As promised, here is the DIY project. It was really simple, but should make a huge difference. I added a belly strap, and halter latch to the top of my neck sweat. Roxy needs to wear a neck sweat because she founders in her neck very easily, and carries all of her fat in her neck. Making her crest get huge, and she looks like a draft horse. It's gross. I have pictures of fat Roxy, I'll have to upload them sometime... Anyway! So here is the basic guide to adding these simple adjustments.
Here is the neck sweat. It is a nice neoprene, and those velcro straps go under her neck. I bought the cheapest, most basic one, knowing that I could change it when it didn't fit quite right. It was like $7 on amazon.
First things first! Find yourself some lycra, or spandex. I chose this boring navy blue. Dark colors are best because it will get filthy. I used a rotary cutter, scissors will work ok too though. Measure your horse at the girth, all the way around with a tape measure. My horse was about 2yards around. Now take off two inches. Purchase that much elastic. I bought 2yards of 1.5 inches thick no roll elastic- note that I bought too much elastic and the strap is too long, so seriously buy 2inches less then your horse is around. Make sure it is the no roll kind, also I think 2inches thick would work better.
The next step is to cut our your lycra. If your elastic is 1.5inches thick, cut our your lycra to about 4 1/8inches thick. It needs to be as long as your elastic (in my case 2 yards). My lycra wasn't long enough, so I had to cut out two pieces and sew them together, so feel free to do this. Now flip it right sides together, and pin that baby up! Sew a single stitch down the sides, leaving both ends open. Since it is lycra, and moves around, use lots of pins.
Sew your lycra with a straight stich, pulling it gently as you sew it on a .5inch seam allowance.
After pulling out your pins, and flipping it, so that the seam is on the outside you have your tubing!
Put a saftey pin on the end of your elastic, and shove that sucker in there! Sew the casing down to both sides of the elastic. Make sure that it is all smooth!
Next cut out a piece of hardier fabric with less stretch, such as cotton. Cut out a piece that is roughly 3inches by 6inches. Pin it in half, and sew down both sides, leaving the thin side open so that you can flip it.
Flip it, and iron in flat!
Next you want to take it at the top of the neck sweat. Find the middle and place it in the middle of the next sweat (the closest point to the poll). Lay the strip so that it is on the bottom of the neck sweat, and going backwards towards your horse's rump.
Next flip your fabric up, so that the open part it underneath. I know that is a little bit confusing, but you just want to make sure you get a clean edge.
Find some crazy thick stitch to use. I used number 6.
Go forwards and backwards a few times, letting your stitch hang off the edge of your fabric.
Next pin down the top. Since this seam is already smooth, we don't need to do that fancy folding. Sew it down using the same crazy stitch as before.
Repeat this process on the bottom, making sure that the band is thick enough for the elastic to slide through.
Use the attachment method of your preference. I used this tool that keeps bed sheets from slipping off. I just cut the elastic, sewed it onto my big piece, and viola an easy attachment. Also you could take a strap from an old blanket, or a buckle from the hardware store. I do highly recommend the bed sheet attachment though, it's very easily to attach, and seems to have good staying power, not mention it's totally adjustable.
Please excuse the mess- I told Roxy to clean her stall before I got the camera out! ;)
And here she is! You can't see either of the black straps in this photo, but I assure you that they are there, one attached to her halter, the other attached to the belly strap. Now her neck sweat will stay in place, and keep her looking wonderful. The lyrca for the belly strap is smooth on her, however I do recommend going up to 2 or even 3inch thick elastic. Now lets see how well it stays!
Any DIY projects that you are proud of? The first thing that comes to mind is the blanket I made for Roxy years ago. What have you created?
