rcsaddles Report post Posted December 26, 2014 I got my first horse hide two days before Christmas. I have it in teh lime and have my 12 year old son stirring it while he is on Christmas break from school. I don't think the hair will slip for about a week as it is below freezing but I have the barrel wrapped to try to keep it from freezing. Any of you that have used teh lime for dehairing, what do you do with the lime water when you are done? I hearrd to put it on a garden spot but with the ground frozen, not sure that will work. Any suggestion? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
millwright Report post Posted December 26, 2014 I don't know what to do with the lime water but I'm glad you got yourself a horse hide. Do you treat the horse hide just like you would a cow hide? I'm still trying to let my cow hide get good and dry. I've heard horse hide is thinner than cow hide and good for buttons. Where did you come up with the hide, and what are your plans for it? Good luck with it all, Bret. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bucksnort Report post Posted December 27, 2014 Joe, I had a hide recently that I decided to lime because of the circumstances. It wasn't freezing here yet, but was really cool weather. It took 2 weeks in the lime & I was afraid I had ruined the hide, but it turned out fine(cow hide, not horse). Anyway, to answer your question, I usually lime in a plastic barrel & I just set it up near a pasture fence & dump it on the field when done. Haven't ever seen any harm from it, the lime is beneficial. It would be good for a garden as well & probably OK on your lawn. If you will be doing more, they say that used lime water slips hair faster than fresh. Congrats on the horse hide. Buck Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rcsaddles Report post Posted December 29, 2014 I had a guy contact me in July about braiding him a set of rawhide reins. He called me recently and said he had a horse that he had to put down and would like me to use that hide to make his reins. I was more than happy to say yes. I'll be making a set of split reins with a few buttons on them. I have also heard from Nate Wald and Enrique Capone about the lime. They both say to dump it anywhere. Wont hurt anything. I don't "plan" on doing another hide this winter so I will just dump the water. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rcsaddles Report post Posted January 2, 2015 The hide has been in the lime for a week now and it appears that the hair is really starting to slip. I will have half a day at work today and then, work on the hide. I'll try and get a few pictures to post. Happy New Year, everyone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
KnotHead Report post Posted January 2, 2015 Can't wait to see how it turns out Joe. Brian... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rcsaddles Report post Posted January 4, 2015 Ok, don't have the pictures downloaded yet but here is an update. I took the hide out of the lime on Friday afternoon. I put it out on the ground and used a garden hoe and "scraped" the hair off. Took all of about 15 minutes. I rinsed the hide until it ran clear water, then into water and vinegar. I left it in the vinegar for about 12 hours, then into water with some baking soda. Will take it out of there in the morning, (Sunday) and cut a soga and then split it. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
