Hello again. Today there will not be any photos however I will try to upload pictures from my real horsey life as well! Tomorrow I am riding a gorgeous Black warmblood x Irish sport horse mare, who I might share, although it is unlikely as the whole share/livery costs are WAAAY too expensive. However, if I do well in exams, a horse may be possible....... =)

So yeah. that's a bit on my horsey life. I ride 2-3 times a week in Surrey and Hyde Park (YAY!) and my favourite ponies are Blazer, Annie, Troy (boy) Curtis (squirtis =)) and Barry baz. But, above all of these, my very favourite is THE CENTI OF EXTREME AWSOMENESS!!!!!! Because, ya, he is just Centi, and he is just perfect...... I'm training my baby long-reining and will be teaching him to pull a carriage soon (yay) because, let's face it, I'm going to outgrow him (he's 13.2hh) so if I train him in a little cart he won't properly have to retire!!!! So yeah I'll be seeing him at half term, but meanwhile i'm going to the amazing Windsor Horse Show on Saturday with a friend.

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Once more on the Model horsey front, THERE IS NO UHH (utterly horse hullabaloo) THIS YEAR soooooo I might just die. I've made a setup for Model Horse Tutorials Blog, and will have pictures soon, but it will have to wait a year to be shown (guessing that there even will be a 2016 UHH) so yeah I'm sure you understand my misery. But for now, that's al I have to say, so Good Bye!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

=)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =)  =) 

INACTIVENESS!!!!!!! (and shame :( )

AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!!!
Okay. I've got it. I haven't posted for months. I'm sorry, please forgive me! :'( lol.
I will try to be more active, and I should more or less manage, even though I have exams coming up in two weeks so I'm pretty head-over-heels revising.... aaaaaargh I hate exams so much :'(
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Anyways, so loads has happened. My tack has improved considerably, though I wouldn't really say as much for my customizing skill lol! I have resculpted one horse, but being a perfectionist like me I had to redo the mane :( so hopefully that will be done soon. Meanwhile I am out of primer so that has slowed things down a considerable amount. But anyways, today I'm just going to show you some tack, and I MIGHT post a tutorial depending on how much homework I have. SO yeah, first I'm gonna point you to the website which I made with my friend from Model horse Tutorials blog, (who is awesome). It is called 'Four Hooves Model Saddlery and Rugs' and we sell tack for breyer traditional or stones, 1:9 resins etc., as well as a few bits and pieces for Schleich/pebbles 1:24 scale. The site is still under construction, so bear with us if there is a lack of photos/ products, but that will be fixed soon, so if you like you should still be able to place an order or send us an email. (my friend will probably reply, she is generally more organized and reliable than me oops :)

Some things that we will sell....

• Lovely hand sewn rugs (custom made)
• Racing bridles
• Dressage bridles
• Jumping bridles
• Casual bridles
• Martingales
• Breastplates
• Boots (open front and xc)
• Headcollars

And hopefully still more to come.                                                   ^^^^Please note that all of the above come in variable sizes, colour and style, depending on your personal preferences. If there is anything you would like to add, feel free to contact us.

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Here are a few pictures for you to enjoy.....

 

Bye!! See you next time!!!
BTW these pics are examples as to what you can buy from our website.....

 

unorganized me

OK. I know. I said I would post like 3-4 days minimum, but I'm a very disorganized person. I've also managed to lose my iPod, but whatever. I'm just going to post some reference pics for dressage; I hope you like them!




When competing in dressage, you have the choice between single or double bridles. Most model scale setups for advanced dressage are with double bridles.

Models ideal for this discipline would include Totilas.... and loads more resins I don't know about and don't have time to research, but I can also think of the Breyer Mistral Hojris


And the actual thing....

So yeah, dressage saddles are a lot more straight cut than gp saddles. here is a comparison...
dressage                           general purpose
so yah in dressage it is all about your control and sync with the horse. I think you are allowed breastplates in some levels, but no boots. It is generally restricted to saddle + bridle. Some upper level dressage moves include...
Piaffe..... the horse does not move forward, but it trots in a springy way on the spot (my amazing description :)

Passage...... This move generally follows piaffe, and it is a very long, springy trot (forwards, not on the spot) where the horse spends a lot of time in the air.
 
Half pass.............. the horse moves diagonally across the arena, crossing over his legs (not to be confused with leg yield)

Bitting:
Most horses usually wear two bits, hence the extra cheek straps on a dressage bridle.

As you can tell from the picture, the horse has two bits in his mouth. The loose ring snaffle further back (the big one) is called a loose ring bridoon, and the other one that hangs down with sort-of shanks is a Pelham. It is also fine to have a single dressage bridle with just a snaffle, and this is pretty much the most basic bits seen in the dressage arena. Breeds for dressage are mostly warmbloods, especially Dutch Warmbloods like Totilas. There are sometimes other breeds like Trakheners, Hanoverians and Thoroughbreds.
For more info, just research it, but I hope you have found this useful! :)

Jump blocks

Hi again!
I really don't know about you guys, but I have a need for jump blocks for my Schleich ponies. I have been wondering how to make them for an age, then today I had an idea. This is a quick How-to/tutorial on making them. In this post, I will be using Fimo clay. It is really clean and handy. It comes in a range of colours, or even special effects: granite, glow in the dark, translucent etc. It takes about 15 mins in the oven at 125degrees Celsius. The colours I use are irrelevant because I am going to paint them after, but you don't have to. So yeah, lets get started.

You will need:

• 2 blocks of Fimo clay
• A sharp tool
• A round tool

1. Take your Fimo clay and unwrap the blocks. It is easiest with new blocks.

2. With your sharp tool, make some lines in it where the pictures show.

3. Use your round tool (I am just using the handle of my sharp tool) to press on the lines so you get inward curves for the poles to rest.

4. Pop them in the oven for 15 mins at 125degrees. When you take them out, they will probably still be slightly squishy. This is normal, they harden as they cool, so don't put them back in or they will burn.

And yeah, that's about it! Next just paint them whatever colour you want. I couldn't resist a few photos before I painted them, so here you are. Enjoy!

Storm trotting calmly to the upright....

 

Oliver just needs something a bit bigger....

 

 

Errrm...... something doesn't look quite right.....

 

 

That's better.... Izzie and Bella safely to the other side!

 

 

That's all folks! ;D

Hope you enjoyed this and found it helpful!!!

X-mas goodness

Hi again! I'm going to share some of the horsey goodness that I got for x-mas this year!!! (HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! I know that it's a bit late so sorry about that....) Let's start with models. I only got three Breyers this time:

Trooper: Name needed

Marwari: Already named.... Aladdin's Treasure

Totilas: Needs name....(I might just keep Totilas but I'm thinking about customizing him to Valegro, which is quite pointless because I'm sure that breyer will release a Valegro on this mould at some stage but whatever)

But instead of more Breyers I got the wonderful Andalusian resin from Stone Horses!!! I don't have a photo but I'd like to paint him dapple grey, I might also have a go at making him a Spanish tack set with a bit of research. All pure-bred Andalusians have brands, so if you know how to do these please let me know in the comments... Moving on...(I wont have photos for the following pressies... ;))))

A gorgeous brown harness for lovely trooper (who I need to rename, comment suggestions!!!)

A new airbrush and compressor

A new pastelling set and some glossy fixative for glossy customs!

A load of other customizing related things :)

Some leather lace and tack making supplies...

AND THE MOST EXCITING BIT....

A NEW WHITE SHOW SHIRT
A BLACK SHOW JACKET
WHITE JODHPURS
MOUNTAIN HORSE LONG BOOTS
ANOTHER SHOW SHIRT AND PIN

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG AAAAH I'm hyperventilating lol :)
Anyways, see you next time!!! (and don't forget to comment suggestions for Troopers new name...
Bye!

Tackmaking supplies

Hey guys!
I'm gonna post some things that you might need for your model horse tackmaking and also some places were you get them! Once you've read this, please let me know if you found this useful because I might do the same for airbrushing and pastelling. So lets get started....

HALTERS:
Halters (or headcollars) are easy and simple to make. They are just generally handy and good to use, and some show setups might involve them. You will need:

 

Scissors-I recommend good, sharp scissors that can cut through fabric smoothly. You can find these at any hobby, art or stationary shops, as well as on the internet.

Glue Gun-I got mine off amazon, but you can get them at most hobby stores. These can be a bit messy to start, and they're hot enough to burn you, but with practice the messiness goes away, and they are really handy because they dry in seconds. Other glue is okay, but I would seriously recommend a glue gun.

Jump rings-I tend to find that these are cheaper off the internet than in stores and you can get more. These can make simple bit rings, halter rings (if you don't have halter slots) and plenty of stuff you need for tack making. An absolute must buy. I mostly use 6mm, but 3-4mm and 9-10mm ones do come in handy for some things. (This also depends on the scale you are working on.)

Buckles-These can be tongued or plain. I just use plain buckles. You can get these from Rio Rondo or make them yourself (I will soon be posting a tutorial on how to do this.) So yeah, basically they make everything fit better on your models and prevent ear rubs when putting on tack.

Ribbon-I think the width is 5mm, probably thinner, I'm not sure. This can be used for headcollars, Arabian halters or stuff like that. You can buy it almost anywhere; I get mine on amazon.com.

Leather-Bulk leather can be bought off Rio Rondo, and you can probably find some in other places as well. I use this for saddles and stuff. I will also cover leather lace here. You can by it cut (Rio Rondo has specific sizing) or you can cut strips from your own leather. This can be used for show halters, stable halters, bridles, girth straps, harness, stirrup leathers-the list goes on. A necessary item for tackmaking.

There is plenty of other stuff, including wire and pliers to make your own hardware, felt or fabrics to make rugs and padding, and you can get all of your tacky wax, bits, d-rings, stirrups, horse shpoes, leather.... all model horse stuff, basically, on Rio Rondo which unfortunately is in America so the shipping to the UK costs a fortune, but anyway, yeah, that's the basics, and I really hope that this has helped! So as I said earlier, leave a comment and just let me know what you think!!!

 

First Post

Hi guys!!! I'm going to be starting this blog as one of my new year resolutions, so yeah, I've been meaning to do this for ages but have never got round to it. Anyway, so on this blog I will post gossip, updates on my customizing stuff, and I will also post some tutorials on airbrushing and pastelling models, as well as making some tack and horsey accessories. I will do my very best to check regularly, and I should be posting AT LEAST every 3-4 days (I am quite busy with my ton of schoolwork.) So yeah, I hope you find this interesting and stay tuned for more horsey goodness coming up!!! For now, though, I will just leave you with this picture of a very gorgeous Gypsy Cob.