Dwarven Horse gear

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Meganbeyer
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Dwarven Horse gear

Post by Meganbeyer »

Been working on new tack for my big horse over the last few year, and never really had a goal look in mind, except to be unique to Rosie. Well I have always loved the worlds we travel in books and Tolkien has always been a favorite. I didn't have this dwarven idea in mind specifically when i was making Rosie's gear, more along the lines of functional pack gear that looked different but not like only for photoshoots or something.
So i have collected some pictures from the last while. Please help me make my tack more Dwarven like. I will say that somethings cant be changed but i want to try for some improvements.

Rosie's Multi-purpose Halter...
Image used as a halter
Image used as a bridle and halter
The rings on top are for training in hand, such as the academic knights horses...

Rosie's Bridle
Image
Image
Image
The center square on the cross browband is changeable, and think i may make one with dwarven runes and a mountain carved on it... The snap on leather reins will be changed out soon as i have new reins on the sewing table... The Rope rein is currently not a changeable item... I am working on making Rosie into a finished horse, until then i need to be able to tell my reins apart super quickly.

Will add Saddle and Pack ideas tomorrow... Thanks for any ideas
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theowl
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Re: Dwarven Horse gear

Post by theowl »

Awesome!
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Peter Remling
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Re: Dwarven Horse gear

Post by Peter Remling »

I like the cross brow band a lot. Interested in your interpretation of the dwarven pack saddle.
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Iodo
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Re: Dwarven Horse gear

Post by Iodo »

This looks awesome so far :P I can't wait to see the saddle

Meganbeyer wrote:Please help me make my tack more Dwarven like
the dwarven style can be tricky to get right and there's definitely two different approaches, mine is to follow the WETA designs from the hobbit, while making it a little less overbearing and more functional, maybe for some ideas on that route:

A leather-work tooling design I came up with for a sword belt (for Bumr Blackbrand over on this thread: https://www.ranger.budgetauthenticity.o ... 5740&hilit) that you could take some ideas from:
Image
if you want more resources of that kind the WETA books are a good place to start, If your interested PM me and I can send you some stuff

Vambraces with lonely mountain motive, and runes, kind of like you mentioned ( sorry the photo's are terrible, I forgot how bad they were):
https://www.ranger.budgetauthenticity.o ... 3809&hilit

The other approach to dwarven style is a lot more book accurate, to follow viking and Norse themes, who I think are the peoples who inspired Tolkien's vision of the dwarves, Ringulf (forum member here) has a brilliant interpretation of that style, although the image hosting website goblins have stolen most of the pictures he posted here :lol: here's a link to his DeviantArt page:
https://www.deviantart.com/mica1323/gal ... eatherwork

Nemo of Calh (forum member) also had good dwarven kit although the pictures have gone from that thread to, I don't know if anyone here knows if he posted his stuff anywhere else?

There's a really good thread dedicated to Numenorean design, some of this can be adapted to dwarven style with imagination:
https://www.ranger.budgetauthenticity.o ... f=7&t=3152

There's a lot of dwarven stuff scattered around the forum but I don't think there's ever been a thread of that kind dedicated to dwarven designs, maybe I might start one?

EDIT: Have you thought about where in middle earth your dwarven impression is from? because there are cultural differences hinted at in the books, Erebor has always been about stunning design and craftsmanship, where as the Iron Hills are much more about war and defenses, while the level of craftsmanship is still high, there designs would probably have been simpler and with more of a functional utilitarian approach. That's probably just my interpretation but there's quite a lot that can be read into the different cultures of middle earth if you think about how Tolkien intended them to be imagined

my persona has elements of both because Iodo Ionite is intended to have traveled to Erebor with Dain Ironfoot's army to fight in the battle of the five armies, and then stayed in search of riches, adventure and a new life so some of her kit items would have been brought with her (my interpretation of an iron hills belt: https://www.ranger.budgetauthenticity.o ... 5267&hilit)
Gimli: It's true you don't see many Dwarf-women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Dwarf-men.
Aragorn: It's the beards.
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Elleth
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Re: Dwarven Horse gear

Post by Elleth »

Oh SHE IS ADORABLE!

Gosh how fun. :mrgreen:

Anyhow - I don't know anything about tack specifically, but with medieval/fantasy leatherwork generally I think absolute biggest leap one can make is using period correct hardware. Off-the-shelf Tandy buckles and modern rivets can always seem a bit Ren-Faire-ish - but pop on a hand-cast buckle and all of a sudden the piece sings!

There are tons of good producers out there these days. I think personally for what you're looking for I'd start combing through Raymond's Quiet Press, espcially the Viking stuff:
https://raymonds-quiet-press.myshopify.com

I'm quite fond of Lorifactor as well, but most of that stock might be a little late period / polished for what you're looking for.
Also if you haven't played with medieval buckles generally - they tend to be much smaller and lighter than we're used to in the modern era - especially those made in the ~14th-17th centuries. So be sure to pay close attention to the dimensions when ordering.

How fantastic - can't wait to see more! :)
Persona: Aerlinneth, Dúnedain of Amon Lendel c. TA 3010.
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Peter Remling
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Re: Dwarven Horse gear

Post by Peter Remling »

With a dwarf pack saddle my feel would be the crossbars (front and back) would look similar to the stylings of a Viking tent crossbars. Maybe ending in dragonheads, bears, wolves or dwarven helms. If you don't have a spare horse blanket, you might pick up a moving blanket folded over and cut to length. Add a base of 9 oz leather to mount your frame and away you go. It will be something unique and inexpensive. The leather would be the most expensive single item or you could go with sheepskin.

Welcome again and keep us posted.
Meganbeyer
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Re: Dwarven Horse gear

Post by Meganbeyer »

Elleth wrote: Anyhow - I don't know anything about tack specifically, but with medieval/fantasy leatherwork generally I think absolute biggest leap one can make is using period correct hardware. Off-the-shelf Tandy buckles and modern rivets can always seem a bit Ren-Faire-ish - but pop on a hand-cast buckle and all of a sudden the piece sings!
I agree on using more hand-cast buckles and true pined rivets, the draw back is sizing, and wear. I use all stainless hardware for my horse gear, because anything i make is used all the time... Her halter is used daily, bridles are used as riding, driving, and work gear. I don't have gear set aside just for treks and such, i use the same bridle to do all out work. In this way I use heavier buckles, and ones that can take all weathers. I really wish i could use more handcrafted buckles that were period looking, without sacrificing the wear and tear abilities :( Maybe when i get my forge going i can play around with making some heavy buckles...
Iodo wrote: EDIT: Have you thought about where in middle earth your dwarven impression is from? because there are cultural differences hinted at in the books, Erebor has always been about stunning design and craftsmanship, where as the Iron Hills are much more about war and defenses, while the level of craftsmanship is still high, there designs would probably have been simpler and with more of a functional utilitarian approach. That's probably just my interpretation but there's quite a lot that can be read into the different cultures of middle earth if you think about how Tolkien intended them to be imagined

my persona has elements of both because Iodo Ionite is intended to have traveled to Erebor with Dain Ironfoot's army to fight in the battle of the five armies, and then stayed in search of riches, adventure and a new life so some of her kit items would have been brought with her (my interpretation of an iron hills belt: https://www.ranger.budgetauthenticity.o ... 5267&hilit)
I have been think along the lines of a Dwarf that fled the misty mountains when Smaug came... Finding work were one could as miner, or smithy...

Lodo, What is WETA? i think i get the meaning to be movie based but not sure im reading it right... I am new to this work of having an idea to work from, normally i just mismatch things to go together...

Peter Remling- i guess when i said pack saddle i ment packing for trailriding on the same horse... So i am making packs for my saddle that i have... But now that you say it as a pack horse saddle i think that a cool pack saddle could be made... oh, boy, the ideas i have now... But maybe in goat size... i have small backpack i put on my goats to go for walks with, and if i go treking i will have to take the milk goats along, maybe they could carry a small pack saddle with their own gear and small portions of food...
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Taylor Steiner
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Re: Dwarven Horse gear

Post by Taylor Steiner »

Amazing!
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Meganbeyer
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Re: Dwarven Horse gear

Post by Meganbeyer »

Here are my ideas for my Saddle...
I ride academic style, currently in a traditional English saddle, though a more Baroque saddle would be nice. I have had a really hard time finding a saddle both Rosie and I fit well in. When i did find a saddle somehow i got one with no rings or dees for attaching packs to... So some thought has been put into making packs that work and way to attach them to the saddle.
My biggest goal is saddle packs that can change with what is needed. if i need lots of gear on the trail or a small pack in the wood lot, or a bag to carry myself on a trip... so hoping to get this all made from one set of packs... this is my saddle normally, i made a sheepskin cover to hide the modernness of my saddle, and to make sure my family understands i don't plan on being normal! (my family and most people of the area are in the grouping of traditional gear and riding methods only... I detest the whole idea of their normal, as being boring.)
Image
So my first step was to get a way to attach packs to the back of the saddle...
Image
Then to make patterns... back and front pack to be made... these are loosely based off of the Scandinavian and German military packs from WW2 and WW1.
These are the patterns for the non- transforation bits
Image
then the bags will be attached... Bags will have a leather back and straps with a canvas bag to go into them... kinda hard to explain, i think i will try to sketch out my ideas for you to follow...
Image

The inter canvas packs will be made out of heavy cotton denium that will be waxed once done. I do understand the Tolkien mention no cotton was to be found, i hate to say that the material is already in hand, and i can not at this time afford to buy a new lot of linen for this project. However as i gain in knowledge and the cotton wears out i will be replacing my cotton things with linen and wool, also any new projects will be linen and wool.

Here is a picture of were my pack ideas are coming from... These are screen shots from Instagram https://www.instagram.com/notlessorequal/
Image ImageImage
Will try to get more up later...
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Peter Remling
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Re: Dwarven Horse gear

Post by Peter Remling »

Years ago I was thinking about writing a fantasy story which would involve a group of light cavalry. They would do a lot of recon work and carried little in the way of armor. Swords, spears some short recurve bows and no remounts. The mission would come first so if your mount was disabled you were left behind to fend for yourself until rescue could be sent back. They were fitted with saddle bags that could be detached, fitted with straps and be used as backpacks.

I think this would work well with your system. Ride Rosie to your camp, dismount put on one of the backpacks and hike in to hunt, fish or forage.
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Iodo
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Re: Dwarven Horse gear

Post by Iodo »

Your saddle bag idea so far looks like it will be awesome :P I can't wait to see more
Meganbeyer wrote: I have been think along the lines of a Dwarf that fled the misty mountains when Smaug came... Finding work were one could as miner, or smithy...
I'm guessing you mean the Lonely mountain, so that would put your persona's time-line before the time The Hobbit was set and as a traveling worker, it sounds like a good base for a really interesting impression and could give you a good reason to have a horse, typically dwarves weren't riders but when forced to adapt to changing situations to survive and earn money I can see it happening
Meganbeyer wrote:Iodo, What is WETA? i think i get the meaning to be movie based but not sure im reading it right... I am new to this work of having an idea to work from, normally i just mismatch things to go together...
WETA is the studio that produced all the design work for The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings movies, they've independently published some (quite expensive) books filled with detailed pictures and information of props and set design that they made for the production
Gimli: It's true you don't see many Dwarf-women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Dwarf-men.
Aragorn: It's the beards.
Meganbeyer
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Re: Dwarven Horse gear

Post by Meganbeyer »

Here is a sketch of my idea on the saddle packs... The Front bags would be able to attach to the back pack and one of the back packs will be able to come off and be used hiking, ect.
Image
Canvas bags will be a burnt orange color. the leather will be dark brown and red brown, and hand stitched with linen thread.
Really debating on adding some simple carvings to the lids or not...
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Iodo
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Re: Dwarven Horse gear

Post by Iodo »

Meganbeyer wrote: Really debating on adding some simple carvings to the lids or not...
I think you should, something very simple, even if it's just a line work edge decoration, can add a lot to the look of something
Gimli: It's true you don't see many Dwarf-women. And in fact, they are so alike in voice and appearance, that they are often mistaken for Dwarf-men.
Aragorn: It's the beards.
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