So Many Pictures

I never thought I'd say that I've taken too many photos. But between the summer to today I have thousands of photos to deal with. I know that for some that'd be a day's worth of photos, but not for me. There are more good than bad, so I’m happy about that. But still. So. Many. Pictures.
They span the summer which started with my first internship. The PA capital is beautiful.

Then the African American Museum in DC.

There’s plenty of barn photos.

And horse shows.

There were a few of those.

Breyerfest (which I still need to finish the final few posts about).

Philadelphia.

Plus any other interesting places I've gone to at some point.

Luckily I'm off for the next week for fall break, so hopefully I can get through most of them.

Fall Break Sale

I'm currently on fall break (finally).
Which means I have more time to do hobby things. So I'm pre-selling some custom nameplate halters in my Etsy store.  These would be perfect for gift giving or even for yourself!

I'm pre-selling 6 halters. Depending on my week I may open it up to more.
This is my first time putting up custom orders in my etsy shop, so here's how I'm doing it.

There are three sizes available (Sorry, no smaller scales this time!). Each halter will have a three-hole slotted rings and two roller and tongue buckles.
The sizes are:

• Small Traditional (Will fit Misty, Newsworthy, Weathergirl and similarly sized models)
• Medium Traditional (Will fit Lady Phase, Show Jumping Warmblood, Roxy, and similar sized models)
• Large Traditional (Will fit Wintersong, Cleveland Bay, and similarly sized models)

I also have numerous leather colors available. 

They are:

• Black

• Brandy

• Cerise (Dusky Pink)

• Navy Blue

• Red

• Whisky

• Purple

Include the following information in the "Note" section

• Hardware Color (Gold or Silver)
• What you want on the nameplate halter (up to 16 characters, including spaces)

Each halter is 35$ plus shipping and handling.
If you'd like a nameplate halter of your own, follow this link, or the one at the very beginning of the post. These are first come first served and will be perfect Christmas gifts!

How To Prep Leather Lace

One of the most important parts of tack making is prep work. You can't have a nice finished product if the material used is sloppily prepped. Prepping leather is far from my favorite thing to do, even if I do love the end result.
Leather lace is different from cow hide. It generally doesn't need to be dyed, sealed, or split. It's finished but not enough for a hobbyist. To make lace model horse friendly, one must prep it. It's one of those skills that applies to all aspects of tack making.

Supplies

Gum Tragacanth

This is used for sealing and smoothing your leather. It has a gel like consistency and you don't need to use a ton on the lace you're prepping.

Safety Beveler

This is what I use to skive/thin the leather. IT'S THE BEST THING EVER. I like my blade to be a little bit dull, so whenever I get a new blade I use it to thin large pieces of tooling leather before using it on lace. 

Rivet Maker Hobby Tool Master Tools Trumpeter Scale Model Accessory

I use this to make faux stitch marks on lace. It adds the next level of detail. I used to use another one until I came across this one because it has a higher marks per inch. I did modify mine so the teeth of the wheel can dig into the leather a bit more. I took the outer layer off, which can be seen in the video at the bottom of the post.

X-Acto Knife

I use this to cut lace and cut away any fuzzy bits. You can get one of these at pretty much any craft store. The blade size doesn't really matter. I never spend a lot of money on these since I have a habit of misplacing them!

Leather Lace

I use Kangaroo Lace. I find that it's tighter and more flexible than lace you buy at craft stores. I also like it better than calf/cow leather. If you're serious about tack making I recommend buying higher quality materials. It'll leave you frustrated to be in the process of learning a new skill while also battling subpar materials.
There are plenty of places to buy lace. Tandy used to carry it, and sometimes you can find a spool of it for sale.  They had nice Kangaroo lace. The last time I stocked up on lace I got it here. The seller was incredibly nice and even sent me extra lace and pieces of Kangaroo hide.

This is Tandy Kangaroo Lace

Sand Paper

I use this to get the leather to be even throughout the whole piece. I just buy the packs of it at my local dollar store and it works perfectly fine.

The Steps

To start, take a piece of lace and the skiving tool (Safety Beveler). You want to thin the rough/off side, and not the smooth side.  I thin the leather to about half of its thickness. You want it thin enough so that it drapes nicely but not so thin that it's like paper. Paper thin lace has its place but not for the majority of tack making processes. Paper thin lace is more likely to tear and the thinness detracts from the realism of the tack piece. 

After you've thinned the lace, pull out the sandpaper. You'll want to sand the leather until it's even and consistent through the whole piece. Then pull out the Gum Tragacanth and rub some along the rough side of the leather. You don't want to make the leather soaking wet. You just want enough so that the leather is smooth again.

Pull out your X-acto knife and cut away any fuzzy bits along the side of the leather. The nice thing about using the skiving tool is that it usually leaves the leather pretty smooth after thinning it. But you still want to be sure that there aren't any loose fuzzy pieces hanging out along the side. 

The last part to prepping lace is to to stitch mark. You want it to line the outside of the lace and to be able to see the impressions. Being able to get the lines straight takes some practice. 

Once you're finished with that your lace is ready for whatever tack project you want!

Video:

Every tack maker has his or her own particular way of skiving. Here are a few links to some other tack makers that share how they do it. 

Jennifer Buxton of Braymere Saddlery-Preparing Lace

Anna Helt of Dreamlite Design-Skiving Part One and Two

Feel free to let me know what you think about this! This is a new way I'm hoping to do how-to things, so any feedback would be great. :)

Horse Books For The Fall

Throughout the summer I watched various networks publish posts about their recommended horse books for the summer. So I've decided to put together a small list of some to read for the fall.  Hope you enjoy!

Stand-alones

Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

First sentence: It is the first day of November and so, today, someone will die. 

This book has already been mentioned on this blog. But it's a great horse book and one of my favorites so it's here. It's the story of Puck and Sean, who enter the deadly horse race for different reasons. One races for her home and the other races for freedom. While the horses are fantastical in nature, they still act like horses. This is a teen/adult novel.

Titans by Victoria Scott

First sentence: Tonight, the Titans will run.

This is the newest book on this list. It came out last year and actually doesn't have any real horses. They're mechanical, and that element of the story is interesting. It takes place in a near future Chicago through the viewpoint of girl who wants to be a jockey. Imagine a horse racing arcade game where there's an actual horse for you to sit and control, and imagine it actually has four legs and gallops at high speeds. That's Titans. It's a middle grade/young adult.

Blind Beauty by K.M Peyton

First sentence: The foal was born without eyes. 
This is about Tessa, a troubled protagonist that revels in her track record of getting thrown out of every school she's attended. She's a hot mess that her mother and stepfather don't know how to deal with. After a blowup between her and her stepfather, Tessa finds herself working in a horse yard. She sets high goals for herself and reconnects with a horse from her childhood. The reader follows her journey from pre-teen to adulthood. This is teen/young adult.

My Friend Flicka by Mary O'Hara

First sentence: High up on the long hill they called the Saddle Back, behind the ranch and the county road, the boy sat his horse, facing east, his eyes dazzled by the rising sun. 

This is the oldest book on the list but it's a good classic horse book. It's the story of Ken McLaughlin and his quest to tame Flicka. It's a coming of age story set in Wyoming. The 1940s movie adaption is good (pass by the 06 one).

Series:

The Black Stallion series by Walter Farley

First sentence: The tramp steamer Drake plowed away from the coast of India and pushed its blunt prow into the Arabian Sea, homeward bound. 

There are 21 books in this series. They follow Alec, the ship wrecked boy and The Black as they maneuver through Walter Farley's fictional horse racing world. This is middle grade/young adult.

Thoroughbred Series by Joanna Campbell

First sentence: From the front porch of her now home, Ashleigh Griffin looked out to the rolling pastures and white-fenced paddocks of Townsend Acres. 

While I haven't finished this series, if you're looking for a large series that you can stay immersed in for a good bit of fall and winter, this is it. The series begins following Ashleigh through adulthood and switches off to other girls as they age up. With 72 books in the series with spin offs and standalones, this is perfect for a voracious reader. This is middle grade/young adult.

Non-Fiction

Seabiscuit by Laura Hillenbrand

First sentence: In 1938, near the end of a decade of monumental turmoil, the year's number0one newsmaker was not Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Hitler, or Mussolini.

Laura Hillenbrand is a masterful story teller. This one follows Seabiscuit and his group through their racing lives. An awesome horse book for those who love history too.

Funny Cide by Sally Jenkins

First sentence: Any sorehead disbeliever who questions the abilities of nature would do well to spend time in a horse barn.

I really enjoyed this one. It's about Funny Cide and his band of owners as they maneuver through the race scene as their racehorse hits high levels of the sport. If you've ever been to Breyerfest or the Kentucky Horse Park, you've probably stumbled upon the Hall of Champions where Funny Cide lives. 

Secretariat by William Nack 

First sentence: It was almost midnight in Virginia, late for the farmlands north of Richmond, when the breathing quickened in the stall, the phone rang in the Genry home, and two men came out the front door, hastily closing the lawn to the car. 

An interesting look into the breeding of racehorses that starts before Secretariat's birth and his racing years. I saw the movie based off of the book and liked reading about the decisions and circumstances that created Secretariat.