The Rocker:

I had a lot of fun with this as you can tell. I enjoy doing a bit of wood working now and again.. And while not professional or really good.. I think it turned out rather well! Check out the gallery for some pictures of its construction.

The rocker is made of pine, so relatively light for ease in carrying around. It's fairly strong, I've had three people on it at once and had no issues. The rocker is made to come apart quite easily for transporting around.. The top platforms are held in place with dowels and the brass poles provide stability held in with just tension. No screws at all! Nor nails!

 

The Barding:

(Tack, trappings, outfits..)

Originally, I had commissioned BrownLeopard to make a custom saddle, barding, bridle and such for the suit. Things fell through and while he promises to do it still.. Its been a year now and it seems I'm out the money. =( Its a complicated story. Since BL was or has been unable to deliver.. I ventured into the leather working world.

The first hurdle of buying all the tools proved painful, but thanks to Ebay, not so bad. Next I had to learn how to work with the leather and experiment.. Figuring out what I needed.

 

Wait.. Okay, I can look at tack on a horse. Hmm. Okay, a saddle is too difficult to make.. But the straps should be easy enough. Just adapt them to the human body in a fursuit. So, after visiting my friend Ebay once more, I procured a small 12 inch pony saddle. Yes, I know its western and carousel saddles should be English.. But darn it, the smallest English saddle really doesn't fit the human back at all. The western did. (Okay, so it FELT better, too. Creature comforts and all that.)

After much trying things on and testing different strap combinations, I finally came up with a design that works and is fairly practical for running around in and it actually holds the saddle in place. Nice. Time to decorate now!

First thing was to hack the saddle horn off and thread in a dowel to allow for interchangeable poles to be screwed into place. TA-DA, carousel saddle!

Finding a bit proved to be very difficult! With carousels, everything tends to be brass.. So I naturally had to follow.. And finding a brass bit. Wow! I never knew it would be so difficult. I found a Friesian horse dealer who had solid brass bits (and stirrups!) Pricey, but worth it. Its a gorgeous bit! I didn't wear the stirrups at MFF04. Mostly because they were very heavy and I still need to practice getting around with a pole sticking out of my back. I whapped enough walls as it is. Fortunately, not many people. (No, I didn't break the glass in the elevator. ;) )

Bit in place, I designed a bridle to hold it there. You never realize how difficult something can be until you go to do it... A bridle on a horse head is easy. You can tighten the straps down, as they aren't wearing a costume. You can't do this on a fursuit head; it just bunches the fur up and it looks horrible. Not to mention you can't take the head on and off. Hence, the bridles you'll see me wearing are purely decorative for the most part. Only one strap across the snout holds it in place.

 

First Set: Metallic banner and rhinestone gems

This was the first set I designed. It's not my favorite, though some really like it. I just think it doesn't hang well. Designing tack for two poses is troublesome. Something that hangs well when standing on two legs necessarily won't hang well at all when on all fours. It's certainly colorful, and shiny, though! The banners are actually metallic leather, all the fasteners are solid brass. Almost all the gems are plastic. Weight concerns and costs. Glass would cost just an enormous amount. There are, however, cubic zircon gems in featured places. Three 25mm gems on the bridle across the forehead and one 50mm gem for the breast center ring. Wow, shiny!

Second Set: Loop channels and rhinestone gems

I LOVE this set! Oh my goodness! The question, if you know me.. Is how far is too far? Here I thought I had stopped just short of going too far. Surprisingly, I was told it's not even close yet! (Then the question is, can I top it?) This set of barding features a harmony of colors, mostly clear, blue, and amethyst. It sort of has an Egyptian look to it. Hmm. Did the Egyptians have carousels? There are over 800 gems, or shinies on this set of tack. My paws were a bit sore after soldering and ringing everything together! I truly love how it came out. The color scheme, the arrangement and the way the channels hang. When on all fours, the flank strap looks great, and when standing on two legs, it sort of becomes a nice skirt. Very much designed to swing and flow when walking and on the rocker rocking.

Third Set: Sleigh bells

(Will this ever end?)

This is no doubt the noisiest set of tack! I'm sorry there isn't a good picture showing all the bells. I simply had to have a nice set of bells to jingle prance around in..So naturally sleigh bells came to mind. Large, shiny BRASS. Perfect. But holy crap, heavy! 15 sleigh bells in all, numbering from 1 to 15. These are authentic, purchased from a sleighbell maker for horses even. Loud? My my. You'd have to be deaf not to hear me coming. Perfect for Christmas!

 

What's next? Ah, foxes never tell secrets; at least not easily. While MFF is over and done with, I plan on heading to AC05 this up coming year and with luck, will be there with the rocker as well. If you see me, don't be afraid to ask for a ride, or a brass ring.

 

Comments? Questions? Suggestions for the next set? Email me! I'd love to hear from you. fay@rockingfox.net

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