Timaru Star II Braided Headgear, Page Two

"Colette's Hackamore" proving that I can be bought by the most mundane trades...  This handsome hackamore was a trade for 'Miss Dainty Doc' a horse I was enamored of at the time!  I don't usually want greys...  Note the differences between this modern version and the original "Carter's Hackamore" (shown on the third braidwork page).  This is the level of difference we strive for.  Finished 0204.22.

This gorgeous silver-beaded and braided-button breastcollar matches the bridle below.  The set is a portrait piece and is based on a real-life Dale Chavez bridle & breastcollar with hexagonal silver ferrules.  We did the best we could with 3mm faceted silver beads.  In model tack, the goal is often to achieve the look of something, rather than an exact shrinkage... usually impossible!

This silver-beaded and braided bridle was finished 0204.17 along with the breastcollar above.  Owned by W. Galbreath.  This particular bridle was damaged by water (and Mud!) and had to be almost completely rebuilt.  What you see here is the first incarnation; the second differs only in having dark-brown keepers.  This is probably the only circumstance in which we truly duplicate our work.

"Galbreath's Roper Set" finished 0204.02.  One of the last orders from the 2000 lottery batch, this prototypical bridle, tie-down and breastcollar was based on a real-life tack catalog: Cowboy Tack.  First time of using braided-thread keepers... Cowboy Tack inspired me with their real rawhide ones.  There is real horsehair in the tassels.  Excuse the thread on the nose... photographers' little helper. :)

This set, my first piece of tack sold on eBay by myself, was inspired by a customer who ordered a matching hackamore & breastcollar.  The bosal has a pioneering 4-color heel knot...thank you Gail Hought!  The owner has only to 'add saddle', since the set includes the blanket!  The saddle shown is by R. Nikolaidis and was Not included in the auction, which closed January 28, 2002.  The high bid was $362.00, and the new owner is K. Grieve of Dream Acres, Scotland.

This is another, much larger shot of the above set.  I was so proud of it.  The picture still doesn't really show the colors of the heel knot, but everything else comes through rather well.  The year 2002 was famous for, amoung other things, starting me out on making canvas blankets by hand, instead of the old Mexican striped ones.  They're more work (of course) but look so much better...

This is the Mexican braided bridle that was offered at the NAN 2001 auction.  Congratulations to Kirsten Schaulin!  This one-of-a-kind piece has a bit similar to Butterminx' bridle, except the shanks are a different style.  The headstall and reins use two kinds of 7-ply flat braid; the buttons are rawhide (they do work) and there are tassels on the ends of the reins.  Finished 0102.