Workin' Hard

Here are a few progress photos of the Cleveland Bay in-hand tack. All I have done so far is the bridle! I ran out of the gold buckles, so I need to place an order for more - but I had to wait until I got paid yesterday, LOL. I'm still not sure how I'm going to attack the surcingle - I want it to be as realistic as possible with the correct shape over the withers and the padding on the sides. But, I'm happy with how the bridle has turned out.

Don't pay attention to all that sticky wax on the bit! :) I would like to be able to use this set for a showmanship class at a live show, but it's not looking good for attending one of those this year. The only show I was able to attend last year was BreyerFest. Talk about competition, yipes! So this piece may come up for sale once I'm all finished with it.

It has been some really late nights in the lab. I can't even believe I managed to get these pieces cut and dyed and some even stichmarked! I have two orders for pony saddles, so it will be nice to bring both of them through at the same time. I feel it is much more efficient to be able to toggle back and forth between the two - no waiting around for stuff to dry before moving on.

I'm not sure how I feel about them yet. The leather might be a little too thin for these saddles, but we'll see. I'm feeling good about the color so far. They will darken up when I condition them, but you never know how they will turn out until then.