Cora

I usually just tape my fingers but I am going to give that vet wrap thing a try. Cora

I am a firm believer in Less is More, the less you have between you and your horse the more you will learn from him. That's just my $0.02 Cora

Pella My shop used to be an old farm house that we decided to dress up with verticle jackpine siding (slabs) just to give it a bit of character. We have a few older draft horse guys that come for coffee in the summer and sit in the screen porch to talk about the good ol days. I only speak a little french but I can understand a fair bit if it is spoken slowly, I am of irish heritage. I know about cold I woke up this morning and it was -34C before the wind chill. We raise and train arabian horses and not one would come out of the barn. We ride english, western and mostly bareback and do a fair bit of driving, we have a weakness for antique horsedrawn vehicles. Most of my leather work is harness making and repairs. Cora

I live in a small town called LaBroquerie, which is located 45 mins. southeast of Winnipeg Manitoba. Just to the west of us is a small city called Steinbach which is primarily mennonite, and LaBroquerie is mostly french. We have a draft horse association, a lot of people are into ranch rodeo and with living 15 mins. from a provincial park we also have a fair bit of trail and endurance riders. We also have a lot of motorcycle and winter sports enthusiasts. Cora

I also have the books and feel that they are worth every penny, but they do reference from each other so have the whole set would be ideal. Cora

I would also like to add my thanks to everyone involved in getting the forum back up. I was completely lost without it. Cora

You can definately put me down for both! Cora

You certainly could sell some of those splitters, I know I would be interested in one. Cora

Hope you find everyone as interesting and informative as I do. Can't wait to see more of your work. Cora

I've been told that lace made fom goat skin is stronger and easier to work with than kangaroo. What I am wondering, is there anything to this? I checked out the prices of goat hide and I have to admit that I prefer the the price of the goat, but I wouldn't want to sacrifice quality for cost ( of the leather that is. I still have a lot to learn about this whole braiding thing ) Any input would be greatly appreciated. Cora

Or you can still se the whip marks from where the jockey was hitting it! Cora

You can count me in as well. Cora

I also hope that the animals had a good quality of life before they hit the butchers knife. It makes for far less blemishing on the hide. Not to mention what is nicer than a tender steak. I also have talked to people about where their food comes from and I am shocked when I get some of the responses from them like it comes from the grocery store and this is coming from adults not children. Cora

Johanna's story got me thinking. What got any of us started with leather? For me it was when I was about 8. The neighbor had a pony that he said I could ride but he didn't have a bridle for it, only a bit. So I tied the bit to a piece of baling twine and off I went. The other kids in the area started to make fun of my baler twine bridle so I asked my father if he could buy me one, of course the answer was no he wasn't going to pay for my horsey nonsense. A few days later he came home from work, he worked at a tannery, and handed me some scrap leather and told me if I wanted a bridle I could make it myself. So I looked at a friends bridle and put together a very crude but functional one, thats when I got bit buy the leather bug. Cora

Ken I have been to your website, you do amazing work. I was telling my husband that the next time I fly up to Fort McMurray to see him I was going to book my flight through Calgary so I could swing by your shop and probably spend some of his hard earned money HA HA. Thank you for the advice, it gives me a good idea of what I'm in for. 30 hours of lacing Oh my aching fingers, hands, wrists etc. Thanks again Cora

FJ The phone number for Spurwink is 888 799 2165 and the website for the big book is www.newbigbook.com Cora

I don't know, but they are listed in the 2007 Big Book. Cora

I get mine from www.ubraidit.com Cora

I will have to cut the lace. My shop is located on our property, so my overhead is minimal, power and a portion of my phone. Cora

I forgot to mention that he wants all the lacing to be done in deer hide also supplied by him. Thanks again Cora

I was hoping that someone here could help me. I was recently asked to make a moose hide vest for a customer with all lacing, no machine stitching of any kind. He will supply the moose hide. I have no idea what to charge him for making it. It will be just a plain vest no pockets or tooling, but he wants every open edge and seam area laced. Thanks in advance. Cora

I've often used Murphy's oil soap and a soft to medium bristle toothbrush for the real dirty ones, and I also really like Leather Therapy and lots of elbow grease. Cora

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I am currently working on a braided headstall, plate 53 in Bruce Grants encyclopedia. When I finish I will post a picture. Cora

I found this forum this morning and already it has answered a lot of questions. I feel I will learn a lot here and everyone seems so nice. I am tying my fingers in knots learning to braid with leather and rawhide. I purchased Bruce Grants encyclopedia as well as Gail Houghts books, so I figure with those and the knowledgable people here, I am well on my way. Cora