuff makes leather so smooth and easy to work with. I wouldn't skive without it!
Where to buy: Tandy Leather Factory
Cost: $8

In general:

Good Cutters
I haven’t had these long, but I picked up these scissors at Jo-Anns for $10. They work great for cutting Rio Rondo hardware! The curved end makes it easy to get in close to the hardware so I don't have to do much sanding.
Where to buy: Jo-Anns
Cost: $10

Good Scissors!
For a long time I was using scissors I found in my kitchen draw. When i finally bought my own, it made a world of difference! There were so sharp it made cutting so much easier.
Where to buy: Basically anywhere
Cost: Varies, mine were $5

Those are just some things that I use on a daily basis. Of course, I will probably be adding on later, but I thought it might be helpful to share!

Happy Valentine's Day

I originally had a different post scheduled for today, but I figured I should at least acknowledge that today is a holiday. So my original post will have to wait until tomorrow.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I "added" on to one of my old halters.

Remember this?

It was made for Pentagon, but I was happy to see it fit my ISH pretty well!

I made a lead rope for practice. It is tricky not being too tight or too loose. I just ordered more hooks which will need to be attached when they get here. Overall, I think they look good together. What do you think?

Real Horse Treats

In honor of Sonny’s birthday today, I made him some homemade treats :).

For those of your who have real horses, I figured I would post this in case you wanted to make some, too! So, here you go:

Sonny’s Gooey Carrot and Apple Treats

Ingredients:
-1 cup carrots
-1 cup apples
-1 cup oats
-1 cup flour
-1 tsp. sugar
-1 tsp. salt
-1/4 cup molasses

Directions:
1. Preheat over to 350 degrees
2. Grate the carrots and apple
3. Mix all ingredients except molasses in a large bowl
4. Then add molasses
5. Roll into balls
6. Bake for 10 – 15 minutes or under golden brown

Some notes: - Do not add more than ¼ cup molasses! In fact, add a little at a time. If you add too much, they will be too runny and won’t stick together. Then you'll have a big mess!
-I change up the size depending on who I am making them for. Since these were just for Sonny, I made them larger and cooked them for 14 mins. If you make them for multiple horses and want more smaller ones, cook them less.

They are a weird texture, so picky horses might not like them. But if you horse is like Sonny and eats everything (including non-edible things…like baby wipes) then you are good to go!

Feel free to edit the recipe in anyway or make up your own, but be sure to let me know about it! I am always looking for something new :).

Happy Birthday Sonny!!!!

GREAT Mail Day!

On Blab, there is a thread titled What Just Arrived In Your Mailbox and I never get to post anything on there!

Well, yesterday was a different day! I received not one, not two, not three, but FOUR packages! I came home to my family saying "Seriously, Emily?" Oopsies! It is not like I asked them to be delivered all on the same day; it is just how it worked out.

The first thing was my new ribbon colors. I needed these for a fun halter I am going to work on; Jo-Anns only carries a few colors of the 1/8" grosgrain so I am having to order lots online. Luckily, it isn't that expensive!

Next in line would be my leather, and lots of it! I ran out of my previous order and almost went crazy. Now I don't have to worry about being "leather-less" for a while ;). AND it is going to be great bridle practice :).

Then came my Legacy resin by Jennifer Scott! I just finished time payments on him and he shipped so quick. WOW he is HUGE! By the looks of the photos online, I thought he would be small. Boy, was I wrong! He is much bigger than I expected. I am a tad disappointed though; I wanted him to be a paint pony to mimic a reference photo I have. Ugh...now I don't know what to do. But, either way I love him! he is gorgeous! I am just going to have to do something about that mane...

FINALLY my Vincenzo came! I ordered him a long time ago, but I guess there is something with casting that you shouldn't keep casting the same mold over, it needs a break or something? But he is here and I REALLY love him! He is my first Spanish horse, so definitely something new for me. He has the most adorable face. I wonder what color he should be?

That is it for my crazy mail day! Now no more spending! I have got to start saving for school books and Sonny and everything else (including California! woo hoo!)

Thinking of Spring

As it downpours snow outside my window, I can't help but to think of Spring. Which is how this came about:

I am very pleased with the way it turned out! In fact, I even put it for sale on MH$P. I have decided that I can't just keep accumulating all these halters I am making! So if there is ever a halter you would like to have, just let me know! It also comes with my new creation: round-braided lead ropes! Even though they take forever to make, I think they are worth it!!

Success!!

Not a complete success, but I feel pretty satisfied! Today I finished my first leather halter with stitching and another nylon halter. The best part: I love the fit! I think I am finally getting things under control. I had to make my noseband bigger, cheek pieces smaller, and throat latch longer. Too bad both halters are for Pentagon; so I only have one horse fitted.

The stitching isn’t too bad with a pounce wheel. It definitely takes some practice though! It isn’t easy keeping the wheel straight and close to the edge. But, I have found some things that help me so I will post about those later. Of course I forgot to use one of my slotted halter rings for this halter! I have been using jumper rings for practice but wanted to use my slotted halter rings for my leather halters. Oh well!

I like the fit of my nylon halter, too! I based the design off of a halter Sonny got for Christmas. I wish I had zebra ribbon!

Better get back to studying! Bio midterm tomorrow ☹.

Wild Thang

If you asked me to describe Sonny in just one word, the first thing that would probably come to mind would be “mischievous”. He loves to play and is a big prankster. He loves to take off one of my gloves or my hat and throw it as far as he can. Then he proceeds to look at it with the expression “Wow! How did that get all the way over there?”

He enjoys turning bags over and spilling all of the contents all over the place. He must think I don’t have enough to do.

His favorite thing is to undo any zippers or any Velcro.

People always think that he must be hyper and crazy because he is so silly and playful. Wrong. Sonny is the king of lazy. If he ever encountered a serious predator, he would eat it, or be eaten, before he would ever exert the energy to run. I don’t like to force him to do anything; I try to make my ideas his ideas. Which usually means I don’t ride because that requires too much work for him, but we still have as much fun with groundwork.

Well, yesterday was a rare occasion. I mean RARE. He has been inside since Tuesday because of this horrible ice storm we have had. I had midterms this week so I went down last night for the first time. He was crazy; completely wild! Bucking and tossing his head and running around like a mad man. I have never seen that side of him before and it was so funny! To see him be playful while moving his feet was totally new! He was really enjoying himself.

I decided to take advantage of his energy and jump him a bit. I don’t like jumping him when he is lazy because I don’t want him to learn to not like it. Last night ended up being perfect! My boyfriend came down, I had my camera, and Sonny was hyper and ready to jump! AND he even jumped 2’3” for the first time without any problems!

This is what I got out of it:



By the end of the night he had calmed down a bit, but was still full of himself ;).