Make a Horse Bridle From Old Belts.
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Make a Horse Bridle From Old Belts.
This is a surprisingly easy weekend instructable. It uses a few belts that we got at the Op Shop few a few dollars.
Its not a show bridal like our black leather one which we will be using as a guide but its soft and comfortable and our horse wears it around the paddock on a weekend ride. Its a Barcoo bridle if you want to know.
I'll show you how to make our one but you can easily use your own measurements
Its not a show bridal like our black leather one which we will be using as a guide but its soft and comfortable and our horse wears it around the paddock on a weekend ride. Its a Barcoo bridle if you want to know.
I'll show you how to make our one but you can easily use your own measurements
Materials
Tools:
*Sewing machine
*Scissors
*Craft knife
*Thread
*A bridal or measurements for your horse.
Materials:
*Old belts (cotton ones aren't as showy but nicer on the horse)
Check the pictures for belt types
*One belt has to have two reasonably sized ring catches
And thats about it! Told you it was simple.
*Sewing machine
*Scissors
*Craft knife
*Thread
*A bridal or measurements for your horse.
Materials:
*Old belts (cotton ones aren't as showy but nicer on the horse)
Check the pictures for belt types
*One belt has to have two reasonably sized ring catches
And thats about it! Told you it was simple.
Get the Main Ring
One of our belts had two pretty much perfect rings already attached. One side was flat but that's ok.
Just use a craft knife and cut the thread holding it on or use scissors.
Just use a craft knife and cut the thread holding it on or use scissors.
Cut the Cheek-pieces to Size
These long pieces connect the bit to the headbands.
First of all it the leather hole-strap on the belt is going to be in the way then remove it by cutting the threads with a craft knife.
We unbuckled ours from the bit and ring and laid it flat on the table with the belts beside it. the we marked the length and the hole positions and cut it to size. For ours this was 72cm not including the buckle.
First of all it the leather hole-strap on the belt is going to be in the way then remove it by cutting the threads with a craft knife.
We unbuckled ours from the bit and ring and laid it flat on the table with the belts beside it. the we marked the length and the hole positions and cut it to size. For ours this was 72cm not including the buckle.
Cut the Throat-latch to Size
These didn't disconnect from the bridle so we laid them next to it (leaving room to loop over and sew and cut it to size.
There are two sides to this and one must have the buckle with the other side having the receiver. Ours had a friction-buckle design and it seems to work great. It also meant we didn't need to make holes.
The buckle side came to 48cm with a 4cm overlap and the receiver end came to 31cm including a 4cm overlap
There are two sides to this and one must have the buckle with the other side having the receiver. Ours had a friction-buckle design and it seems to work great. It also meant we didn't need to make holes.
The buckle side came to 48cm with a 4cm overlap and the receiver end came to 31cm including a 4cm overlap
Cut the Browband and Headpiece
The headpiece and browband on ours were the same length so we just did this twice. We wanted ours to look pretty much the same so both are dark-bluish.
I looped the belt through the leather bridle we have and around to compare how long it was and cut to size. It only needs 4-5 cm overlap to sew but we had 6 in case.
It came to 49cm including the overlap on both sides and 37 not including overlapping.
I looped the belt through the leather bridle we have and around to compare how long it was and cut to size. It only needs 4-5 cm overlap to sew but we had 6 in case.
It came to 49cm including the overlap on both sides and 37 not including overlapping.
Hem the Cheek-pieces
A quick zig-zag stitch on the ends a few times will stop them unravelling.
All the other pieces will be looped over the ring before we do this so they don't need to be done now.
All the other pieces will be looped over the ring before we do this so they don't need to be done now.
Get Ready to Sew.
Make sure everything is there and lay them in the right spot so you dont have to un-pick anything later.
A pointless step but a way to see if your doing it right.
A pointless step but a way to see if your doing it right.
Sew On
Loop through the ring and lay overlap on the belt. You can hold it in place with pins or just hold it until you start sewing.
First sew a straight stitch across the middle of the overlap to hold the the belt. Then do one or two zig-zag lines across to hem it. All these are better if you run it over a few times.
REMEMBER make sure that all the overlaps are sewn on the same side with all the belts. Use the pictures to see if you are doing them in the right order.
First sew a straight stitch across the middle of the overlap to hold the the belt. Then do one or two zig-zag lines across to hem it. All these are better if you run it over a few times.
REMEMBER make sure that all the overlaps are sewn on the same side with all the belts. Use the pictures to see if you are doing them in the right order.
Drill Holes for the Buckles
For the buckles to connect the bit we need to drill holes in the belt to connect to. I just used a small drill bit and slowly cut through. Cutting too fast will just push the thread out of the way and the hole will close back up.
Done!
And thats it!
Join the cheek pieces onto the ring on the flat side and through the bit. Hook up your reigns and hang from a chair so thr bit pulls the cheek pieces straight.
Join the cheek pieces onto the ring on the flat side and through the bit. Hook up your reigns and hang from a chair so thr bit pulls the cheek pieces straight.