Why do I have rider dolls

I got this idea to my head when I read the Braymere Custom Saddlery blog just to use some time. I have read those same posts so many times before, but it didn't matter, they are too good to skip. This time the thing were dolls and how to use them, and why they make everything better.

Offhand, one of my best dolls, on Lacey.

It is very true: dolls make everything better, and everyone needs some. Most people who talk about dolls in the hobby are those who also do performance showing, which kind of explains most of it. It also is why so many dolls there are customized to ride better and have more fitting clothes. The Breyer factory dolls are a bit weird and don't really complement those top level art horses. 

While I read those posts and agreed to what was said, I remembered what happened when I got my first Breyer dolls: the whole modelverse scene thing exploded, it came to life! I remember the feeling when I had none and felt like I needed at least something that could use the tack I had just started to make for my horses. I could even call it desperation. So, when the two guys came, I didn't bother to even resculpt their heads before I tested how they could ride. I removed their clothes and tested how far all the joints bent, put them on everything's back. I (and my brother) bent them to stupid poses just for the amusement of it. Then I put their clothes back on and took some scene photos. It was the magic. 

These photos also show some of my oldest traditional tack. It was made from jewellery materials.

I want to mention one thing. Since I never thought I could have more dolls than those two rat guys, I wanted them to have moving eyes. That meant I painted some oversized beads and never glued them to place. The pupils got painted around the hole in the bead, so I was able to move them easily by tucking a wire or a pin into it.

Asko on the left, Omar on the right. These guys got new versions around 2019.

So, to deliver the message and main point of this post, I can just say I couldn't enjoy my horses as much if I did't have dolls. Those first ones were only customized from their heads, and otherwise they were those cringey factory dolls, but that didn't matter. I still enjoyed the fact that I now had something to use as horseowners and riders. 

That was it until late 2016. I had considered about buying more dolls for customizing, but unfortunately they could cost a lot and I couldn't be sure what I wanted the most and if I even could succeed with the resculptings and hairings, let alone give them tails (I prefer animal dolls over humans). That is why I tested if I can make a doll entirely by myself, using wire and clay. I hated the fact that I had to use wire and leave it visible for joints (and necks), but compromises are like that. It's a bit similar to how I designed the "mouthpieced" functioning bits I now can't live without (unless it's a hackamore, haha). It may not look the best but the function is what matters the most, so it will stay.

This was the second homemade doll. The first one didn't get many progress photos, I think.

I was surprised by how easy it actually was, or at least felt. But first attempts are often like that... The next ones weren't so good, though some were nicer than others. I used silk clay and foam clay, and then leather or some fabric for paws and tails (depending from the animal species). Eyes were beads which I glued to place and painted. 

My dolls are still ugly and anatomically stupid, but they can ride. 

Little Damage the domestic rat dude, and Maksi.

And I never wanted them to ride naked! I want clothes for them, and I wonder if there could be a technique to craft them boots without gluing them permamently on... But because I am incredibly dumb with especially textiles and can't sew, I haven't tried after a few fails (the first dolls got some really poor garments on, then I gave up). I tried to design trousers very recently, using a Breyer doll as a victim, and eventually came to the conclusion that I just can't process how that is done. Cloth designers are wizards, I guess. So Kave is a wizard then, since she sewed up some pants for one of my dolls and they seem perfect and comfy. 

One thing I need dolls for are definitely scenes. I like to study balance points and dynamics with them, as absurd as it may sound. (I have also studied bit functions with my moving bits; not that they could be totally accurate.) And, I can think about scenes and photos which could make zero sense if there was no doll, like those where the rider falls off. Their hands and legs play a big role for sure. So do their facial expressions.

Offhand and his twin sister Grievous.

I also like to cook up horse and rider pairs especially because of the variety in (my) dolls. Is the rider anatomically able to ride well? What sized horses do they require? Is that one an adult pony rider? Weirdly enough, I've found out that especially one of my dolls is a total western rider. I just can't make him look believable if he tries to do English, even if everything was as good as required. He just doesn't look natural if he doesn't hold reins in just one hand, for example. 

Anelma is way too small for her horse... But I bought the horse because he matched to one I saw in a dream, and Anelma should represent his owner who also appeared in it. I never wanted to make her so short, but things happen.

Sometimes I sculpt a doll with the idea that it does not NEED to be a good rider, or anatomically as symmetric as possible. It may sound dumb, but sometimes I need to allow that kind of mess for myself. I'm not able to make them symmetric enough anyway even if I tried my best, so most of my dolls don't know how to ride in full balance (if that makes any sense). And of course it goes so that when I don't care to make the doll perfectly, it rides better than I wanted it to. Meanwhile I made one as a dressage rider, and he is anatomically so bad that he should rather THINK he knows how to ride, since he is physically so bad. 

Kammo, the "professional" dressage rider in question. His facial expression is just as toxic as his personality.

I haven't made new dolls in a couple years now. That is because I want to stop using the wire only, and could test some ball joints and related, to see if it could work and possibly give them a longer life. They could also make it easier to change clothes between dolls, or dress and undress them in general. Ball joints I have thought to make by gluing a bead to a wire. Clay could do the rest, and some plastic film. I have yet to test that, of course, and I do not expect it to go well, honestly. 

I do not show, so that is not my motive for anything. I just happen to be obsessed with many things seen in this hobby, and that includes the fact that I like to cook up scenes and moments in time. These scenes then form stories. Of course, if I only wanted stories, I could just write and maybe draw. That just is not enough to me, so I use miniatures to get a step closer to knowing how things could and should really be. (As I said, I have studied tack functions and balance and all with these things. I could know nothing about saddle anatomy and fitting neither if I didn't start to make some.) 

Valtti the housecat and Roope.

I simply want to have dolls for the sake of them being dolls. They are characters, and they do so much.

Why is my modelverse in traditional scale?

In my case, the whole craze for a modelverse, alias worldbuilding and scene making by using miniatures, started from Schleichs. I started everything by customizing them and assembling riding scenes, which I then took photos of. That was a thing until 2013 or 2014. 

I have tried many many times, and can't add more photos, so let's have this only one then.

That, exactly the Yule 2013, was when I got my first 1:9 scale rider dolls, two Breyer men. In the early 2014 I customized their heads, so they no longer were humans.

There was a time when I thought I will remain as a Schleich collector for... Forever? I wanted to specialize in them, making worlds for them. I wanted those worlds to be the kind I see for them in my head. I can genuinely say that my stuff is something I have never seen in anyone else's Schleich worlds to happen.

I knew about Breyers' existence already around the early or mid 2000's. That was when I saw them in Lahjakas, a webstore which currently specializes in animal figures. I tried hard to not get interested about Breyers, because it could have meant that I have to start a new collection, a new world from nothing. And of course I regret that a little, as I now windowshop those exact models I saw in Lahjakas ages ago from American online thrift stores. And by starting from nothing I of course mean starting a new modelverse from nothing, into a whole new scale and with new resources. At those times my Schleich collection was already rather large, and I had some tack and props for them, so it felt easier to stay at them and develop that modelverse further.

Well, as I mentioned, in 2013 I got those Breyer guys and didn't even manage to customize them before scenes already happened. I hadn't even managed to show a knife for those doll heads when I already had fun with them. I put them to ride my three traditional scale horses which I had at the time, of course. Only one of them was a Breyer. The other two were a Blue Box QH and a flocked horse. Occasionally the boys also tested riding classics (which Grand Champions and related are, to me, despite how much bigger they are when compared to Breyer classics). That looked unbalanced, so didn't happen much, I think.

There was no quality, and everything was rather rough and ancient, but still, it was totally different from what it is when I assemble scenes from Schleichs. And here we get to the whole point of this article. 

The exact reason why I prefer traditionals is because it's bigger, more detailed and more practical than little bit. Tack is easier and nicer to make. Its own aspect is of course the fact that horses by Breyer are more or less realistic no matter the scale. Plus, they come with more variety in positions, breeds, facial expressions and in just everything, when compared with Schleichs.

If a reader knows me as a collector, it should come as no surprise that I stopped collecting Schleichs years and years ago due to that worsened sculpting style. It alone does not explain why I switched to a bigger scale, but it has a part in it.

First, Schleichs have been released in a narrower selection of molds and colors than Breyers. Every "stable" has the same horses, and of course the usual unrealistic things like przewalskis or zebras (and in my schleichverse's case, fantasy equines...). I have come to a conclusion that I simply "burned out" seeing the same things repeating in every single Schleich stable I stumbled upon online. In other words, I lost interest towards reading Schleich stable blogs since story plots were too predictable. Also the humans and horses were never individuals. Meanwhile I also hated the fact that by that my own horses weren't unique neither. The only unique individuals were (are) customs. And I have a large herd of them - but I haven't seen customs in any of those story blogs I browsed... So that's it then.

So, buying Schleichs was no longer interesting. New horses didn't give me the joy and excitement they used to give, and eventually I bought them only for customizing and as something to compare customs with.

Same cannot be said about Breyers. With them I have the exact same craze and excitement which I used to have with Schleichs. This is why I windowshop Breyers for example form MHSP. I mostly hit my eyes at bodies, because I am a customizer.

One human simply cannot own a herd similar to someone else's. It's impossible even if two people had equally large collections, same molds and same eras - no, these have been produced for so long in so many molds, colors, editions and eras that it simply is impossible that someone could have all what you have. And this is why I like these and the modelverses people have in (especially) traditional scale. There is more variety in the horses. Also especially Americans customize and repaint way more than for example Finns do, and there's nothing weird or special in it.

One more reason for why I like the bigger scale is... Well... How should I say it? The fact that I get closer to it? Yes, when my horses, the tack and the riders are bigger, I see them better. I could say, I get closer to that world when so. I can get into that world much better than what I could get with Schleichs. Larger horses don't limit as much, and I also am able to see these literally from their level. Also photographing is way easier when I don't have to abuse my camera by forcing it to focus on microscopit details. (Though, my DSLR is already so old and used that he is often not into the traditionals neither.)

Since I am on the neuro spectrum (autistic), I am able to "dive into my mind" deeply and forget the rest of the world when so. That happens for example in the shower or in toilet. Years ago I liked to do this during long bus trips. Digging brains for fun is almost the best thing ever - but if I get that rich story stuff or thoughts out into a concrete form... That is the best. This is why I photograph each setup alias photo stack, alias scene. I want them to be preserved. So, only hallucinating is not enough, and I want that hallucination to be seeable also later.

It doesn't end there, into the picture level. I also like to write something about these scenes, and have a whole own text file for it. I write everything up to the degree that there has to be the photography date; usually it also becomes the date the scene happened story-wise. The photos get sorted and archived by a rider doll's name and each folder also will get numbered. That way I can see who has ridden how much and which horses. Keeping record of everything possible is nice.

So, I said what I was meaning to. What else? Hmmm, questions for the readers...

Are there any Schleich stables anymore, or did it die off when blog culture died off? Or did the phenomenon simply move somewhere else where I am not (like Instagram)? Do any Finns (else than I and Kave) hobby this kind of miniature worlds and stories based on them, by using Breyer traditionals? And since this is an international blog - if any reader has a modelverse, let me know!

How I make a traditional scale halter

Years ago, I wrote and posted a halter tutorial into my oldest blog, The Tuherrus. Unfortunately that tutorial is no longer current, let alone useable. I give you a new one. In this I simply show you how I make an average warmblood halter in the style and progress I have at the moment. It can, and actually will, change over time.  

1. noseband, 2. chin piece, 3. cheekpiece, 4. connector, 5. throatlatch, 6. buckle piece, and 7. crownstrap.

Materials:
- 3 mm wide satin ribbon and 3 mm wide leather lace
- metal wire in thicknesses 0.4 mm, 0.7 mm, 0.8 mm and/or 0.9 mm (0.4 mm + one of the rest)
- a tube of contact glue which is suitable for stretchy/bendy materials (NO HOT GLUE GUN)
- roughly 9 mm wide strip of thin leather for paddings (optional)

Tools:
- a cutting mat with centimetre grit
- a craft knife
- two pairs of needlenose pliers (preferably small)
- large and small sidecutters
- round jewellery pliers
- a tool to spread glue with
- thin working gloves
- a filter mask + safety glasses (goggles)

Also a mechanical pencil with straight metal tip in size 0.3 mm or 0.5 mm, no lead inside.

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START WITH METAL PARTS

I make all my metal parts myself, and yes, I use all the thicknesses I listed in the wire part. You can survive by using only 0.4 mm wire and one of the thicker ones listed. I use 0.8 mm because it's what the gold color was available as, while silver is easier to find in various thicknesses. I prefer the 0.9 mm for the front rings and rope ring, then 0.7 mm for the hind rings, hooks and some buckles as the other two could be too thin and too thick for these. After making so many halters for so long, I really don't recommend using only one thickness of wire.

Making and cutting metal parts is when I usually wear gloves and safety glasses.

So, when I make all parts from the very beginning, I start with metal parts. Jumprings are the simplest to make, and to these I use two kinds of round jewellery pliers. The longer ones have wider roots, which I use for the front rings and rope ring. The narrower pliers serve for the hind rings. 

Round pliers with thicker roots.

Round pliers with narrower roots.

I use needlenose pliers to flatten the seam side a little, so that it has width just enough for a 3 mm lace/ribbon.  I don't try to turn it into a D-ring.

Flattening the seam side for a 3 mm ribbon.

Hind rings on the left, front rings on the right.

Next I make a buckle in the shape of figure eight. For this I use the narrower round pliers, and bend the wire in the spot between midline and root. After the first loop, I turn the wire and bend the other loop similarly, but also so that the wire ends will not reach each other; it now should have some kind of middle bar. 

The buckle will need some flattening: 

I flatten the figure eight's middle bar and hope it's enough for a roughly 3 mm wide to go around. I can also tweak the wire ends so that they're apart enough from each other. 

Then I determine which is the smaller loop, and place the eight into the needlenose's wide part so that I see about half of the bigger loop. I bend it upwards with another pair of pliers (this is why you need to hoard these). Now the buckle has a noticeable keeper loop!

I can also make square buckles, which do or don't have a keeper in them. The ones with keeper are surprisingly difficult to make nicely, let alone serially, so I don't even try to show how that works. But the square buckles whose keeper is separate (leather loop or D-ring) are very simple to make once you know how to. It is doable with the usual needlenose pliers everyone has, but I got actual square pliers with marked sizes for this. It clearly is not the most common kind of tool because people confuse it to the needlenoses, which it definitely is not. Needlenoses are not square; you can make some type of D-ring with it, which probably gives a bit of perspective. With the actual square pliers I can bend the "ring" in one go, though the ring also requires some careful trimming before it can be put into use. But that is normal.

I need some thin parts, so I take the 0.4 mm wire and do a tiny loop. This time it has to be as small as possible - this will go into the buckle.  I use small sidecutters to clip some of the loop off so it can sit more snugly once in place. 

Now, I take this thin "hook loop" and place it so that the open slot is facing out of the buckle's bent part, and press it shut carefully. Now the buckle has a tongue.

Then I take the longer round pliers and 0.7 mm or 0.8 mm wire to make throatlatch hooks. First I make a loop which I then bend backwards to even it out...

...and then I use the pliers' square part to bend a corner there. This is where I clip it - I repeat this a few times, and will have several "hooks" in equal length! (I like to make things in batches also because the loop sizes can vary. When I have a bunch, I can just pick the most matchy ones as a pair.) I use another round pliers' square part to pinch and then snap off the sharp point of each hook. 

My pliers actually have a worn out/dyed part in them which is where I bend the loops. It's about 1/3 of the plier jaws' length.

The rope ring needs a small part, so I make a random tiny ring from the 0.4 mm wire. Then I use the flat needlenose pliers to flatten the seam, so now it is a D-ring. I bend the round ring open, put the tiny D in it and close it again. 

LEATHER AND RIBBON

For leathers and ribbons, alias strap material, I use anything which is thin enough and preferably could also be smooth. Some leathers may be softer and less stiff than satin ribbon, and will also be "trainable to shape" over time. I will have and/or cut 3 mm wide strips of the choosed material. To cut leather for this, I use a craft knife and a lot of handpower (because I use my blades even when they're dull, to spare them). 

To start, I cut three 6 cm long pieces and two 4 cm long pieces from satin ribbon. (Note: some horses will need shorter or longer halter parts, so sometimes the 6 cm becomes 5.5 cm and 4 cm becomes 4.5 cm.)

Then I cut one 3 cm long piece, one 3.5 cm long piece and one 10 cm long piece from leather lace. (I of course forgot the latter from the photo... sigh.)

Front rings, hind rings, rope ring, figure eight buckle, throatlatch hooks.

I spread the pieces and metal parts on the cutting mat into places I know are for each part. I could also write or otherwise mark where goes what. 

 

ASSEMBLY

Alias gluing. I do not give recommendations on glues, because these vary, are not sold in every store or country, go out of sale when I start to like them, and so on. So use anything which comes in a tube and which says suitable for leather or is universal and hopefully will dry flexible. Currently I use Bison Tix, which always comes with a plastic spreading tool. This is a contact glue and will be first spread to both surfaces. Then you have to let it set a bit before splatting the surfaces together.  

Since glues don't always show well in photos, I have colored the glue areas with turquoise. Red dots mark where each metal piece goes, in case showing this is needed.

I start with the buckle piece. I fold 1 cm of it and cut a slot in the folded part. I make it rather long, because it will be needed. 

Then I take one of the 6 cm strips and cut its ends sharp, into an angle. This is the throatlatch. 

Now I take my buckle and put it into place. 

I also put the hooks into the throatlatch, into its middle part. Another thing I do is to put the rope ring into its leather piece (connector). 

Once these are fine, I add glue to them. Throatlatches are often annoying to hold so I start by adding 2 cm worth of glue into each end.  Then I let it set.

The red dots show where the hooks will sit later.

The connector strap, where ropering is, is short but will not need any air, so I spread a blob of glue so that the tab will be about 5 mm long. 

Next the buckle piece. I hold the buckle from its tongue so that everything should remain well in place and not move while I put glue where I want it. I try not to put any into the metal parts, and the midway of the slot should also remain untouched. This is because it should be where the buckle moves. 

Now I let all these set.

Once set, I fold the glued parts together.  For throatlatch, I first move the hooks from the middle to the ends, so that they're about in the middle of each glue part. Then I hold from the hook and carefully bend the tabs shut, so that each tab should be roughly 1 cm long. 

For buckle I make sure the folded tab is about 1 cm long. 

Now to the next gluings. I take one of the two 6 cm strips and use a homemade tool to bend about 1 cm tab. This tool I use to be able to add glue into parts where there is a loop that is glueless, so the metal parts can move freely. With it I don't need to waste time with the actual rings, which is when I could also mess them with glue. 

I first put glue on the tab, then press it shut and rip open - partially by pulling the ring tool. This is why I try to add rather much glue, so it sure will spread and be absorbed evenly. I do this for both ends of this strap. Next I take its pair and add glue similarly, but only into one end. This is the lower half of a noseband. 

I take the throatlatch and add glue into it almost for the whole length. A tool is good to have handy, otherwise I can't pick it from the mat as my glue tube likes to puke at this step. Let set. 

Once set, I take the noseband parts and two big rings. I put one ring into a tab and bend it shut, then repeat. The one strip with only one glued end gets attached to one of these rings too. 

I take the throatlatch and bend the middle part folded. From this, I continue folding the rest. When I reach the ends, I hold it folded with one hand and then twist the end so that the folded edge could be parallel to the flat tab in it (the twofolding covers some if it - and this is why I cut them into the angle!). Once I have folded and twisted the whole thing, I drape it around my finger and hold like this for a while. It should help the glue dry into a curved shape. 

Now I take the 4 cm satin pieces. I use the gluing tool to keep them bent while I add glue to them, press the tab shut and then rip open. Let set. 

Now when the throatlatch is done, I add glue to the connector. I mark the midline and leave it glueless, because I don't want the throatlatch to get stuck in it. Let set. 

Once set, I take the two smaller rings, put them into the satin strips and press tabs shut. Cheekpieces are half done. 

For connector, I first bend the loop only partially shut, so that it keeps its shape. Then I put the throatlatch through it - and make sure the folded edge is facing towards the ring - and then press the rest shut. I test if the throatlatch slides okay in it. 

Now I move back into the noseband, and use the ring tool method to add glue into the lower half's remaining end. 

Then I take the buckle piece and the 10 cm leather strip (which I didn't photograph...). I add glue to the buckle piece almost for its entire length (only avoiding the split part), and put 2 cm worth of glue into the long strip. 

Once those are set, it's time to put the connector ring together with noseband. I put the strip through the connector's rope ring...

...through the other ring in the other half, measure where the glue area is and press it shut. Most people (beginners?) seem to glue everything by keeping the halter upside-down, but I do the hard way. It can get on my nerve, but it works. 

Finished noseband with throatlatch and connector!

Also the buckle piece and crownstrap go into their cheekpieces. I make sure the flattened seam sides in rings go into these. 

Once those are fine, I add glue into the cheekpieces. This is an easy part because the whole area will be covered in glue. 

While they set, I trim the sharp ends off from the throatlatch hooks and bend them. I bend them outwards. So if your connector's seam is up, the throatlatch hooks should face down. 

I also trim the buckle's tongue. Many leave it this long for some reason, but it is incredibly clumsy to use and no way realistic. I clip it with sidecutters so that the tongue is against the buckle edge, cutters being in touch with it. I also trim this, but it's not possible to photograph logically. 

Now the cheekpieces should be set, so I put them into place. I put the halter so that I know which of the bigger rings is left side's and which right's, then roll them so that I can see the flattened seam sides. I put the buckled cheekpiece into the left ring, and the long strap cheek into right. 

Next I trim the crownstrap with a knife. I cut the edges off and maybe a bit from the sharp end. 

Now I position the mess of a halter so that I can see which part is where and did it go right. I put the right side's throatlatch hook into the crownstrap's ring and press it shut with needlenose pliers. 

Then I take a needle. I hold the crownstrap against my cutting mat and put a mark one centimetre away until it's at the fifth. So, five needle marks. 

I take my 0.3 mm mechanical pencil (I could also use a 0.5 mm pencil, but it broke.) and punch through those marks on a piece of thin and soft leather. I place the pencil on, straight, and press it down by holding the barrel with both hands. This has to be done carefully, and it should cause a little crunching sound when it goes through.

I also punch holes between each of these centimetres.

The halter is dun!  Here it is all finished and put on a horse: 

What about padding, then? It is totally optional. I add paddings preferably before gluing the chin piece and cheeks into the front rings, so the padding is easier to handle. For this you only need a strip of thin leather which is about three times of your noseband's width (mostly a bit less than 1 cm). And of course, you need glue. 

Draw a line in the middle of the strip. (I use a ballpoint pen.)

Add glue to one half. 

Fold the glued area so that the edge is at the midline. 

Repeat gluing and folding to the other side. 

Now put glue to the seam side, and to the underside of your halter's noseband. 

Splat the padding and noseband together and try to make sure it goes on evenly. 

I like to drape the piece around my finger so it could dry better into the curved shape. 

Trim the padding's ends with scissors or a craft knife. Done!

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So this was the basic stable halter tutorial which I have wanted to redo for a long time. Hope people get some use out of it.

Feel free to point out any parts which were difficult to understand. English is not my first language and I quite think there aren't even names for many parts in a piece of tack and its construction process, since normal people don't need to know such things. That is why I may cook up some names by myself. Also the steps don't always go exactly like in this tutorial... But it is basically the most common way I do these.