Studio Update: Another Finished Commission

Hooray! The last commission on my desk (*cough* from October *cough*) is finally finished! 

I buckled down last night and got the breast plate all finished. 

It has two working little slip buckles which take some fiddling, as well as the bottom strap feeding through a d-ring on the girth & sticky-waxing to worry about. It's a little finicky, but the final look is polished and nice. 

I don't usually like taking pictures with flash, but it was late by the time I got everything finished and all tacked up. 

The saddle and breastplate have vine border tooling, and small flowers stamped into all the silver (including on the fronts of the stirrups). 

The bridle is a one ear with beading on the cheekpieces and reins.

I tried something new by using braided string reins instead of the regular leather ones. First, this saves a lot of very tedious lace skiving. Second, it's considerably easier to drape them naturally than it is with the stiff leather. 

Another change I'm happy with is the extra saddle pad design. It was simple and I think it makes everything look more put together. 

Overall very pleased with how this guy turned out! It's been on my desk for so long I think it'll feel weird having it gone. Congrats Linda!