Looking for some help: making my own tack

[Keith_Beef]

I'm looking for some advice on making my own bits of tack. I have a good stock of leather (including the proper kinds for bridles and stirrup leathers), needles, thread, beeswax and a decent selection of basic tools. I have a few books, mostly reprints of old books but also a couple of recently written books.

Well before the Covid epidemic I laid in a good stock of buckles and other fasteners from a specialist supplier, so I'm confident that the metal parts are not going to fail. I've tested my stitching (I made a headcollar a few years ago, made a few lead ropes and an attachment for hanging a seat from a tree) and I'm confident that it holds up to hard use. By this I of course don't really mean yanking the horse about with it, but also abrasion from being stuffed into a bag along with brushed, a hoof pick and a pair of stirrups and the inevitable sand that gets in the bag.

My next project would be to make a set of draw reins. I know that a lot of people object to their use, especially in inexperienced hands (pun intended), and I've had that discussion in another thread, but I never use them on my own initiative, and always under the supervision of my instructor who would be on my like a ton of bricks if he saw me being clumsy.

All the draw reins I've seen so far have a webbing or leather section with a buckle in the centre and cord sections that go through the rings of the bit. At the ends of the cords are snap fasteners that connect to a D ring on the girth (or to a D ring on a leather piece that can be slipped over the girth).

The construction is very simple and straightforward, nothing I've not done already, but I'm thinking about what material to use for the cord section... I imagine that cord is used because it slips more easily against the metal ring of the bit, where leather would be stiffer and rub, adding unwanted resistance. I also wonder about rubbing against the horse's chest...

So, after all that explanation, the question is what would be appropriate cord?

I have some quite soft natural rope (some cotton and some hemp) that is of a bit bigger diameter than the synthetic cord that I've seen on commercially produced draw reins.

Could I use these kinds of materials, or would synthetic climbing rope be more suitable?

 

[tristar]

always use stainless steel buckles, or stitch bits and reins onto bridles for instance,make loads of room with large browbands round the ears, you can line such as nosebands with a softer leather

look carefully at the inside of any tack where it comes into contact with the skin of the horse and design it to be as smooth as possible, no lumpy bits,

with headcollars for turnout and tying up a section that is breakable should the horse pull back etc, and adjustable if needed underneath as opposed to on the nose as buckles on the nose often make the noseband fall down

saddle cloths with sections to slide in for example, pieces of prolite along where the saddle will sit its available in various thicknesses

look forward to pics of your efforts

 

[Keith_Beef]

always use stainless steel buckles, or stitch bits and reins onto bridles for instance,make loads of room with large browbands round the ears, you can line such as nosebands with a softer leather

look carefully at the inside of any tack where it comes into contact with the skin of the horse and design it to be as smooth as possible, no lumpy bits,

with headcollars for turnout and tying up a section that is breakable should the horse pull back etc, and adjustable if needed underneath as opposed to on the nose as buckles on the nose often make the noseband fall down

saddle cloths with sections to slide in for example, pieces of prolite along where the saddle will sit its available in various thicknesses

look forward to pics of your efforts

Thanks for the advice.

I wonder why you specifically mention stainless steel for buckles, rather than brass.

I'm not making headcollars for turnout. After reading on here about them getting snagged I've been thinking a lot about having a weakened or breakaway section. I'm only making stuff for my own use, anyway, and I don't have my own horse.

The headcollar I made is ridiculously strong, and definitely not suitable for turnout. I once had a horse tied up to baling twine in a ring set into brickwork, exactly according to instructions; the horse pulled away and pulled open the brass ring sewn into the leather, without damaging the leather... so you could say that the brass ring was the breakaway section. Since then event, I tend to not even tie up the horse for grooming and tacking up, and rely on the headcollar being a signal to the horse that it's time to stand still and cooperate, and it works like that almost 100% of the time. I also padded the noseband of that headcollar with thick neoprene foam (pipe cladding) and then covered it with very soft leather laced into place so that it's easy to replace the foam or its cover.

That headcollar is a little bit on the big side for the horses I ride now; I made it when I was riding a Selle français with an unusually big head, then for a Normandy cob... the horses I currently ride have slightly smaller heads, so it's time for me to make another one, and I've been studying plans for a while.

In the meantime, I went up to the yard and took some measurements and photos of the draw reins I used yesterday, and chatted to my instructor about the type of cord. He was quite insistent that it should be synthetic and very smooth, both for the reasons I guessed at but also because hemp or cotton will easily fray and shed fibres. When I get the photos off my phone I'll order some climbing rope. I hope I'll be able to find some in the right size that is not "safety orange".

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Message Oz - cremedemonthe on here. If hes got time, he's v helpful.

 

[Cortez]

I make a lot of tack (historical), and also some specialised things for my own use (Vienna reins, for instance). I always use brass buckles and snaps. I would suggest making the draw reins with just plain leather (simpler than fancy cord bits), and loops at the end that the girth goes through. But if you do want to use cord, I would always use a synthetic climbing rope: natural cord, whilst lovely, will wear through eventually and isn't any softer than the synthetic.

 

[tristar]

stainless steel is stronger and less likely to bend and wear than brass, not sure if its the same now but racing rules at one time were for stainless steel buckles or stitched

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

My wife is a time served bridle stitcher, she completed an apprentiship and years ago her and her sister stitched the bridles for Princes Anne when she rode in the Olympics. She does repairs to our tack which saves quite a lot of cash. She is able to do loads of hand stitched fancy bridles, she does not cut leather though. That job was always done by the master saddler. Be careful what you do make bridles because if your stitching is not correct it will not have the strength you need & could be dangerous. She does all stitching by hand, she makes her own thread and waxes it & always sews with two needles. Please be very careful, it's not a skill that you can master in a short period of time.

 

[scruffyponies]

I have some foreign harness with brass buckles, as well as ancient English stuff. The English brass buckles have steel tongues, which can rust if not oiled, but remain strong. The brass buckle tongues on the foreign harness are all bent (albeit after 20 years of use), making them harder to undo. This includes HUGE buckles on breast collars etc with tongues around 4mm thick.
To date, none have actually failed, but it's clear why you would choose steel. Much stronger.

 

[tristar]

ah yes so many stiches to the inch

 

[Lois Lame]

I have some quite soft natural rope (some cotton and some hemp) that is of a bit bigger diameter than the synthetic cord that I've seen on commercially produced draw reins.

Could I use these kinds of materials, or would synthetic climbing rope be more suitable?

My feeling is that you need to use synthetic cord for its slipperiness.

 

[Lois Lame]

In the meantime, I went up to the yard and took some measurements and photos of the draw reins I used yesterday, and chatted to my instructor about the type of cord. He was quite insistent that it should be synthetic and very smooth, both for the reasons I guessed at but also because hemp or cotton will easily fray and shed fibres. When I get the photos off my phone I'll order some climbing rope. I hope I'll be able to find some in the right size that is not "safety orange".

I would check that climbing rope with your instructor to make sure it is good to use. No point in going to all that effort and making a botch of it when, if you do your homework with the expert you have at hand, a botch up can be prevented.

 

[COldNag]

I still have my notes from my time at Cordwainers - nothing for draw reins sorry - but if you want instructions/sizes for bridles, girth, stirrup leathers etc etc happy to scan them for you.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Thanks to all, for the advice.

I've been reading up on climbing rope, and I'll not be using that. Climbing rope is too elastic, it's so that it absorbs the shock of the climber falling. What I need is static rope, that has no give in it. It's sometimes sold as climbing rope, but it's labelled as being for securing and lifting or lowering kit, not people.

I went up to the yard, borrowed the draw reins from yesterday for ten minutes to take pictures and measurements and showed a hank of hemp rope to my instructor. He reckons it would wear too quickly and shed fibres, and that 10mm diameter synthetic rope with a woven outer sheath is what I need to get.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Why I don't like brass ?

Well, I mostly have no preference, but this happened today and reminded me of this thread. Not much force was applied to this. It was really odd.

Also, there was a guy that made stirrup leathers (Gary Mundey - not sure of the spelling) and people on a USA horse forum raved about them. So apparently if you can make good and custom stirrup leathers, there could be a demand.

 

[Keith_Beef]

Why I don't like brass ?

Well, I mostly have no preference, but this happened today and reminded me of this thread. Not much force was applied to this. It was really odd.

Also, there was a guy that made stirrup leathers (Gary Mundey - not sure of the spelling) and people on a USA horse forum raved about them. So apparently if you can make good and custom stirrup leathers, there could be a demand.

View attachment 68754

Right, I found him: Gary Mundy. Just looking for "stirrup leathers Gary Mundey" (i.e. your spelling) found him and a blog post about some dressage leathers he made for a girl in his state (and a reference to COTH, which at a guess is "chronicle of the horse"). Very interesting, I'd never thought of using Conway buckles for stirrup leathers.

Do you still have that brass fitting to hand? I'd like to see a close up of the fracture, if possible, to see if there is any visible grain. I don't know much about brass metallurgy, but in steel the grain size can be a good indication of incorrect heating and cooling and of brittleness.

 

[CanteringCarrot]

Do you still have that fitting to hand? I'd like to see a close up of the fracture, if possible, to see if there is any visible grain. I don't know much about brass metallurgy, but in steel the grain size can be a good indication of incorrect heating and cooling and of brittleness.

Should still be in the bin at the yard. I can check tomorrow.

 

[Keith_Beef]

I've looked through David May's book of patterns (Cumbria School of Saddlery) and my other books on harness and tack, and don't have anything about draw reins, but the photos I took are good enough for me to make my own patterns easily.










It was only after looking at these photos more closely that I noticed the Fouganza name stamped into the leather, so they're Decathlon's own-brand. From looking at the website, these look like the Romeo model, that would cost €25 including two leather loops to attach to a girth without a D ring.

The construction is really simple.

At the attachment of the cord to the leather, the leather has only been skived down right at the ogive-cut end, and the stitched-on piece has been skived down et the ogive-cut end and at the square-cut end.

At the attachment of the cord to the clips, the leather piece has been folded over, stitched along one edge and stitched through the centre of the leather and through the cord.

 

[sbloom]

Abbey England would be able to advise on and supply the right rope, but I guess post Brexit you want to purchase locally!

Join this FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/188953224861948, flutter your eyelashes as you're supposed to be at least training, or a pro, to join but you're not the sort of person I think they're trying to exclude.

 

[Lois Lame]

Silly Question Time: Did you measure the length of the cord? (I didn't see a photo to indicate that.) Nice photos by the way.

Interesting about the brass. I think I've only seen brass fittings on fancy head collars (which I don't own).

 

[Keith_Beef]

Silly Question Time: Did you measure the length of the cord? (I didn't see a photo to indicate that.) Nice photos by the way.

Interesting about the brass. I think I've only seen brass fittings on fancy head collars (which I don't own).

It's not a silly question, I asked myself the same when I was preparing the images for posting.

I think I've got the length at about 140cm and at each end 7cm of that seen into either the train or the cover (at the clip end). The yard is only 400 metres away from my house, so I can go back to confirm that.

 

[Keith_Beef]

All the bits together, quick sketch for length and width; cord cut to length and ends heat-sealed, and about to cut the straps from a piece of Italian leather.