Covid quarantine breast plate

[Mulesaw]

Due to the Norwegian Covid regulations, I have to stay in quarantine for 10 days after arrival in Norway. The company I work for have arranged for a hotel room in Bergen, and there is not much to be done about the situation.

But due to a bit of planning ahead, I had bought various buckles and rings etc. and precut some leather at home and brought with me. So I am hope to make a breast plate for my sons horse while I am stuck out here.

The working conditions are not optimal, but it sure beats watching TV or surfing the net. 

I got inspired by the Dyon anatomic breastplate, and I started out by measuring a bit on the actual horse and making a sketch.  I still try to become better at making a nice looking stitching, but I haven't got a stitching clamp out here, so it is a bit difficult to draw the right hand thread and the left hand thread up or down. But I think it will end up looking OK.

I have a small starter kit from Tandy with a marking wheel, and I have ground an old screwdriver to make an edge beveller. The knives I think are old fruit knives that are sharpened but they are sharp and that is the main thing for me. 

Before marking out for the holes, I glue the parts together with contact glue, and then I mark out and us a small awl before sewing it all together.

 

Work station and place for eating breakfast, lunch and dinner.

I brought a piece of plywood with me to avoid getting in trouble for cutting in the table.

Nice and tidy workspace..

 

The main parts of the breastplate. for some reason the picture is upside down.

 

[Retswerb]

Now that’s planning ahead! Nice job.

[Mulesaw]

Thanks,

The worst part is the smell of contact glue, but there is a decent extraction from the bathroom, so I apply the glue on the table, then put the parts out into the bathroom, wait for five minutes, press them together, and leave them a bit to let the smell disappear before marking and sewing.

Once it it time to call it a day, all the glued parts go back into the bathroom so I don't get a headache while sleeping due to sniffing glue :-)

 

[Scoutmom103]

nice preplanning

 

[Mulesaw]

Thanks, I had originally planned to do the project on board, but since they changed the quarantine rules, I decided that it was a great way to pass the time in the hotel room.

Brgds

Jonas

[Constabulary]

Don´t let the room maid see the harness laying on your bed - she might have little bit of cinema in her head and probbaly won´t come back the next day 

[Mulesaw]

Hahahaha.

Good idea :-)

 

[jcuk]

Nice work, can i ask is it lined? As I cant really tell from the pics, if not you really don't need to glue your buckle and hardware turns, not sure if you have access to a tack hammer and some tacks you can always lightly tack them in place saves having to inhale glue vapours. 

Hope this helps

JCUK

[Mulesaw]

I am only going to line the piece that goes over the neck of the horse. That is as much as I can see from the pictures of the Dyon breast plates. Since I am doing it in a hotel room, I didn't bring any tacks and a hammer with me. I'd hate to get into trouble for disturbing the other guests. But is is a great idea that I might do next time I am making something similar at home.

I am lining the piece with a thin piece of black soft leather (don't know the correct English term), kind of the stuff that you could use to upholster a car seat or make a leather jacket.

Here's a link to my source of inspiration: 

https://www.google.com/search?q=dyon+anatomic+breastplate&rlz=1C1SQJL_daDK797DK797&tbm=isch&source=iu&ictx=1&fir=yNj2k2M6Zi46XM%2CnpVioJLhjUbikM%2C_&vet=1&usg=AI4_-kSfUxWldiMqJvhtXHMRwlbQ1AM9_Q&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwio48vE-druAhWotYsKHWKZALoQ9QF6BAgKEAE#imgrc=yNj2k2M6Zi46XM

 

Economically it would probably be cheaper to buy a finished breastplate, but I wouldn't learn muck from that, and besides, I like to make stuff, (guess most people in here does that)

Brgds

Jonas

[jcuk]

Considering your resources you done a great job there, as for the noise loud music helps. Yes you could bye a cheap and nasty one and learn nothing from it or maybe you can see how badly made some off the shelf things are. 

[Mulesaw]

You are much too kind :-)

I am improving on the saddle stitching though, so I guess there is some merit to the "practice makes perfect"
one thing that bothers me a bit is the hardware, I wanted some smaller snaps to where the upper part of the saddle is connected to the breastplate, and also the buckles weren't exactly as I wanted them, but I also wanted to support a local shop, so that trumped my vanity in what hardware I should use. There aren't many leather supply shops in Denmark, so I figured it is best to support those that still remains.

Anyway, in the heat of the battle, few will notice as long as the equipage is doing a good job.

 

 

 

[Mulesaw]

Gustav and Cajou (the horse), winning a major round of chocolate, at his first ever B level event (young riders), He was the only one with four perfect rounds, I think he came in this particular round.

Winning a C level competition, and posing with the sponsor gift.

Washing and drinking at home.

[jcuk]

I am all for supporting local suppliers as long as the hardware is up to the job in hand also try to buy tools that have been made as close to home as i can.

[Mulesaw]

I have managed to make a steady progress on the breast plate. 

Two days ago I started the most difficult part (for me at least), to make the loop that will eventually be used for attaching the martingale. I had to thin down the leather a bit to make it possible for me to make a round sewing without it becoming too bulky. Still I think it came out all right. 

Yesterday I sewed together the two central pieces of the breastplate and also made a hole for the strap that will connect to the girth.

I started making the round piece from the middle, and then worked to both ends of it, because it was so hard to roll near the ends.

Stitching is done.

 

It is beginning to look more like a breastplate and less like a bunch of leather straps.

Now there is even a hole for the strap.

 

 

[toxo]

Looking good. That's the kind of work that is not only harder to do on a machine but wouldn't look anywhere near as good. Well done.

[Mulesaw]

Thanks,  I need to wait for the edge burnishing until I am out of the hotel quarantine. I haven't brought any sandpaper with me, and besides I am afraid that the maid would get angry with the amount of fine dust produced.

So for now it is just edge beveled on the front and back with my homemade screwdriver beveller. But when I get onto the ship I'll probably turn an edge burnishing tool that I can mount in the drill press or the lathe, That should hopefully help in obtaining a nice edge.

 

 

[Mulesaw]

Here's a bit of update on the Covid quarantine breastplate:

After getting the breastplate home, Gustav tested it on the horse, only to discover that my measurements had been a bit off..

So a few of the individual pieces were too long, so the breastplate sat sluggishly on the horse. Also Gustav said that he had expected me to make a martingale that would match the colour of the leather. Apparently you can't use a black martingale if the breastplate is brown..

This time at home I pulled myself together and shortened up the needed pieces, which included the small padded piece that goes over the neck of the horse. I also made a martingale that was accepted using the same leather as the breastplate. I forgot to take some pictures of the process of making the martingale, but I discovered that it was much more difficult than what I had expected to make one. I simply copied the same basic design as the regular black martingale that was used with the old breastplate.

Caj (horse) and Gustav (son)

I suck at taking pictures, so Caj look smaller than he is. He measures 172 cm (17 hands)

 

 

[Klara]

Very nice martingale! And as you don't need to count your work time, considering you made it to fill your time while in quarantine, it should have turned out quite a bit less expensive than the over euro 200 for the inspiration. 

Do you want a tip for the photos? The horse looks small because of the wide-angle lens in your camera phone. The easy solution is to take the picture from the side, standing facing the horse's shoulder. 

[Mulesaw]

@Klara Thanks for the nice comment :-)

I also think that the time in quarantine was very well spent making the outfit for the horse, and especially since it now fits the horse like a glove.

Thanks for the tip on the photo, though I am pretty sure that I will have forgotten the advice next time I need to take a picture. I have come to the conclusion and understanding that taking pictures is not my strongest suit. :-)

Brgds

Jonas

[Klara]

7 hours ago, Mulesaw said:

@Klara ...

Thanks for the tip on the photo, though I am pretty sure that I will have forgotten the advice next time I need to take a picture. I have come to the conclusion and understanding that taking pictures is not my strongest suit. :-)

Brgds

Jonas

Needn't be. Seriously, taking useful pictures (works of art is different) is much easier than leatherwork. I think my above advice is almost it with camera phones. (Get your subject to fill the picture would be another one, but you do that already.) 

[Mulesaw]

9 hours ago, Klara said:

Needn't be. Seriously, taking useful pictures (works of art is different) is much easier than leatherwork. I think my above advice is almost it with camera phones. (Get your subject to fill the picture would be another one, but you do that already.) 

You make it sound easy :-)

I will try to see if I can improve my pictures  
But after looking at the pictures I think I understand what you mean.

Cheers

Jonas

[TomE]

Enjoyed seeing your work and horse.  Nice stitching, especially free handing it!  That's a big horse.  Is he an eventer, jumper, both?  What is his breeding?   I spent a few days in Bergen about 15 yrs ago during a layover before a scientific conference.  Enjoyed the sights and hiking in the hills around the funicular. 

[Mulesaw]

@TomE Thanks for the nice words on the stitching. I think that Caj is pretty big too, but he needs to be to fit Gustav. Having a harmonic looking equipage is fairly important I think.

Caj is a thoroughbred Holsteiner horse, and his line was bred for jumping, which is what Gustav competes in. They are doing pretty well considering that Gustav is not a pro rider, (he's training to become a carpenter). They mostly compete in regional classes and once in a while in some national classes as well. 

Bergen is a really nice place - but... there is a bit too much rain if I have to be completely honest :-) I hope that you had the chance to see the city in fine weather, cause that makes for a much better experience.

 

[TomE]

Love what the Thoroughbred adds to Warmblood horses.  We use a local Holsteiner stallion for some breedings. https://www.facebook.com/maefieldfarm/photos/pcb.3269782936422467/3269757966424964/  Had good weather in Bergen.  I think it was late June.

[Mulesaw]

That is one fine looking stallion!

We didn't breed Cajou ourselves, I would like to but I have to accept the fact that there are people out there who has got more idea about breeding than I have :-) 
At the moment we have two gildings, Cajou (nicknamed Caj) and my wifes Danish warmblood Bernie (shortened to Bent). We used to have an old Dansih Warmblood mare a couple of years ago, but we had to have her put down due to old age.

Gustav goes to our local stallion station Katrinelund once a week for lessons in jumping. They sure have some good looking horses out there. 
After the owner of the stallion station found out that I do a bit of leatherwork I have gotten a bunch of work from their side. Mending horse blankets, changing zippers in the boots of all the riders out there etc. When I get back home he has asked me to do a repair job on the "phantom". One of the stallions got a bit carried away after doing his thing, and bit the side of the phantom and tore the side up on it. 

Personally I have always liked Trakehners and I would love to get one. But being a seaman and away for half the time doesn't correspond well with having a horse with a bit of temper. So I am happy to just have a ride in the forest once in a while on my wife's horse.