morb

that's awesome. thanks

That's pretty cool. I've been thinking about doing that style with coyote

that's gonna look so cool when its done, cant wait to see it finished

i never really knew much about breast collars now that i have one i really don't know that much lol thanks for the info, i really appreciate it

my breast collar has the ring in center, i'm not sure what kind of collar it is i copied my friends here is a pic of it http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=54753&hl=morb#entry350882 when i attach it to the rigging d's it comes around in front of her shoulders and when i attach it to the swells it seems too high and the ring sits higher than the center of her chest. i don't know if any of this makes sense i'll take some pics of it on her

thanks for all the help. i'm going to give it a go this weekend, i have 2 saddles so i might even try both methods.

that looks pretty neat Bruce I like that too. That is what I love about this site, you get to learn from professionals. You said you make slots in the tree instead of holes, how do you go about making the slots? Do you make a line of holes then chisel them out? Thanks

i downloaded inkscape last night, haven't really had a chance to play with it yet. can you add leaves and stumps and so on to lay out in a pattern? would it be possible to see some pics of the layouts you made, just so i can get an idea of what can be done with the program

thank you, that helps a lot. it looks good and looks sturdy. i was thinking of using those d's with the metal tab but yours look better.

thanks. i think i'm following you, i'm going to try it out this weekend. if you have a pic that would be great but i'm sure i understand what your saying. how long do you make the chape?

just wondering what's the best way to add d rings to a saddle? I have tried to attach my breast collar to the rigging d's but it seems too low and when I attach it to the swells it seems too high. Do you just attach them under the concho? thanks not sure what happened but I post this question 3 times, how can I delete the other 2?

I read that someone tried that and it turned black like vinagaroon.

Karina Here's a link to the breast collar I made for my horse. The pic doesn't show the color that well but you'll get the idea. I like the color on your piece, it turned out nice. Be sure to oil it once it's dry, it will make it a little darker as well. http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=54753&hl=

I haven't had a chance to try it yet, hopefully this weekend.

Thank you

Thanks, it was a learning experience. I tried a test piece in the coffee and it came out a grey brown as well. Then I let it soak over night and it came out real nice.

Here's a breast collar I made for my horse. The pictures aren't great, I just have the camera on my phone. The dark colour is a stain made with coffee. It's a real dark brown that doesn't really show well in the pics. I did the stitching by hand and carved the horse head. This is the first one I ever made, my daughter wants one for her horse so I'm hoping it turns out even better

дуже хороший

I found the link, I hope it's ok to post a link to another forum. http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php?topic=11991.0 Hope it helps

The steel wool is supposed to make the dye darker, not sure how or why. Like I said, I'm going to try a batch without it and see if it makes a difference. The batch I'm using now it starting to mold, I read if you put rubbing alchol in it that it will stop the mold then cook it off before you use it again. I saw a website that discussed coffee and vinagroon but I'n not sure where it was, if I can find it again I'll post the link for you.

I'm making a breast collar and used coffee to dye it, it worked really well. I bought a pound of the cheapest dark roast I could find, put it in a big pot and filled the pot about half full of water. I put in a peice of steel wool then brought it to a boil then let it simmer till it was reduced by half. I then used scraps to experiment with and let them soak for various times. I finally settled with 24 hours, it came out a very dark brown almost black. I realy like the color, next batch I make I'm going to leave out the steel wool and see if it will make a lighter brown.

Thanks Saddlebag, I'll give that a try.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

Thanks for the replies. I tried soaking the fenders in water with some mild soap then cleaned with saddle soap and oiled with a conditioner but it didn't really do much. I looked that book up on amazon and it's nearly 500$, I'll check the library and see if they have it. It's not an expensive saddle so perhaps I'll try my hand at making new fenders once I've finished my breast collar. I'll try some different things with the old ones and see what happens. I may try the method in the link if I can find the stuff it calls for, if I have success I'll post it. Thanks again.

I have an old saddle that I use and would like to fix it up a bit. The fenders are stiff and dark from horse sweat. Is there a way to clean the old sweat and oil from them to make them softer? Thanks Ron