I stretch and flesh the hide then scrape it dry with a hardwood stick and ashes. I posted that method here previously. Th color is the natural color of the hide.
That style of bosalito is a center tie where a leather piece is used to tie the bosalito to the forelock of the horse to hold in place.
Thanks all for the nice comments.
Those are two different style awls. I use several different sizes depending on the project. U also need a string cutter/beveler and a splitter to level the strings. That would give u a good start.