HorsehairBraider

If it was me I'd stick with the silver... I think it looks great.

Lovely work! It's very beautiful. I really like the pattern.

Here's one way: Cleaning Tack but as they say there are many ways. If you google "how to clean tack" you will get about a million links. After you read a couple you will see there are some basics, so in the end the one I gave you will work just fine. I'm still reeling from the thought that someone would NOT have a horse and therfore NOT know how to clean tack from birth! ^_^

Well, "stubby holder" is a much more interesting name than "drink holder". I think Americans should change the way they say that! It's very nice no matter what you call it. I am guessing you will lace it up the back? Nice trefoil on the quiver. The lacing looks just fine!

To improve a bracelet, put it on and wear it. I think that's the best way... you learn how that bracelet will be, how it wears and so on and that will teach you how to make the bracelet better. Nice braiding! And you used horsehair, that must mean you are really smart!

Try Rio Grande. You have to have a business license and go through their process to be a wholesale buyer but it's not that tough. I have a belt buckle I make that does not have the tongue cut out and I get the blanks from them. It looks like this: I did the buckle tip too... they have different styles, I just happen to prefer the braided one. I am a braider after all... Here's their website: Rio Grande

You raise *PIGEONS*?! Lucky thing you live so far away - You won't be able to blame *ME* for the disappearance of any of yours! Bwa ha ha ha ha.... :D Very nice job. It helps to know birds I guess! What will you use this for? That would look great on any number of things. And very clever use of heat!

Welcome! Glad you are here. I checked out your site, nice masks!

I was hoping somebody smart would respond to this... but since no one has come forward I'll supply a link: knot theory link which is but a start. I'm a certified Math Moron so I can't speak about the math. And for some reason knot theorists will make up knots that cannot be tied. Maybe there is a really good reason to do that, but I have no clue what the reason is.

Once again, stunning artwork. What sort of finish do you use? You seem to get such a nice "glow" on all your pieces. Will you still remember us when you are rich and famous? :D

He's got a website - www.bryanneubert.com - and you just look on the page that says "videos for sale". There's a picture right at the top of the page. It says the price and the cost of shipping, which Mike had nailed.

Wow, that's really nice. And is that bracelet *braided*? Cool! :D

Wow, pretty wild place, it sounds like! That's really a neat photo. Just look at those saddles - I used to have one like that, really liked it a lot. Too bad you can't just walk into that place now and buy one of those...

Very nice! It would not have occured to me to use rawhide and roo together, yet look how cool it is. Great idea! Oh man, can I ever relate to having it look different under magnification. But you got it right, at least you don't have to go back and re-tie it! You should be very happy, it's hard to work small. Is it adjustable, or one size fits all?

Beautiful! I love the braiding... of course...

@Skip: Yes, I do work under magnification at all times but not a microscope. :D I wear a visor on my head (just like any jeweler would). For you dads: good luck, it's not easy but on the other hand thread is cheaper than leather! Although it is hard to skive the leather down thin enough to look right. Maybe this will be a great way to get the kids started in leather work? @TwinOaks: Well, I'm a jeweler so the space I am accustomed to using is about the same. I was pretty surprised, but there are collectors out there who really prize truly authentic braided tack that is made to scale. It's kind of hard to work on this scale. You are focusing only inches away from your eyes, so if you drop something it pretty much just disappears, and then you have a time of it finding whatever it is. Also, you have to *REALLY* know your knots or you just get totally lost. And good eye spotting that rock on her hand... :D

This one seemed to take forever, and at last you can see some of my leather work. The bosal is horsehair, with thread knots, the headstall is leather with thread knots and sterling silver hardware (some of it fabricated by me, but not all of it) and the throat latch and mecate are cotton and thread with mohair tassels. This customer really likes the black and white motif, so hopefully she will be happy even though it is a little loud for my taste: Here is a detail of one of the thread knots: And of course, here is the obligatory "giant penny" picture!

*GASP* Don't you have a horse to measure?! :D That's what I do - measure the horse. For example, most browbands measure 12" from the edge of the headstall over the forehead to the other edge of the headstall... but that is not necessarily the "best" measurement. People with Arabs or Morgans might not enjoy that browband very much. Measure the horse, that's the best way.

The answer is, you can do it either way... but when you have the experience, no need for the pins. You just tie it. I taught myself to braid by taking apart old work very slowly and writing down what happened in the knot. So since the knot was in place, I thought that was the way to do it. Therefore I just learned to do it that way. Years later I found out there were books ( DUH) and that a lot of times people would tie the knot on a mandrel, transfer it and then re-tighten it. Well, you can't do that with horsehair. It won't stand being re-kinked like that and just breaks. So completely by accident I taught myself to do it the fastest way. You will find that the pins are nice, but very quickly you will not need them. You do have to get creative in how you hold the piece - I often hold it in a sort of awkward way, to get the bights in the right place - but it is completly possible to do it without pins or a mandrel. In fact I would encourage you to learn that way, because it saves so much time and trouble. Sometimes it helps to put down a little "mousing" like tape or something, that you tie over the top of. (I don't usually use tape, I just tie another knot there and then tie another on top. For example I might tie a "ring knot" first, then tie the final knot on top of the ring knot.) That helps the bights to stay in place as you go around and make the turns of the knot. It also gives the knot some nice body. Sometimes you might want it more flat, so you would dispense with the mousing.

My favorite saddle is now officially 100 years old. Now, there have been times in the 35 years I have owned it that it stayed in the house. But usually, it stayed outside in the tack room and it gets pretty freaking cold out there. That saddle is still just as useable as it was the day it was made. Now, of course once a year (at LEAST) I get it out, dismantle it, clean and oil it thoroughly. But I know for a fact that did not happen to it for some time before I got it, because I knew one of the former owners and they just threw it on the ground in the dirt and never took care of it. The first time I "met" that saddle it was to replace some sheepskin that was in such bad shape you could hardly tell it was sheepskin. I also did some other work on it, and finally offered to buy it. It worked out great... the seat is an 11 1/2" and he did not have an 11 1/2" butt so he was happy to sell it to me even though it was a cool saddle. (It's a McClellan.) I've had the same experience with other really old "worn-out" tack that I have revitalized by simply taking care of it. What a concept. Most of my friends take pretty good care of their tack. Not one of them has a climate-controlled tack room although there is no denying that would be SO cool... or if you had the room, to keep it in the house. That said, if I am going to be driving, I bring my harness in the house for at least overnight. What a difference in harnessing! It goes much easier. Keeping it in the house would be ideal, but I for one just don't have the room (or else I have too much tack, guess what Mr. HorsehairBraider thinks is the case? :D) So all I can say is, clean and oil your tack regularly!

Nice braiding! Sorry to hear about the dye... but you know, they will still work the same even if you dyed them purple. Use one of those kitchen liner bags, that's what I do. And these will work great no matter what the color. DON'T give them to the dog!

:D And these are the same kids that think *you* come up with "stupid" names?

I've always just used Satin Shene. I got mine from Tandy. I would clean it the same way I would clean a saddle or bridle, but maybe others have a better idea.

And here I thought all these posts would be about how my intsructions were wrong! :D I used to have one of those really old "colt-breaking" saddles and the last thing I worried about was falling off... usually not through the mechanations of my mount, but just through sheer ability to fall off on my part. I don't ride this type of saddle anymore, the type I ride don't have horns, or I hitch up to a cart and drive. What has kept me alive is getting along with the horse, although I would not be ashamed to grab something to keep from falling off, if I ever thought that would work. My feeling has always been, once you're going, you're going.

I thought ram too... "Mystical Ram"