Wednesday, October 15, 2008

TOUR OF THE MUSEUM Part 8 Show Farm Bridle

Every year the Royal Dublin Society host the National Craft Competition with the winners invited to display their work at the Dublin Horse Show. This stylish bridle was made by the museum's curator Rob Steinke for the 1997 competition and exhibited at that years show.It was made to fit a Clydesdale work horse and was cut, prepared and stitched entirely by hand. Note the rolled throat lash, the intricate fancy stitching on the head piece and the swelled cheekpieces. The head and browband have been lined in red patent leather and holes punched into the black leather to show the red underneath. The browband is made up with approx 40 individual brass clincher pieces and the rosettes are of the old styled beehive design.
The picture also shows some of the tools used to make this bridle, many of which are 100 years old.

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