But still horse-related – obviously! One has discovered today, perhaps my calling is in rugs – fixing them, that is. Not really, but I was rapt to find that I could fix my own problem! I was rather annoyed to find earlier in the week when bringing my gelding in for a feed that his rug had a hole in the body of it, no doubt from where one of the other boys in the paddock had taken a nip at my boy and consequently ended up with a mouthful of rug that was obviously in need of ripping!

I bought the rug off eBay early last year after being told by the owner of the riding school where I keep Pride at that she got her new rugs from an Axiom supplier – the rugs were reasonably priced and some ridiculously cheap if the interest was low at time of sale and the provider posts out promptly after payment for the item at the end of the sale.

I’ve been rapt with the blue/silver combo that I got and it fits Pride well, not rubbing at all or restricting movement and it keeps him lovely and dry and of course, clean! So, rather than purchasing a new rug (it was ripped to the point that if it got rained on, I’d have a rather damp horse and the inside stuffing would be ruined) I wanted to see if I could patch it up in some way at a low cost.

So I rang the older sister (who happens to work in fashion and is very up to date on types of material) to see if she had any ideas. Generally I wanted to be able to join the tears together or put a cover of fabric over the top and have it sealed and waterproof. She suggested a product called Vliesofix. Vliesofix, a “double sided adhesive web that is paper backed for easy application. When ironed Vliesofix joins two fabrics together permanently. This means that applique work can be completed quickly and simply and always look perfect.”

She did mention that the catch was that it needed to be ironed on and ironing onto a water proof fabric could highly probably melt the fabric. To try and stop this from happening, she suggested ironing the material to the Vliesofix, peeling back the paper from the adhesive material, placing this over the rug where I wanted it to be joined and then placing a tea towel over the area to be ironed and ironing over the tea towel.

When purchasing the Vliesofix and material at the store, the woman informed me she had no waterproof material (I think I’ve solved this problem by finding a spray on substance that repels water) and she wasn’t convinced that I could get away with joining the material to a waterproof rug due to the hot iron melting it. I am rapt to say that the tea towel idea seems to have worked, as the new material is now covering where the rip is and I sprayed the waterproofing agent on the rug this afternoon a few hours before putting it on my boy. The test will be tomorrow when I head out there to see if the new piece of material is indeed still part of the rug! Fingers crossed.

It’s just counting strides, finding your distance, swapping leads, and looking good doing it. Relax, what could be easier?

tag: horse rugs, Axiom, rug repairs

As someone who dreams of having their horse related book published in the not too distant future, I am becoming more aware of publishing companies. If I’m reading a horse book, I question if that publisher has produced other books that are horse related and if they’d be more inclined to take on the works of someone who writes for the horse audience, over a publisher that hasn’t produced a book focused on horses.

Last week I purchased the British Horse Society Complete Manual of Stable Management online. When the book arrived in the post, some advertising for the publishing company came with it and I thought I may as well check out their website: www.countrybooksdirect.com.

Regarding submissions, it states on their website:
‘Quiller Publishing will accept unsolicited submissions from authors. We will only accept book submissions on subjects covered by Country Sports and Equestrian. Please do not send us novels or poetry. Having looked at our website if you believe that your manuscript fits within Country Sports or Equestrian Publishing please follow these simple guidelines.
All submissions must be supplied in hard copy. All submissions that are to be returned must include a SAE (that includes adequate postage).’

This counts me out, as I’m writing a novel, but it’s great to see there are publishers out there that do cater to a particular demographic. As a writer I believe it can improve your chances by seeking out these publishers that cover your particular topic and sending your story to them.

As a reader, it means you’ve got a direct source to go to in order to find the types of books you love to read. As a publisher, I believe it means you can provide a focused service, investing time in finding quality products to sell as you can be more informed on one or two particular topics, making sure the books you sell contain quality information.

To provide this service you’d want people that had a background in publishing, editing and preferably knowledge on the particular topic/s you’re providing books about. This way you can sell quality books that you know to be appealing to those in the industry or wanting to get into it. After all, what horse person doesn’t enjoy getting and reading horse books?

‘What do you suppose will satisfy the soul, except to walk free and own no superior?’ – Walt Whitman

tag: horse books, horse library, horse magazines, publishing