Amanda Powell Report post Posted October 13, 2010 Ok, here goes!! I actually finished this a month or so ago. It's a simple 1/2" slit ear headstall. 11 oz Hermann Oaks leather. Dark mahogany stain, carnauba creme finish. The buckles are Alpaca silver, and the tips are sterling. I couldn't find any sterling keepers, so I made some leather ones. My plan is to make this part of my bridle rig once I get some rawhide to make a set of romel reins. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aggiebraider Report post Posted October 13, 2010 I think you did a really nice job on the design of this headstall, especially by putting two buckles on. Its always nice to be able to adjust both sides, especially on split ears. The one thing I would change though is to take those buckles off and replace them with normal tongue buckles. I think that the posts in these would be entirely too irritating to the side of a horse's face, even though the headstall shouldnt move up and down much if you have it adjusted correctly. I am not one to baby my horses, a little hide worn off their nose never killed one, but I think these buckles are ones you should not use on a headstall of any kind. Just my two cents and if you have used similar ones in the past with no problems, ignore what I said and just take the praise for a job well done. CW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
joquarter Report post Posted October 13, 2010 I love the buckels, but shouldn't use this kind on a headstall. Also the place you put them , so close to the eye of your horse. Maybe you can better use a bridle buckle on that place and a concho with a screw a little bit higher. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Amanda Powell Report post Posted October 14, 2010 I think these buckles are ones you should not use on a headstall of any kind. I wonder if I was able to bend the tips in and then make a sort of sheath to slide over.... I have to say though, that's one thing I didn't like about these buckles. :/ Also the place you put them , so close to the eye of your horse. I gotta say, this guy has a really tiny head!! They're positioned so that on a more normal sized horse, they should hit below the eye. I was lucky though, the bridle fits perfectly on him and the buckles didn't wiggle up and hit him in the eye. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Aggiebraider Report post Posted October 14, 2010 As far as bending them, I think that would prevent you from being able to change the size of the headstall with any kind of ease, which to me would be the only benefit to using this type of buckle. In which case, I would probably just scrap them and use them on another project. And when it comes to placement in relation to the eye, the only reason I would really worry about it with this headstall is the fact that the buckles are so large, and have a scalloped edge, and the fact that horses always seem to find something handy to rub their faces on when you arent watching them. This would give me a little cause for concern. Again, not being critical, just wanting to help out a fellow leatherworker and horse owner. CW Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
