50th Anniversary: Oh, That Tack!

Yesterday I poked my head into the closet where I store my early hobby things, and right on top of a stack of boxes was the one containing all my 1960s tack. That was far easier than I'd anticipated!

It was a small box

but it was stuffed full of things I had made for the riders at Pawnee Stables.

Most of it was not in good shape, stiff and bent out of position from being crammed into a box. Still, it was a treasure trove of my personal hobby history. 

There was a surprise or two - I remembered using what was at hand (like telephone wire and shoes),

but finding a western saddle lined with a tissue? I have no clue why I did that!

Most of the saddle horns were made by stacking bits of leather and gluing them together

although on a few I found that I'd cut up an old Johnny West saddle for parts.

I free handed the outline of the saddles right onto the leather - you can still see my ink lines.

There were some commercial saddles in there, sold at souvenir stands and found when my family traveled.

Materials used besides shoes were suede scraps and felt.

I remember cutting one of my shoes up to create this saddle. That leather was so tough, I had red marks on my hands for hours afterward.

In an attempt at realism, I made adjustable stirrups by poking a hole in the felt, threading the stirrup "leather" through it, and knotting the string. 

You simply pulled the string to raise or lower the stirrups.

English saddles were easier to make than western ones. Look at the different scales - some of my doll riders were tiny and "rode" smaller models.

Two felt English saddles. Felt was definitely the easiest medium to use!

Two felt bareback pads made for me by a friend, Sue Seese. 

This Native American blanket and the two bridles were made by Sue, too.

A double bridle made out of string and wire. Again, by Sue.

Also in the box of 1960s tack were things from the Pawnee Stables set up - these old plastic boxes stored the "girls'" grooming tools. 

Rub rags that I made by cutting a scrap of cotton into squares.

Saddle soap (some bits of bar soap - it still is scented after all these years!), currycombs made by cutting strips off of carpet remnants and then clipping them into one inch pieces, a hoof pick made from LEAD wire (yikes!), and a Barbie riding crop and mane combs. Pawnee Stables' horses were well groomed!

This next piece nearly brought me to tears - the felt harness that I made for Hercules.

He used to pull the Pawnee Stable girls around in a shoebox wagon and take them on adventures.

Hercules is still with me, so I put it on him, just for fun. The memories just flooded in - such good times playing with him and the rest of the Pawnee Stables crowd!

I also found the box of dolls and other things from Pawnee Stables plus things from the transition in 1970 to Windsong, the name I still use.

More on that in the next anniversary post.

This is the last day to participate in the first anniversary giveaway!