Tsaro and I are working on more guides for building your own inexpensive pony gear. While he’s working on a new nylon harness design, I just finished my first mane! It’s been weird being a bald pony (even though I adore the rubber mask that Buckshot from FetLife is loaning me). So I put together a detailed how-to with photos for creating my own.
I owe a lot to Aaleyah and DaizieDawl from FetLife for design tips and guidance. While Aaleyah’s design doesn’t force the mane to fall to one side or the other, it requires MUCH longer hair than I had bought (and glue-drying time). Both of those mares look fantastic, though, so I knew I was in good hooves either way.
You can read the entire how-to (with LOTS of photos) at www.flutterspony.com/resources/diy/pony-mane/ (and check out the other DIY resources as well if you’re looking to build your own tack!)
Building The Building Community
Part of what kept me from getting into ponyplay for so long was that the gear was so damned expensive. But within the last year I realized that bio-horse tack and a little creativity can get you started fairly cheaply. Assuming you have access to a sewing machine (or a LOT of hand-stitching patience), you can build the pony mane for under $50. I’m not what I’d call a hands-on creator (I make digital things mostly), but even I’ve had success building my own supplies so far and I’d love to see what others can do.
We all come to the herd with different skills and backgrounds. For example, Tsaro and I are not leather workers, so we’ll probably never write any articles on that, but we’d love to see someone contribute their knowledge to the group. You don’t even need a good DSLR- I took all the photos for my build with my Android phone.
I know there are more creative types here in the Boston area, so if you’ve got a build that you’d like to share with the community, please let us know via email or in the comments!