Tack tutorial Tuesday

I haven't made any tack for a long time, but I still think about it. In particular, I think about making casual, colorful pieces, the kind of tack I would like to have for Olive. This includes Western snaffle bridles with mecate reins, like the one shown below.

Now I do know how to tie these, but since probably some of you don't I'm reprinting a tutorial written by my friend, Rachel Fail. This was written for real horse people, but it's an easy transition to model scale. Thanks, Rachel!

How To Tie a Mecate Onto Slobber Straps

by Rachel Fail

I offer custom slobber straps in my Etsy store, and I thought I'd make a short tutorial on how to tie them.

Start off by tying the RIGHT side slobber strap, with the text horizontal to the ground and reading left to right.

Thread the end of the mecate (23' yacht rope with poppers) from the inside of the strap to the outside.

Pull it through enough to leave yourself about six inches of tail.

Take the tail up and behind the strap, then come down to form a knot.

Now on to the left strap.  This strap gets threaded from inside to outside just like the other, except you're going to slide it about twelve feet down the rope, give or take depending on how long you'd like your rein loop.

Pinch the strap ends together.

Twist a loop, with the tail (lead end with popper) underneath. 

Tighten it around the slobber strap.

Ta da!

The "leadrope" can be tied onto the saddle or tucked into the rider's belt.

I hope this is helpful! Thank you to all of my customers for their continued support!