A hairy situation part 2

Here is Part1. Refer to that post for prices and ordering if you are interested in a custom piece made of your horses hair.

This is long overdue. I was just doing so much it was hard to get this all together in a post.

Here are the two mirror hangs that horse lady *wink wink now you all know* will be getting in the mail soon. They have been done for some time I just either did not have the lighting to take pictures or I was running around in every direction at once getting stuff done.

She sent me a bead that was off something she owned when she was younger. It's a very pretty bead and the little chip out of it adds character. I am sure it has a story and lots of sentimental value behind it.

The other, well thats for someone special. I think she might have clued in by now.

I got a package last week from Lisa with some fun pay it forward stuff in it. Amongst the goodies (I love it all Lisa, thanks so much) I got a large bundle of black hair belonging to a horse that did not belong to her on paper but will always remain in her heart. Her neighbors horse, Rojo.
She said she did not want something to wear like a necklace or bracelet so I thought Rojo could help her keep her hat on when it's windy.

They are a set of stampede strings.
I have had a few people ask what stampede strings are. I am actually surprised more people don't know!
Stampede strings are two braided horse hair or even leather strings that are joined in the middle by a movable knot and put onto your cowboy/cowgirl hat to keep the wind from taking it away.
They are almost two feet long with two beautiful tassels at the end.
For those that might not have tail hair of their horse and want a pair of these I can braid them in leather and put MANE hair tassels at the end. Mane hair makes softer tassles but I use tail hair the most because that is what I normally am given to work with. Mane hair is difficult to make into jewelry.
I don't often get to make a set of stampede strings but they are probably one of my favorites to make. Even though this set is all one colour it has to be the best and my most favorite pair I have ever made. I can't stop looking at them they are so pretty. I envy Lisa for being the one able to wear these.
Now they are not finished as I haven't had time to put a button knot/ring knot or peyote beading. (what would you prefer Lisa? Both in black of course)

Lisa also sent me a little bit of her old mare Baby doll's hair to make her a pair of earrings.

Gee Lisa this post is for you isn't it? She is going to be getting a lot of horse hair treasures in the mail. I couldn't imagine anyone else more deserving of these one of a kind creations. I also have some plans for the rest of Rojo's hair but she is just going to have to wait for the mail to see what they are :P I can't give it all away.

Although they may look similar I haven't ever made the same thing twice. They are made of different horses hair, different braids, different people. I love it.

This one is all mine. It's my old mare Naigens hair. The turquoise rearing horse was from my mother last year when she went to Florida. I happened to find the gorgeous celtic knot cap ends in a pretty neat store downtown Windsor (the big city for all you). What a story a horse hair piece can tell. I still have a very big chunk of Naigens hair. I think I might make myself a pair of stampede strings. I don't yet have a pair anyway.

Enjoy.

A hairy situation part1

I had a few bloggers ask to show the process I go through when making a custom horse hair item.

I recieved some hair the other day in the mail from a fellow blogger (whom I will not name, let's call her horse lady) Horse lady has requested two horse hair mirror hangs with tassels and a special bead she sent along with it that she wants incorporated.

This is a very large amount of hair. This is not exactly how I would like to receive hair because the tape around the hair was very difficult for me to take off without taking a whole whack of good hairs with it and not drop the rest. I much prefer an elastic band but I made do just fine because there was a lot of hair here.

I washed the hair. I did not take pictures of this because it got quite dirty and I didn't want to get my camera wet.

The next pictures are the hair all clean and combed out to dry. This is how I would like to receive hair. Not necessarily clean (please do not use conditioner if you do wash your horse hair!) just neat and maybe even braided and banded with a hair tie or elastic band at the cut end. I did not use or clean all the black hair. There was so much I could have made 6 of what horse lady was requesting.

These are called pulls. I count each individual hair and twist them into these strings for braiding. I used 200 hairs in each mirror hang. Making the pulls is the longest part. I took almost an hour each to sort and count the longest hairs.

On to braiding.
This is the easy and fun part and only takes me about 15-20 minutes normally. I do not have pictures of this process because the herringbone braid is very tricky. Drop one hair and you will be stuck re-doing the whole thing. It's frustrating. I re-did one of them three times between having the phone ring, the dog jump on me and someone banging on the door.
Once I was done this one was so nice. My personal opinion, this would make such a nice necklace. It's not often to get horse hair long enough to make this thick of a herringbone braid and have it be this long without having to add extra pulls. Adding extra pulls on a piece intending to be worn is not ideal. One hair loose can be extremely scratchy.

Of course I haven't added the bead and concho yet. I know horse lady already picked my last concho I had like my other rear view mirror hang I made and showed in my braided horse hair FAQ post. b I happened to have two of them I didn't think I had. Shes in luck. I also did the second pull the same pattern as the mirror hang in that post. I probably would have had enough to do both of them like this and still probably have enough if horse lady wants (e-mail me please horse lady! I want to finish this project)

Part two coming up soon. I gotta hear back from horse lady about what she wants.

In the mean time here's some bead work I did on a bracelet for a lady earlier this week. This is the peyote stitch in the middle there. It was quite fun I could have done it all day. I am going to start doing this stitch hopefully more on some of my pieces when it is requested. It's hard to do button knots out of horse hair on bracelets and necklaces because they can leave ends of hair that can be scratchy. I think the beads are a nice touch.

Also, I finally got to drive Indigo in the sleigh today.
I did not get pictures. Saturday for sure. She was awesome.
Here is where I point out she hasn't been driven since early September before she lacerated her shoulder. It was too ouchy for a collar or even breast collar since she was snotty about me touching it or even ruffling her fur even once it was healed over.
She has never pulled the sleigh before. She was amazing. Even when the runners scraped on the stones in the driveway and made a loud scratchy noise she just walked on. First she thought it would be easier to pull by trotting, which is true for a carriage that has wheels and rolls. I was trying to convince her otherwise. She tried cantering. Not my idea of fun, I do not appreciate a face full of snow Indigo.
Finally she got the idea and walked, and walked, and walked. Did I tell you? She walked! She did have a very, very small temper tantrum when I asked her to slow down at first and she was all about trotting. She hopped and tossed her head but that was it!.
When you give that horse a job to do she takes everything more seriously and slows the hell down. I just need to figure how to incorporate this into our other rides/drives.
Have I mentioned how much I love this horse? Well I do. She was seriously so good, just like someone had driven her this morning instead of 5 months ago. I mean I do ride her but driving is a whole other game.

Horse hair jewelry FAQ

Since I had a whole book of questions to answer rather than doing it one by one in comments I will make a whole post out of it. These are your questions and some other FAQ's I got in comments and through e-mail.

How did you learn to braid horse hair?

I have always loved to braid and tie knots. I found it to be such an intricate art form.
Believe it or not I taught myself how to tie my shoes when I was three. I had a bear with a bow that would constantly come undone. I used to ask my mom to re-tie his bow. I guess I am particularly observant because I can remember being in my room when I should have been sleeping and my bears bow tie came undone. Instead of going downstairs I tied it myself. I was so excited I ended up running downstairs to show my mom who promptly pointed me back upstairs to bed. I don't think I had my parents help me tie my shoes after that. The only thing is when I tie a bow I have always made the two loops and folded them rather than wrapping one lace around the other and pulling it through. I don't know why I just can't do it as fast.

I also always braided my plastic horses tails when I was little. Theres still some of them in a box with the tails braided in more intricate ways a kid my age should have been able to. Of course when it came down to it I could braid a real horses mane or tail better than an adult with far more years practice. Indigo. One of the comments I made upon meeting her was that I really wanted to braid her long pretty mane.

I kept looking for another medium. I made bracelets of all sorts of braids and knots, my friends hair, my own I just couldn't ever get enough of braiding.

Naturally I wanted to learn more ways to braid and so I did. I also taught kids how to braid at horse summer camps and braided peoples horses for show. I paid for my equine massage therapy course by teaching people how to braid and braiding horses manes and tails for show. I specialized in natural manes rather than pulling and braiding single buttons or knots. A lot of people seemed to prefer it.
This photographer caught Suzy and I a few years ago at the parade of horse breeds. I was un-braiding after the show.

Occasionally I would get hair that had fallen out from the horses owners. Sometimes when I made dreamcatchers I would braid and attach the hair so the next step was just to figure out how to make it into a wearable piece of art.

What items can you braid?
This item is an eight strand herringbone bracelet made out of white and black hair and still one of my favorites I did even if it was one of my first a couple years ago.

I braid mostly jewelry at this time. Bracelets, earrings and necklaces are always in high demand.These are three necklaces I made for the three important people to Naigen. I took a generous bit of her tail when we euthanised her. I bought them each a special silver horse charm to remmber the old girl by.

Right now I commission (but am certainly not limited to) necklaces, bracelets, earrings, zipper pulls, key chains, stampede strings, hat bands, belts, shoo flies, inlays and some other hitched items.
Each one is unique. If you have something else in mind I am always up for a challenge.

What kind of horse hair do you use?

I only use horse tail hair for my braids. I can use mane hair for tassles often and upon special request (which will cost A LOT more just warning) I will braid mane hair but it is very fine and breaks too easily. Tail hair is the strongest and will last the longest and it's also very long.

Where do you get your horse hair?

For me to order hair by the bundle is very expensive.
Sometimes people give me hair that their horses lost and don't want anything made out of it.
For my own items I use my own horses hair and for any item any of you would request I would have to have you use your horses (or a horse that you had permission to take it's hair, ALWAYS ASK FIRST BEFORE TAKING ANY HORSES HAIR!)
Sometimes I have extra hair left over so I may have an item for sale but they usually do not last long.

Can you dye horse hair different colours?

White/creme hair for sure. Others it depends. For an extra price I do indeed dye the hair any colour of your imagination and braid it. I personally like the natural colours better.

How much horse hair is needed for a piece?

I have to add here first that I return ALL unused horse hair. If I didn't I would be up to my eyeballs in hair. Rest assured you will get all back that I do not use. So the more hair the better I will be with the piece I am making.

Secondly when taking a horses hair first brush the tail out. DO NOT WASH OR CONDITION THE HAIRS! This means no show sheen or detangling products. I wash all hair before I braid and conditioner and some shampoo's make it difficult to braid. I like the shampoo I have.
Find the longest hairs in the center of the horses tail. Not the outside where you will see where you cut, the inside of the tail below the tail bone usually. Tie a rubber band around the amount you want and cut it off, making sure the band is tight enough. Coil or braid the hair loosely and put it in the mail to me.
Of course if your horse is an appaloosa or paint for example and has different colours of hair you want to take hair from several different places or if you want to avoid making the tail thin. Label each bundle of hair when you send it to me so I know what horse it is from and what piece it should go in.

For braids such as the chevron or strip (like in my hat band in the last post which is a chevron) you need the longest hairs you can get. The piece will only be as long/big as the hair you send me for those braids. Herringbone you can add new stands and diamond/spiral braids you cannot. It really depends on what you want done.

Plain bracelets in the diamond braid generally I need 6 inches minimum and about a pencil thickness or more. When I braid I comb out all shorter hairs so they are all the same length or else you end up with picky, scratchy hairs that make the piece no fun to wear.

The least amount needed is for pendants or earrings as seen here.

What piece do you have the most demand for?


Spiral or diamond braid bracelets. They are the cheapest and require the least amount of hair. Most of my customers who ask for this are younger kids/teenagers that may not have a lot of money or a lot of hair from a lesson horse etc.
This is a beaded horse hair bracelet made for a friend of her old horse Dallas. The brown beads were the colour of his coat since he was buckskin.

This piece is from Indigo's and Sheba's tail hair. It's a necklace that I personally own and wear a lot. I bought the silver horse charm specifically for it. It's very soft and has worn well over a few years. It is an example of a "spiral" braid which is the same as the diamond but the hairs are switched around and go in a spiral rather than strait. I get so many compliments on it.


This is a diamond braid bracelet with three silver beads on it. It's lovingly worn every day by a lady who's first horse passed away at the age of 38!


This is a rather large herringbone rear view mirror decoration. I loved the way the thick braid turned out with the brown and black braid.

What hair is the strongest?

Black
chestnut etc depends on the horse.
White is generally the weakest but it depends on genetics for any colour really.
Naigen had the most wirey, strong hair I have ever braided and she was white.


I love this piece made for the same lady who owns the beaded spiral braid bracelet of Dallas' hair. This is her Husbands horse Cruz's hair. Her husband has that zipper pull there that he keeps in his car on the rear view mirror. I love how the necklace goes from grey on the right side to black and white on the left. He is a greying anglo arabian. I love the way greying hairs turn out the best.
How many colours of hair can you put into a piece?

Generally pieces that have a patten to them such as the chevron or strip you want more than one colour hair. Any can be done with one colour hair but all pieces look better with more than one colour because you can see the true detail in this extremely old art form.

This is an eight stand round braid which took me the longest to complete it is quite intricate.
How do you secure your ends?

When I make hat bands, stampede strings etc I will hitch a keeper or button knot.
When I make jewelry I generally stitch with waxed thread then use keepers I have made myself. I used to do wire jewelry in highschool in art class so it has come in handy when securing my horse hair items.
With items that are going to be used and abused I will use shoe glue and glue the hairs at the ends. It really depends on the piece.

How long will it take for my finished item to get to me?

Normally, time depending, I will have your finished item in the mail to you within seven business days of me recieving the hair. Bracelets may be in the mail as soon as the day after and more complex projects may take more. Hat bands are a week to two weeks. I try to be as efficient as possible but I am a pretty busy person so I will generally estimate when it will be done. Of course because of people living all over the world the time that your actual item arrives on your doorstep varies greatly.

What are your prices?
Items start at $10 CAD
They can go up well over $200 CAD
This does not include shipping.

You pay ALL shipping. This means you ship the hair for the item to me and pay return shipping as well.

Without shipping here are some base prices, please inquire if something here is not listed that you are interested in:


$15- basic spiral/diamond braid bracelet.
-Basic set of earrings
- key chain basic
-pendant with bead

$20- basic herringbone bracelet OR earrings
-Zipper pull

$25- Basic spiral/diamond braid necklace
-Rear view mirror loop

$30- Herringbone necklace
- Shoo fly (for saddle)

$40-BLOGGER SPECIAL- If you seen this here I offer only to bloggers who are following my blog can get this special. A diamond/spiral braid necklace, bracelet and pair of earrings.

$65 Stampede strings

$65+- Hat bands, depending on the size and style.

Hat bands or other not listed here: Please inquire because the price of hat bands vary depending on what kind you want. I am also always open to new, challenging ideas.

All things like beads, special fittings (which I buy and not make) cost $1 extra and up.

I would love to answer more questions if you all have them. Please either comment here or e-mail me sydney@bitlesshorseblog.com.

Macro Monday: A hairy situation

yup, hair.

I figure I haven't written too much lately about my braided horse hair jewelry pieces.

When it is braided like this it feels like fishing line. It's very strong and will last a lifetime or more if properly maintained.
From November to January I did many, many pieces. All were commissioned. This means people send me their horses hair, I make a piece and send them back their new item and whatever hair I did not use.

This is a hat band for a friend made out of her six horses hair. I have been looking at it for a wile pondering when I am going to get it done. It's braided in what is called a "chevron" weave. I like the contrast of black, brown and most importantly, white hair. The picture is hard to see everything, it's too dark and I would have forgotten to take the picture tomorrow and then macro Monday would have been over.

So I guess now that the holiday buzz is over it's back to some pieces that are not in dire need of finishing. I am looking forward to seeing what this one is going to turn out like.