Horsie Mama: January 2014

Thursday, January 30, 2014

A Chilly Visit

Due to the extremely cold and snowy winter we have been having, I have not been able to get out to see Abby. Today I braved the weather for a quick visit.

Abby and Diablo hurried up to see me while Persuasion, Dolly, and Trouble waited in the background. Hokey came up, too, but Diablo chased him off.

What did you bring me to eat??

Yum! Candy canes!

I didn't stay to visit too long - it was just too cold. But it was good to see my girl, even briefly.

Tuesday, January 14, 2014

Oh Boy - Redux!

Speaking of crying "Oh, boy!!" in excitement (see last entry), I am hopping with excitement and happiness about these:

Sleighbells!! In miniature!

(Picture by Jennifer Buxton, used with permission.)

I have wanted a tiny set to go with my horse collection for years, a set that was inspired by these:

My real sleighbells.

The grandchildren and any visiting students LOVE to play Jingle Bells on our antique player piano and shake them along with the chorus. (The bells get quite a workout during the holidays!)

I found them at a tack stall at the Gordyville Flea Market (Penfield, IL) in the early 1990s. They were $15 and brand new. Best of all, they had a beautiful tone when shaken - really musical, and not tinny or cheap sounding. These are good bells, and at $15, were a real steal.

I'd looked online for some matching miniature bells for my model horses without much success. But things changed last week.

I was reading Jennifer Buxton's tack-making blog, and she wrote about two sets of miniature sleighbells she had just made for friends. She posted a picture, and they were lovely - so realistic, in scale, and perfect miniature replicas. Absolutely stunning.

On impulse, I emailed her and asked if perhaps her books were open for new orders and if she might make me my dream set. Since she is one of the very best miniature tackmakers in the hobby, I really did not think she would have any openings, and anticipated a long wait if she did.

To my surprise, she wrote back and said that, since she had all the materials on hand from the other two sets, she'd be happy to make mine. I could scarcely believe my good fortune.

I explained that my hope would be to have a replica of my own set and sent her several reference pictures.

The tie ends of my set so she could see how they are constructed.

A close up of the tie end. (As I looked at these pictures, I realized that my sleighbells were aging and that I had better get some leather oil on them quickly.)

I am NOT a tackmaker and had no idea if that was possible, so I told Jennifer that I would be happy with just about whatever she could make. But she persisted, asking what color of the leather I preferred, the color of the bells (she only had gold ones on hand but went looking and found some silver ones for me!), and then had my miniature bells done in two days!

Needless to say, I am over the moon and cannot wait to see them. And I am grateful to Jennifer for her kindness in slipping me into her schedule and making such a beautiful miniature set.

Oh, boy!!

Thursday, January 9, 2014

Ponies from the Past

I am home on Snow Day #4 (thanks to the blizzard of 2014!) and have been scanning old documents and photos into the computer as I work on family history. Here are a couple blasts from the past.

Oh Boy!

My dad's pony. According to my father, Oh Boy was a circus pony and my grandfather bought him from the circus for my father when they came to town. Dad was so thrilled when he saw his new pony that he cried, "Oh, boy!" in excitement, and that became the pony's name. I know nothing else about him, although I do have a few worn leather pieces from his bridle tucked away in my tack trunk. This includes a browband embellishment with a capital "S" on it.