How to make a show halter?...

[lkblazin]

So i decided that since most show halters are a bit costly, that i am going to try and make my own......

There are a few questions that i have.

1. has anyone tried this before?

2. were did you buy materials?

3. what are the materials?

4. how do they do the bead work ect?

5. what am i missing? lol

My dad is an antique/silversmith/locksmith/handy man. So I plan i asking for some tips from him, but he'll probably look at me like i am crazy

He works with molds and odd things all the time. Witch makes me wonder!!!!!!! I could totally go all out!!! That is if i figure out how to make the basics

 

[lkblazin]

almost forgot to add, that i plan on using biothane

 

[candycar]

Have you googled it? There are probably you tube videos and instructions on how to make one.

 

[amysue]

If you look on ebay, there are a lot of "handmade" ones. I use quotations because essentially all halters are assembled by hand to some degree, but there are a lot of craftsmem selling leather and biothane show halters that they crafted themselves. They show closeup photos of the detail and fittings that may give you an idea of how to assemble yours.

 

[lkblazin]

Thank you for the information. I will try to look for videos. One of the reasons that i want to make my own is cost. It will be a lot less money to create one, then to buy someones "handmade" one. Amysue that makes complete sense thank you

 

[amysue]

So I looked at my "handmade" show halters closely today that I bought off ebay (I have to clean them up before photographing them). These look professional but are not the several hundred dollar patent ones professionals use (out of my budget). I paid about 20 bucks each for these. These have a biothane crown with little buckles to adjust the size, grommets to secure the leather and the cheecks appear to be woven tensile wire that then has black vinyl cable "tubing" threaded onto it. The beaded ones have a length of tube, beads arranged in a pattern strung on the wire, then more tubing. These do not have the teardrop ends that connect the caveson and lead chain that professional ones do, the maker just looped the wire around a soldered brass ring and crimped it with some sort of wire crimp. Then fashioned a nose band out of wire, beaded and crimped it around the ring. I will post a few pics tomorrow if they will help. I have used these halters for years and they have been very durable. I know you could make nice looking ones once you found the material.

 

[lkblazin]

That would be wonderful Anysue!!!!! Pictures would help me get more of an idea of the types of materials that i need. A friend said that i could use rolled leather. I dont entirely understand how the beads will work. But i did make some progress on the nose band. My dad said i should try metal banding. So i bought some online. After some research i found some really nice decorative metal banding, only problem is it sells by 6in increments. Other places want no less then 10ft.

 

[amysue]

So I took some closeup photos of my homeade halters that I bought. I am having dinner with a friend tonight who makes leather crafts (belts, purses etc.) He said he would write down the names of the companies that he orders buckles and grommets from. He said that lots of suppliers want to sell wholesale only, so he buys a lot or materials on ebay or etsy. He says he likes betathane better than biothane in terms of structurability and heat shrink tape to cover connection ends. As for throat chains and conchos on my mini halters, none ofthe ones that I bought came with either so I bought antique pairs of clip on earrings and matching brooches and they work awesome. I buy ladies costume jewellry chain necklaces at places like kohls or claires for the rhroat chains and they look nice (I think) plus, they're affordable. Hope these pics help. I'll gladly take more if you like.

 

[lkblazin]

OMG amysue you are a genius!!!!!! Antique clip on earings!!! ha that just made my day lol.

Thank you for the time you are putting into all of this

. The pictures are very helpful. Do you have any idea about the screws used to create the nose band? They must be very basic..? Never heard of betathane, just biothane. Very cool

 

[amysue]

So I got info from my friend about materials. He orders his biothane and beta webbing from Aaron Martin Harness ltd. aaronmartin.com. It is sold by the foot and is very reasonable. He gets his bridle leather and all of his hardware from Zack White Leather co. Www.zackwhite.com. He said that he prefers to call in his orders because their website ordering system is hard to navigate. The website catalogs all of the hardware, they have bridle buckles for the halter crown, grommets and chicago screws to attach the leather crown and cavesson to the cable cheeks. They sell solid brass and nickel rings for the chin chains and they sell the chains too. My friend thinks the wire you need is like aircraft cable, and sometimes comes coated in clear coating called "tiger tail wire" . He suggested checking the hardware store for the wire and vinyl tubing for the halter cheeks, and you could buy your beads anywhere.

 

[lkblazin]

Thank you so much, also tell your friend iam very greatful for his knowledge. Now i am off to delve into this fun project

 

[amysue]

Have fun! Have always wanted to make my own but never got around to it...like so many other things. I can't wait to see pics of what you make. Happy crafting.

 

[MiniNHF]

be careful of the construction making one, I had my stallion snap one when he put enough pressure to it and took off at a show when something scared him. It was the cheek piece that gave way, since then I have not bought a hand made one from anyone.

 

[lkblazin]

Thank you miminhf, thats one of my biggest fears. I am going to do a lot of testing with it/ the materials that i get before i ever take her out of a fenced area.

 

[paintponylvr]

Even the professional ones break and way too easily! On both the mini ones and the Arab ones. Either that or North Carolinians seemed to always get the "lemons" of those types of halters. I can't begin to tell you of the number of horses I've seen get loose when shown in a cable slip - usually when the halter itself or the pretty chain under the chin breaks, not because the halter slipped off the horses head. That was why, when I started our shetlands and our children showing in halter and showmanship in the late 90's (open & 4H shows) we went with halters made out of leather styled after the welsh type halter with a browband and throat latch instead of the little cable slips. I also had one custom made, styled like a welsh stallion bridle, out of biothane for our stallion by D&S Lutke - in 1998. That one could be used easily on a stallion in the ASPC/AMHR ring (IMHO).

But then the type of shetlands we had didn't always looks great in the little cable slips either. I just like more halter on my critters - regardless of training. I always preferred the leather show halter with a browband and throat latch on our Arabs as well...

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All that said, LKBlazin, I'm looking forward to seeing what you come up with! It's always exciting to see what an individual designs for their own use!

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I know that I've been toying around with the idea of doing a "jeweled" browband on a headstall with a matching noseband and breast collar for our grand children to show in western classes (Leadline to start with, later in w/t classes etc). Could even do some jeweled browband/noseband halters w/ the throat latch that I still prefer. Ideas!

 

[lkblazin]

I completely understand paintponylvr. I noticed that a lot of the cable halters are set up in to ways. I bought all my materials and they are on the way as we speak....just a matter of them getting here.Also i dont even know if ill stick with the materials that i chose. They may not be up to my standards in durability. I do want to put a throat latch on the halter. But i can only decide on how to do that once the materials are here. As for the chin chain, i think that i want to substitute that with metal slip collars used on dogs. May sound dumb, but they are the same exact thing. Only difference is that one is more durable lol. My halter will probably end up looking like a hybrid of some sort. But as long as it works and appears somewhat attractive ill use it.

 

[rabbitsfizz]

I am definitely going to make a jewelled brow band for my harness, I think more is less with these halters- as plain as you can but a bit of sparkle , look at your animals head and decide what would look best on him. I personally loathe the diamanté nosebanded halters you can buy, I have not yet seen a horse they actually suit, personally I think they accent the nose far too much- that is a personal opinion but, if someone wanted one made, of course, the customer is always right!! The "bits and pieces" btw, will be found under "findings" that is what the rings and things are called. Always go for the most expensive that you can afford as someone's life might depend on it. Good luck and we have to have pictures when you have made one.

Paintponylvr you HAVE to post a picture of your hand braided harness!!

 

[paintponylvr]

Tell you what Rabbitsfizz, I'll do my own thread for that... I'll call it "haystring braiding" so that you know... Wish I had better pics of the last harness I made, those will have to wait. It is different and "heavier duty" - with stitched layers.

I'm sure that lkblazn knows what I meant by our halters, but thought I'd post a couple of pics. The one "set" of halters I had made were made by a local harness worker. I was in shock when he told me what he'd charge and figured it would be substandard work. In early 1998, I had 4 halters and 4 lead shanks made to match. The halters were done with brass rings and buckles. Later, I can work on finding those halters and get current pics of them. 4 halters/4 leather lead shanks for $100. That same leather worker did quite a bit of work on an old saddle, too. Then for $5 each, he made 2 leather girths, lined in real sheepskin, that lasted for many, many years... The 2nd one just "died" a year ago...

The smallest halter on one of our "babies" - the "red" chin strap is a leather curb strap instead of a lead shank chain. I think 2 of the halters may have had chrome buckles rings and snaps on the lead, because I'm finding pics w/ chrome chains...

and one of the original mares a halter was made for and shown in. wish I had the pics larger so that you can see the detail work on them. I believe these were hand stitched, but they may have been made on his foot powered leather sewing machine.

and then the "halter" (stud bridle?) I had made for our Shetland stallion by D& S Lutke. This is the only good pic I have of it. It is a pretty elegant halter - I've never regretted having it made!!

It is a pretty elegant halter - I've never regretted having it made!!

 

[lkblazin]

Paintponylvr very nice halters. I can see why you would never regret having them made, especially the stallions. Very nice, perfect mix. It catches the eye but does not distract from the form of the horse, and does not cover the whole profile.

 

[susanne]

lkblazin, look for choke chains made for smaller dogs and you can strike a happy medium. That way, if you use a closed ring halter, you can run the chain ends through the halter rings.

I think the closed rings are much preferable to the open "U" style -- some of those are so malleable that even a minor difference of opinion could bend it out of shape.

And as rabbitsfizz said, less is definitely more. Some of the homemade show halters look more appropriate for My Little Pony than a real one.