More mail!

So the other night I bummed around on eBay for a while, and accidentally bought a whole heap of hot fix nailheads in different sizes. Oops. :) I bought round gold and silver nailheads in 2mm, 3mm and 4mm, those 7mm rectangles I mentioned in another post, some 3mmx3mm squares, and some small tear drops.

I still need to find someone with 5mm round ones, and when I order from TWMHC I'll order some of their 1.5mm and 2.5mm ones as well. With all those sizes I think I should be covered for everything for 'conchos' through to 'rosettes' on browbands.

The 3mm squares should be a perfect fit for traditional beaded Western halters, like this one I'm working on:

The squares will go on each end of the cheek pieces, like in this picture:

I'm pleased with how this halter has come out, though I do wish I had a model to try it on! I've heard that ISHs have a small head, so for now this halter will stay with me until I either get an ISH or I get measurements to compare the halter to. Looking at the picture, it's actually a bit big for Ideal, so I think it will be huge on anyone else. :(

In other tack news, yesterday I got mail from the super lovely Robyn McCrae. I'd sent her Rosie so she could make her a little saddle for hacking, leadline and maybe games. Rosie is a drastic custom Merrylegs, so measurements just wouldn't cut it for a good fit. Isn't she just adorable, all tacked up? I can't wait to start taking pictures in her new set ups.

Robyn's parcel also included a saddle for my Mozart resin. I love the colour on him, and the saddle is really cute. The girth is a touch too big though, so I will need to make him another.

Lastly, today I received my Far Ute Keno set from the US. These are the stock horses I mentioned in another post. After some quick tack sessions...

I determined that Keno looks best with the black Western saddle (a Robyn piece, as is most of my collection), and promptly made him a matching bridle.

I tried something new with the browband, I really like the look of metal silver earpieces, but of course no one makes them in classic scale. I did attempt to make one from wire, and made a loop at the end for the crownpiece to pass through, but I had trouble achieving the square-ish shape that real browbands have for the crownpiece loop.

With the one above, I used 2mm silver leather and folded the centre section (tried to roll it but it turned into a fold). It doesn't look so good in the photo but it does look nice in real life. On trads I think I will use 3mm lace and try slipping in wire underneath, like I do for the throatlatches on halters, so that it can sit flat against the head.

While fiddling around with Keno, I discovered he has a neat little secret - his forelock is lifted slightly!

The bottom end is fixed to his head, so any browbands that you want to slip under will need a free end, but it should be easy enough to cut a browband in two, and slip the two ends under the forelock. Of course, any English bridles made to fit this guy will need another browband if they are to be used with another model, but it's exciting news nonetheless.

Keno has also stolen Mozart's saddle, so I suppose he will need an English bridle, too! (That's the same girth pictured with Mozart - Keno is a fatty!)