About Us
My name is Lisa Bowring and I live in Western Missouri with my husband, 3 cats and 3 horses. I started braiding
tack in 1989 when rawhide braided show bridles were first becoming popular among Quarter Horse and Paint show
circuits. I loved the look but the prices at that time were very high, even for a really basic, plain headstall. Since I
didn't show I couldn't justify spending that kind of money on something for everyday riding. I figured as crafty as I
was I could learn to make one myself and so began my search for How-to materials.
While reading an old copy of Western Horseman magazine that my Dad had I came across an ad in the classifieds
listed in the back for a video on braiding rawhide. I immediately sent away for it and my journey began. I got some
leather lace and some rawhide and set to work diligently practicing while following along with the video. I soon
found that working with rawhide was a big pain as it had to remain wet in order to be pliable. The leather was a
little better but if my hands were at all damp the dye would come off all over me. I also discovered that colors were
very limited and tended to be expensive to purchase so I was just about back to square one. Now that I could braid
I had to find a material that was more economical to use and easier to find than rawhide and leather lace. I was
shopping with my mother one day and we went to a little fabric store that had a craft section so I wandered around
there while she looked for her material. Lo and behold I rediscovered plastic lace! I had used gimp for many years
at summer camp to make lanyards and bracelets and it was the perfect width for my new braiding projects. I picked
out a few colors in the 10 yard hanks they had available and set out to experiment. I was concerned that the
plastic might not hold up to being pulled as tight as I needed for the braiding technique I was using but after a little
practice I discovered that it too quite alot of pressure to make it stretch or break. I now had my material, which
came in a vast rainbow of colors and was inexpensive to boot.
I braided a few headstalls and took them with me when I accompanied some friends to an auction to buy horses.
They liked them so much they bought all 3 before we even got to the sale! The one friend owned a sale barn and
asked me to make a few more for their tack shop and so Braid On Leather was officially born!
It's hard to believe that I have been doing this as a hobby for 20 years - the time has gone by so quickly! I have
had the opportunity to talk to people all over the world and I love working with customers to find the perfect color
combination to suit them and their horses. Most of the work is one of a kind as it is very rare for me to do the same
colors in the same pattern more than once. I have over 50 colors to choose from and can do the braiding in 2, 3
or 4 colors. The leather comes in 5 color choices as well as 6 headstall styles. Matching reins in a variety of styles
and breastcollars are also available. I am also an authorized Mayatex dealer if a customer wants a custom saddle
blanket for a total coordinating set. These make fantastic gifts for your favorite horse lover or for your own
enjoyment.
Thanks for 20 wonderful years!
tack in 1989 when rawhide braided show bridles were first becoming popular among Quarter Horse and Paint show
circuits. I loved the look but the prices at that time were very high, even for a really basic, plain headstall. Since I
didn't show I couldn't justify spending that kind of money on something for everyday riding. I figured as crafty as I
was I could learn to make one myself and so began my search for How-to materials.
While reading an old copy of Western Horseman magazine that my Dad had I came across an ad in the classifieds
listed in the back for a video on braiding rawhide. I immediately sent away for it and my journey began. I got some
leather lace and some rawhide and set to work diligently practicing while following along with the video. I soon
found that working with rawhide was a big pain as it had to remain wet in order to be pliable. The leather was a
little better but if my hands were at all damp the dye would come off all over me. I also discovered that colors were
very limited and tended to be expensive to purchase so I was just about back to square one. Now that I could braid
I had to find a material that was more economical to use and easier to find than rawhide and leather lace. I was
shopping with my mother one day and we went to a little fabric store that had a craft section so I wandered around
there while she looked for her material. Lo and behold I rediscovered plastic lace! I had used gimp for many years
at summer camp to make lanyards and bracelets and it was the perfect width for my new braiding projects. I picked
out a few colors in the 10 yard hanks they had available and set out to experiment. I was concerned that the
plastic might not hold up to being pulled as tight as I needed for the braiding technique I was using but after a little
practice I discovered that it too quite alot of pressure to make it stretch or break. I now had my material, which
came in a vast rainbow of colors and was inexpensive to boot.
I braided a few headstalls and took them with me when I accompanied some friends to an auction to buy horses.
They liked them so much they bought all 3 before we even got to the sale! The one friend owned a sale barn and
asked me to make a few more for their tack shop and so Braid On Leather was officially born!
It's hard to believe that I have been doing this as a hobby for 20 years - the time has gone by so quickly! I have
had the opportunity to talk to people all over the world and I love working with customers to find the perfect color
combination to suit them and their horses. Most of the work is one of a kind as it is very rare for me to do the same
colors in the same pattern more than once. I have over 50 colors to choose from and can do the braiding in 2, 3
or 4 colors. The leather comes in 5 color choices as well as 6 headstall styles. Matching reins in a variety of styles
and breastcollars are also available. I am also an authorized Mayatex dealer if a customer wants a custom saddle
blanket for a total coordinating set. These make fantastic gifts for your favorite horse lover or for your own
enjoyment.
Thanks for 20 wonderful years!
BRAID ON LEATHER
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| email: lisa@braidonleather.us |