Last day to get your entries in and a lovely video to start your weekend!

Hello!!!!

Well today is the last day to get your entries in a get your hands on one of these lovely star rosettes (they are really lovely) . Currently as I'm sure you can see the chances of you winning a rosette are pretty much guaranteed! :D
In other news though please take a look at this video, its not horses but it is something I love and that's stream trains and railway preservation and I think shire horses and steam trains go together nicely and anything vintage makes me so very happy so the addition of Mini Coopers and Vespas just makes this perfect! Make sure you press the HD symbol bottom right hand corner if it looks a little fuzzy! The Severn Valley Railway does the Italian Job!

New Tutorials coming soon making Clydesdale standards and Neck bands, tail sprigs and all of that!
 

Rosettes!

Class 4. Best Heavy Horse Heinz 57 - Mixed breed

Molly 22months Shire x Irish Drought

Congratulations Molly!! Winner of the Heinz 57 Class!
Thank you for entering, sorry that it wasn't much of a competition for you. Your rosette will be in the post and with you this week!

Lets have a bit of fun - Heavy Horse Online Association show!

I've had so many emails since the tutorials on how to make your own flights were posted from people who don't really have much going on for heavy horses where they live or cannot get to shows so I have been thinking about that and also about how more people can enjoy heavy horses who perhaps do not fit into the breed associations relevant specifications or simply cannot travel because its just far too far or just impossible. Perhaps, like me, your horse is too big for any lorry, perhaps you are only one person and you have seven horses and if one leaves the yard they all have to go or they make a noise that can be heard from the next county or maybe it just costs too much but whatever the reason you can't get out there and show off your horse lets not let it stop us from having some fun or our horses from winning some very beautiful rosettes!

How does an online show work?
It doesn't matter where you are from, everyone can enter this show in some cases even if you don't have a heavy of your own. There are 14 classes, choose one or more that suits you and your horse then send me an email along with a picture to suit that class. You could reuse the same photo for each class you enter if you wanted to as each class is judged by a different judge so will have an equal chance of winning no matter what! There is a fee for each entry. This is £2.50. The reason for the fee is to cover postage and the cost of rosettes. I do not expect to make any profit from this show but should there be any profit it will go to a well respected equine charity and I will put that out to you all to be decided.

This is how it will work:
Email me with the class, your name, your horses name, breed, height and age along with a photo for that class. You will need to send me your PayPal email address at the same time so I can invoice you through PayPal for the number of classes you enter. This is a safe and secure method of payment used world wide and you will only be invoiced for the classes you enter. I will then post your entered picture on the page as soon as the invoice is paid. Your photo will not have your name with it but only that of your horse, their age and breed. All the judges are fair and completely unbiased and not having the owners name will help to make sure everyone is happy that it's the horses that are judged not the handlers. Everyone has as the same chance of winning although not everyone can be a winner but with rosettes to 10th place there's a great chance of receiving a rosette in the post. Once the closing date comes the classes will be judged by the judges and they will send an email to me with the results. I will then post it on the blog this time along with the owners names and the winning pictures. Rosettes will then be posted off to the PayPal registered address of the winner. All those who do not win a rosette will get a free entry into the next show.
There are classes for everyone. This time I've kept to a relatively small number of classes because its the first one but they are broad and even those without heavy horses can join in as well.

ALL PICTURES MUST BE YOUR OWN AND ALL HORSES MUST BE YOUR OWN OR OWNED BY YOUR FAMILY (except class 14) OR ENTERED WITH PERMISSION FROM THE OWNER. ANY ENTRIES FOUND TO BE BREACHING COPYRIGHT OR TAKEN FROM THE INTERNET WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.

Here are the classes for the first Heavy Horse Online Association show!
1. Best Heavy Horse pure breed - Mare
2. Best Heavy Horse pure breed - Stallion
3. Best Heavy Horse Pure Bred - Gelding - classes 1 -3 open to all heavy horses that are of a pure breed e.g Shire, Clydesdale, Percheron, Belgian Draft, Suffolk Punch etc. Good pictures showing conformation.
4. Best Heavy Horse Heinz 57 - Mixed breed - Ideal class if you do know your horse is a cross breed or if you don't know what your horse is but they are definitely a heavy horse!
5. Best Heavy Working horse - A picture of your heavy horse working will be required for this class e,g ploughing, carting, carriage work, logging etc
6. Gone but not forgotten - The class for our dearly departed heavy horses can be black and white photos.
7. Best Heavy Horsenality - Best picture that shows your heavy horses personality, the funnier the better.
8. Best Decorated Heavy Horse - Make those flights and practice plaiting and send in a photo!
9. Best Heavy Horse - Dam with foal at foot.
10. Best Coloured Heavy Horse - Piebalds, Skewbalds, Roans and anything really splashy!
11. Best Action shot - Best heavy horse action shot.
12. Best Model Heavy Horse - Because sometimes the real life version eats too much.
13. Best Artists Impression - Mixed media - May be split into age ranges if we get a lot of entries.
14: Best Riding School Heavy Horse - If you ride a Heavy Horse at a riding school and wish to enter please get permission first from your riding school. Please send us the name of the riding school with your entry too its always good to know there's a hire-able heavy in a riding school nearby!

Entries welcome from anyone world wide, same fee for all, but a PayPal account will be required. This is a fun show and really is completely fair and unbiased. Please cheer each other on and have fun. Any questions please leave a comment or email. To enter please email ladyheidimaria@gmail.com

CLOSING DATE: MIDNIGHT APRIL 25th 2015

Abscesses and poulticing the heavy horse.

I have always found that some horses have more abscesses than others. I had one horse who no matter what I did just seemed to be a bit more prone to them than any of the others, by saying prone what I mean is Samson had about 4 abscesses over 10 years where as most have had 1 max if any so he did seem to get them a lot more than the others. The first time I had an abscess it was difficult, all the books seem to think you know how to poultice and how to bandage, there's talk of poultice boots to be purchased which no heavy could ever possibly fit into with the size of their clod hoppers and vets just seem to think you know what to do. To add to this heavy horses seem slightly different to the instructions to me, they have bigger hooves, bigger abscesses and sometimes they just stay lame for longer so the rules are slightly different for heavies on this one and its never really mentioned so you tend to worry a bit more that things are not going as the book says it should. So maybe this will help other heavy owners.

YOU SHOULD ALWAYS ASK A VET OR FARRIER (OR BOTH) TO ATTEND YOUR HORSE WHEN DEALING WITH LAMENESS OR ABSCESSES. THEIR HELP IS ESSENTIAL WHEN BRINGING YOUR HORSE BACK TO FULL HEALTH.

Signs that your horse has an abscess.

• Intermittent lameness - looking OK and then not looking OK another day.

• Sweating - with lameness, usually, but they don't always sweat.

• Sensitivity to hoof testers - not always does this one work because heavies don't always like to cause a fuss, Samson for example liked to pretend he was fine when hoof testers were used on him.
• Laying down, pained eyes with a bottom lip hanging.

These are the classic tell tale signs in my mind that my horse has a lameness caused by an abscess.

What is an abscess?

An abscess is an infection in the hoof. It is caused by bacteria entering the hoof through the sole which then the body tried to fight with white blood cells creating pus. The hoof capsule cannot expand and the pus puts pressure on the sensitive tissues until the abscess bursts and the pressure is released. Usually the abscess bursts through the sole, which in my mind is the better outcome, but sometimes they burst through the coronary band.

Where is the abscess in the hoof?

To tell this you must look at the walk in the lame leg first, sometimes you can see that they are choosing to take the weight off of the back or front of the hoof, sometimes they are easier up hill which would show its towards the back of the hoof.
Touch is important, feel for heat in the sole and around the hoof wall, this will narrow down the search area.
Hoof testers will pin point the area if your horse reacts to them and flinches to the pain when pressure is applied to the area. Sometimes a similar test is used by knocking gently with the back of the hoof pick on the outside of the hoof wall to see for a reaction. Sometimes they react largely it is a good idea to know your horse well and wear a hat to protect yourself or get a professional ( vet or a farrier) to do this for you if you are unsure.
Your farrier / trimmer should come out and take a look at the foot. I personally always call my farrier first for hoof issues, they have trained in this and they are specialised to hooves, they also know my horses hooves really well because they are regularly trimmed so they know if there is something different or a problem showing. Sometimes if it is near the surface it can be burst and relieve the pressure ready for the application of a poultice to remove any left over pus. Sometimes the abscess is deeper and after initial inspection nothing will be found and your farrier / trimmer may need to return again after poulticing if it is not bursting by itself.

Poulticing.

The rules of poulticing for normal sized horses are to use a hot poultice for up to 3 days by which point the abscess would have burst and then you go on to dry poultices before spraying and plugging daily till healed. Sounds simple but in reality heavy horses have big, hard feet and it takes a while for an abscess to find an outing to burst sometimes. This is an example from my latest abscess with Fred from April (last month), I keep a diary in case I need to tell my Vet or Farrier what I have done during an abscess.

Wednesday - noticed Fred was lame I checked his legs and found no reason for lameness and he had come in from the field the day before fine, running and happy. No sweating. I asked the farrier who happened to be on the yard to check his front hoof. An area of infection was found. The foot was trimmed and the area of infection dug out but no abscess found and he was still lame. I hot poulticed twice once after the farrier left and again at night.
Thursday - Still lame, no sweating - the poultices came off relatively clear no large amounts of pus or infection seen. I poulticed twice once in the morning where he was then turned out into a small area to graze on his own. I poulticed again that night. Morning poultice clear, Fred still lame. Asked the farrier to return the next day.
Friday - Fred still lame, no sweating. Farrier came and looked for infection and followed a track. A small amount of pus but nothing definite and no abscess found. The farrier could not look any further but the area was now clearer to poultice. Hot poultice in the morning and at night.
Saturday - Morning poultice shows sign of pus. Fred still lame but slightly happier in himself. No sweating. Hot poulticed twice again once morning once night.
Sunday - Hot poultice twice again once morning, once night. Still showing pus. Fred still lame.
Monday - Hot poultice twice again once morning once night, showing more pus. Fred beginning to improve.
Tuesday, Fred still lame but the poultice has less pus. Decide to do a hot poultice in the morning and a dry at night to look at the poultice.
Wednesday - Dry poultice comes out looking almost clear. Dry poultice again for the rest of the day to keep the area clean and again at night. Fred looking less lame but still slightly lame.
Thursday - Dry poultice once in the morning and left off at night but sprayed with foot master purple spray to keep the area clean.
Friday - found a rock wedged in the hoof where the abscess was - removed and luckily seems to have caused no damage. Cleaned and sprayed with purple spray once in the morning and once at night. Looking less lame again, still slightly there.
Saturday - cleaning and spraying twice daily. ( would wedge with cotton wool with spray but the holes too wide for wedging.
Sunday - Cleaning and spraying twice daily
Monday - cleaning and spraying twice daily - no signs of lameness.
Tuesday onwards - continue to clean and spray till the hole refills.

In this example of Fred he was lame for a week and a half and I hot poulticed for far longer than 3 days. This isn't suitable for all horses and you must take into account the health of your horses hooves, Fred has incredibly strong hooves so they did not soften at all over these days. I worried at times that it was taking a long time for him to recover from the lameness but I have had horses lame for around 2 weeks before with an abscess but if you are worried you should call a vet. Sometimes the poultice didn't stay on overnight, sometimes your horse will purposely pull them off with his teeth, its very difficult to get them to stay on for the required time and when they get them off they then step in muck and you worry about infection but as long as it stays on a while it has done its job. Poultices should be changed at least twice a day if its on for longer than 12 hours it could cause infection rather than clear one. This example above was around 3 weeks ago now, I am still cleaning and spraying daily and will do till the sole has healed and filled in the left over hole.
I personally do not like to Bute or give painkillers to my horses when they have an abscess because I feel the pain stops them from doing anything stupid which could lead to more harm being done and further bruising. I also do not give my horses antibiotics with them if they are straight forward abscesses and my horse has no underlying issues because antibiotics can make an abscess heal over and then they come back a few days / weeks later, to me it is better to let them drain first, this being said sometimes once drained or being drained your horse may need antibiotics if it is in an odd place, has developed an infection or if the abscess has gone up into the foot or your horse has developed a pedal bone infection. This is how I feel personally, your horse is your horse, always do what you feel is best and always ask a vet or farrier for advice if you are concerned and be prepared to change to the circumstances every day when your horse is lame.

Applying a poultice.

For this you need:
A poultice, a shop brought one either hoof shaped or the sheet type.
Hot water, very hot but you can put your hand it in and it come out steaming. You dont want to burn your hands or horse but its pointless if its luke warm.
A self adhesive crepe bandage (any colour you want, all look fabulous but you wont see much of it unfortunately.
Duct tape. (good duct tape, it sticks better!)
Patience of a saint and the strength of Thor.

If you are using the sheet type of poultice I cut this into 3 along the fold lines from it being packaged. You don't need the whole sheet at once. If you are using the hoof shaped ones I sometimes cut these in half but most of the time they are tiny, I'm not actually sure what kind of horse has a hoof that small but they are good for sticking down the side of the frog and generally whole cover an abcess area well.

Put the poultice into the hot water.
Pick out the foot well and scrub with clean hot water (dont contaminate the water the poultice is in) and a hoof brush so the foot is clean.
Gently press excess water from the poultice whilst still holding up the hoof. Do this quickly so the poultice is still hot. Press into the area of the abscess if you know where the abscess is or cover the whole hoof area until you do know (this is when a sheet poultice is better).
Use the crepe bandage to go around and under the hoof, keeping the poultice in place. Make sure the bottom and up the hoof wall are covered, you will need the whole crepe bandage.
Still keeping the foot up, cover the bottom of the hoof with strips of duct tape, rip it as you go leaving good tails going up the hoof wall either side, make sure you cant see any bandage on the bottom.
You can now put the hoof down. Go around the outside of the hoof wall with the duct tape covering all the tails. Make sure you go high but not above the hair line (and hopefully without catching any hair in the bandage or duct tape) and not too tight but sticking well. Make sure the back is covered around the bulbs or it will slip off like a slipper.
Lift up the hoof again do three strips covering the toe from bulb to toe. This is reinforcement. Then two pieces in a cross. This stops the strips separating. Then put the hoof down and go round the tails from these extra strips and there you are done.
Your hope is that you can keep it on till you replace it, but the likelihood is that it wont and sometimes that's a good thing because they take a lot of effort to pull of. Your main hope is for the poultice to stay on till it gets cold. Then it would have done its job and drawn out anything it can. You'll have to do this at least twice a day for a few days. Don't worry if it does pull off or wear through, no matter how clean your stable is they will guaranteed step in muck once it comes off and worry you that they will get an infection. Just replace it at least twice a day and do not keep it on for longer than said on the packet. Remember if your not sure whether to finish try a dry poultice and see what you get. Always ask for veterinary or farrier attention if you are worried but it will get sorted!

• You may be worried it will be slippery with the duct tape boot. I did too at first but they are lame so not running around and in a clean stable also it will wear through as they move around and most of the time they will lay down. I've also had rubber matting whilst doing this and I have never had a problem but always assess according to your horse.

• It is almost guaranteed that an abscess will appear on a public holiday or a Sunday when the shops are closed. Always have a stock of poultices, crepe bandages and duct tape in your first aid kit. They last as long as you have them so always worth having ready and you will be so glad you were prepared.

I will add a video or step by step pictures the next time I have an abscess and someone else with me to take the photos!

The end result.

Further reading and advice on abscesses:

http://www.horsetrust.org.uk/grants/advice-centre/f/foot-abscesses/

http://www.horsechannel.com/horse-health/horse-hoof-abscess-17265.aspx

Making Shire horse flights Part 3 -The Shire mane roll.

Sorry for the delay in posting this part and I know a few people are waiting for this one to get ready for the upcoming showing season! The mane roll is probably the most simple part so don't fret this wont take you long at all!

The shire mane roll is made from wool but also sometimes using raffia and ribbon but I will do a tutorial about how to make a raffia and ribbon one for Clydesdales later. The wool mane roll is perfect for beginners at plaiting because there's less to cover and hide and simply less things to do at once. I also believe looks nicer because the ribbon and raffia ones look tattier quicker get dirtier and fray. I also like how the wool looks vibrant but that's just what I think its completely up to you! Also a massive plus for me is that you can wash a wool mane roll easily!

To start you will need:

• 3 balls of wool in your chosen colours i.e to match your flights for my example I will be using Orange, Green and Yellow because these are my Orins colours and are the 3 colours in his flights. Most of the time there are only 2 colours in the mane roll for example on the flights made in the example the mane roll was Blue Orange Blue with both blues being the same colour. I recommend acrylic wool because its easy to wash and wont shrink and also because its quite strong and the balls are usually the most easy to match colour wise with ribbon and the cheapest around £1.30 a ball online or in your local wool shop.
• A fabric tape measure.
• 2 high back chairs (although alternatives can be found I find two chairs the easiest option)
• A pair of scissors.

To start take your 2 chairs and face them with the backs towards each other. Imagine a figure of 8 around the chair backs, this will be the pattern used to measure out the wool needed to make your mane roll. Taking the tape measure loop it around the back of the chair (see picture). The mane roll needs to be around 80" long so where the wool will cross needs to be at around 40" it doesn't have to be perfect but around 40" this is the average size suitable for most shires but if your shire has different needs e.g  for a longer neck the length can be increased or also decreased to make it perfect for your shire.

Wrap your first coloured wool around the chair backs in the figure of 8 knotting the first round together at one corner. I like to use the right front corner but any is fine. Leave a tail on the knot so that if you run out of wool or are using end of balls you can just tie on another ball and also so that you can finish off at the end. Do not bow your corner knot because it will come undone once you start going around with your wool. The wool needs to be comfortably around the chair backs, not loose but not stretched so that you will have a true length of wool.
 

In your figure of 8 go around the chair with your wool 80 times. It sounds like a lot but once you get a rhythm going you will be done in no time! This is to get a good thickness. It will look something like this!

Cut three lengths of the same coloured wool around 8" long. Tie the wool together on the 3 corners except the corner you joined your yarn together on. Tie by wrapping and knotting till you run out of your length of yarn like below. Cut the tails.

Once the other three corners are tied, cut one more piece of 8" wool in the same colour and have it easily to hand. On the corner where you joined your yarn cut through all the strands of wool. Hold on to the lengths together on the short side of the figure of 8 (against the chair back not the diagonal) and then using the spare length of yarn tie these ends simply together at around an inch from the end. Untangle the diagonals where they crossed by gently pulling the strands through. Your first length of mane roll is done. Repeat these steps twice more with your other two chosen colours.

Once you have three wool skeins knot them together where you knotted the individual skeins. I chose to do this with the green wool. Then knot again around an inch to 2 inches from this top knot. Make sure these knots are tight and repeated a couple of times to keep the skeins together well.

At this point I suggest to plait your mane roll together. It makes it far more manageable when finishing it off and also this is a good way to store your mane roll and wash it if you decide to put it in the washing machine or hand wash and saves a lot of hassle!

This last bit is more individual. You can do a range of knots to finish of and properly tie together your mane roll and to make the part which sticks up above the forelock. There are a few different ways that people do it. some just wrap wool around it till it is covered some use ribbon. I use the same knot as for the Jug handle the 'square knot' or sometimes I weave a basket knot around it to make it look more interesting. Because you would have already done the knot for the jug handle if you're making your own flight set I will use that here. its effective but it does take around an hour to do this part and is the longest bit of the mane roll in my mind. To see the instructions for the square knot please look at the tutorial for the Jug Handle.
Knot the ends of the two wools you wish to use. I am using the green and the orange. Don't cut lengths from the balls but knot with the remainder of the balls attached this way you cant run out of wool before you have finished your knotting. Start at the first knot and continue down to the second knot you made to tie the skeins together. I used the Orange to be the L cross over yarn and the green to go over, under and through. Pull tight to make it look uniform but not to tight to break the wool. It will look something like this when you are half way. Keep going till your get to the second tie. When done trim the sticky up bits to equal length, they still need to stick up like in the picture below but all the same length looks neater.

The end result will look like this mane roll on the left. If you do a basket weave knot it could look the one below. Have fun, experiment and try and be that little bit individual. Its always great to see something new at the shows!

 Any questions just leave a comment or feel free to email me at ladyheidimaria@gmail.com

Coming next: Making Shire Flights 4:The neck strap, tail sprigs and ribbon.

Making Shire horse flights Part 2 - The jug handle

The Jug handle is really quite simple. It looks far more complicated than it is. You could make a jug handle from ribbon, wool, rubber thong or anything really if it was flexible, the imagination to create something handle shaped is all you really need. Commercially made jug handles for flight sets are made with Rexlace and are knotted like this one below.

Jug handle.

This Rexlace made jug handle is the kind of jug handle I will show you how to make for yourself for this article.

List of items needed:

• Rexlace in 2 colours for a two toned jug handle (around £5 for a spool of 100yds) you will need at least 7 times the chosen length for your jug handle.
• Spare length of disused electrical lead (ie off an old broken appliance) around
• Electrical tape in a chosen colour.
• A horseshoe nail.
• Shoe lace or length of ribbon.
• scissors.
• tape or clamp.
• length of ribbon or raffia.

 First tie a knot in the ends of the 2 pieces of rexlace Place in the middle the length of electrical lead and clamp or stick to the table. Here I used a knitting machine clamp but duct tape would work, just something to keep it in the same place.

To start the 'square knot' you need to first decide which colour you want down the middle on the outside of your jug handle. In this case we are using blue down the centre and orange on the outside. Put one colour on each side, it doesn't matter which side is which colour. Fold your centre colour over the cable in an 'L' shape (when on the other side will be a reversed 'L' shape but either way it folds over the cable). Put the outside colour (orange) over the tail of the centre colour as in the above picture.

Put the outside colour under the cable and then through the loop from the 'L' as above.

 Pull tight so it looks like above. You need the Rexlace to lay flat so you may need to adjust until it is laying correctly, this way it will look right and overlap well down the cable.

 Do the same again as in the first 4 steps starting with the centre colour this time in a reversed 'L' shape (or if you started this side an 'L' shape) put the outside colour over the tail under the cable and through the loop. No matter what side you are on you continue in this way all the way down using the same steps. Remember to lay the Rexlace flat by untwisting and adjusting every knot all the way down and to keep tightening, not so you stretch the Rexlace but just so it is tight.

 After the 2nd knot.

 Still going with the same knot!

 When you have reached long enough for your desired size of jug handle (bend it to the right shape occasionally and see if its about right, there's no specified size but they are always smaller than you think, really massive ones wouldn't stay in the tail bun and would be too heavy). When you reach the desired length just tie to two ends together around the back. This will be where you place your nail so make it nice and tight. No one will see this area so it doesn't need to look perfect but just be neat so it doesn't cause a bulge.

 Get together your electrical tape, scissors, farrier shoe nail and your length of square knotted cable.

 Cut the rexlace from the reels leave a small tail. In the knot which will look something like above put your nail behind it so it looks like the picture below. It should stay in place nicely.

 From here on in I have no photos, its impossible to tape and take photos! First start with your tape around the nail and knot then put the two ends together and tape around both ends.It will looks a bit like below, it will look a little scraggy at this time!

Pull the tape off about 2 inches but still on the roll and pierce with the nail. go around the middle. secure and cut tape then go around the ends again as before so it should look like this now. You may need to fiddle with your knots so they line up instead of being all over the place and push your jug hand into a jug handle shape!

 To finish put a long boot lace through the middle of the jug handle so one end is on each side. Tape this down . Cover your taped area with a length or two of raffia, knotting occasionally so it is securely in place and crossing over the middle in a figure of 8. This not only covers the tape but secures the boot lace. I forgot to take a picture of the Royal and Orange one finished and sent it away before I remembered. Here is a picture though of a Blue and green one finished as an example.

Sorry for the delay in this post, it was due to be online last month but with a change of house and lack of internet everything has slowed down somewhat. I hope this series is of help to those out there who want to give it a go to try making their own flight set.

Coming soon in this series:

Part 3: Flights: The Shire mane roll.

Part 4: Flights: The Shire set extras, tail sprigs and ribbons.

Also to follow How to make Clydesdale standards and a series on plaiting!

Making a Shire horse flight set Part 1 - The flights

Making flights is a simple and fairly cheap thing to do, although easily available to be purchased ready-made online, these traditional decorations were originally made by the heavy horse owner so it seems obvious that they are quite easy to make yourself. With relatively few tools and only a few simple techniques you can make your own flights and be ready for show season! These flights (sometimes called 'flags') pictured here are the traditional Shire flights. Originally they were kept to the primary colours and white probably because these were the most available at the time but times have changed and you see all sorts of colours in the show ring now - even pink! There are over 30 plain shades available in grosgrain ribbon as well as prints, so you can be really imaginative and individual if you wish to be or you can stick with tradition.
Flights with with side ways bows or plumes are called 'standards'. These are made for the Clydesdale traditionally and other heavy horse breeds and you will be able to find the tutorial on making these in the topic list on the right hand side in the page along with plaiting guides for your particular breed (coming soon)!

You Will need:

• Grosgrain ribbon - In the above pictures the Emerald green and Royal blue uses 25mm wide ribbon and the Royal blue and Bright orange uses 25mm blue and 15mm orange. Grosgrain ribbon is strong and will hold itself up. Its a woven ribbon with a good sheen and is available for around £4 - £6 for a 25m reel (which is by far enough for around 2 sets of flights and neck bands)

• Medium thickness garden wire. (not heavy duty or you wont be able to bend it by hand once twisted)
• Pliers
• scissors
• Thread and needle - Thread matching to the ribbon colour you are using in the centre of your flight.
• a pin
• sewing machine (this is optional and can be hand stitched, or not stitched at all, for the tulip shaped flights)

All bits and bobs assembled in the same place.

Here is a photographic guide to making your own Shire horse flights in both styles, first the more open type of flight:

 

 Firstly cut 2 pieces of ribbon one in each colour. These can be however long you want your flights but for people who need a measurement around 18cm long. Grosgrain has clear woven lines so it is easy to cut in a straight line.

Fold the ribbon in half and cut around 5mm on the folded side to the top corners to make a V shape in both ends of both pieces of ribbon. Make sure you cut all at the same angle by cutting the same distance from the top every time so all flights match. This is easier than it sounds once you get started!

 You will end up with something like this!

 Fold your pieces of ribbon in half points matching so the centre ribbon is on the outside here my centre ribbon will be the purple (which looks like blue!) and my outside spikes will be green. Lay on a flat surface to make the next part easier.

Spread whilst on the table the inside colour (green here) one half to each side. Once you are happy with how they look put a pin in the bottom of the flight near the fold as shown here. The outer petals spread more once you insert the wire so a little closer than you would like as the final flight would be perfect.

Stitch together both halves of the middle ribbon (purple here), about 1cm from the inwards point. As left picture above. To stitch I use double thread (matching to the ribbon colour, here shown lighter so it was able to be seen better in the photographs) knot your thread at the end. Enter from the middle of the 2 halves of the ribbon so the knot is sandwiched between and not seen on the outside. Stitch 3 neat stitches through both halves and then put the needle through one side towards the middle and knot off around the stitches so the final knot cannot be seen from the outside.

Once you have done the middle ribbon, stitch through the middle ribbon at each side (see middle picture) catching your outer spikes in the middle. You may need to do a little moving before you stitch to get both sides matching and as you would like them to sit. Stitch in the same way as you did the middle ribbon going through all three pieces of ribbon. Once this is done you can remove the pin!

Cut a piece of wire around 55cm long or however long you would like.

Fold your ribbon from one side at the bottom and turn it out so your outer spike coloured ribbon now sits across your middle coloured ribbon. Like the picture below

 Fold your wire in half.

 Insert one leg of your wire on each side. Inside your fold so that you are on the open side of the fold-over like above.

 Pull down and arrange your flight so it sits nicely.

Use your pliers, whilst holding your flight in place, and twist the wire so it is secure. Continue to twist to the end of the wire.

And there you have it one flight. To make a full set make 15 in total. This is the number in an in hand set, you need 9 for a harness set but its a good idea to make a full set so you have spares should any get dirty. Its unlikely you will use them all at any one time unless you space them very close together.

How to make the second type of flight - the tulip shape:

Firstly cut two pieces of ribbon one 25mm (here royal blue) and one 15mm wide (here orange). The 15mm should be 2cm shorter than the 25mm ribbon. This thinner ribbon will be your centre ribbon.

Cut the ends as with the other type of flight by folding and cutting around 5mm away from the end of the ribbon on the folded side to the top corners forming inward points. Take care to make these the same angle of both pieces of ribbon.

 By eye, place the centre ribbon on top of the base ribbon with points equally spaced from each other at both sides and the end inwards points down the middle of the ribbon matching on the centre line. Pin together the ribbons.

At this point I like to seam down the middle with my sewing machine but if you do not have one you do not need to do this part. I like to because it keeps the ribbon more closely together from the sides but you can skip this part and still have a great looking tulip flight.

The seam foot fits perfectly on my sewing machine so it is easy to do a quick seam in a matching thread. Sew a straight line without reversing at either end. Pull through the front thread to the back using a pin and tie at the back, these knots will not be seen on the front of the flight, cut the tails.

Fold the two ribbons in half with points matching.

Stitch at about 1cm on the centre line from the inward point of the centre ribbon.

Cut your wire as before to around 55cm or however long you want and fold in half. Insert in the fold of the ribbon.

Using matching thread or crochet cotton if you prefer (its slightly stronger but thread would also do fine if its of a good quality) Tie around the base just above the wire. 

1

2

3

 Loop one tail of your knot and then wrap the cotton around the base till tight then insert your end through the loop and pull down, tie ends then cut tails.

4

 Twist the wire with your pliers to secure the flight in place, not ruining the look of the ribbons, but so it doesn't flop over. Twist the wire to the bottom of the cut ends.

Make 15 in total as before for a full set. 

Coming soon in this series:

Part 2: The Shire mane roll

Part 3: The jug handle

Also to follow How to make Clydesdale standards and a series on plaiting!