"The Ultimate Tackmaking Book"--Sue Sudekum "Everything about this book is remarkable"---Gail Fitch, author of Hartland Horsemen
Have you always wanted to make tack but didn't know where to start? Or have you started, but need a little extra inspiration? 
Take advantage of 19 years of experience! One of the great pioneers of the field shares her many tips and tricks in this long-awaited book. The Guide has 222 pages, over 80 photographs and over 50 pages of professionally-drawn diagrams. Color photos, laminated covers and easy-to-read text enhance this classic volume. There is something here for every tackmaker, no matter what their level of expertise!
The Guide is designed for those seeking to expand their knowledge of this most wonderful craft, the art of making model horse tack. Five of its 12 parts are aimed at the beginner; they cover the basics. The next four parts form a "bridge" between easy and advanced; they include Western Bridles, Braidwork, English Bridles and Saddles, and Breastcollar Harness---this last in 3 levels of detail! The last three parts of the Guide feature extensive instructions on making advanced pieces of tack: a Draft Show Harness and a treeless Western Saddle. The Guide is written for adults but assumes no prior experience in the field. Click here to see some pieces made by people using the Guide!
7 Halters including Stable, Light Breed Show, braided Arab Costume, Rope, and Western Show Halter. English Snaffle Bridle with laced reins. English Cutback Saddle. Western slit braid Bridle. Breastcollar Harness in 3 levels of detail (Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced). Harness Collar. Braided Rawhide Bosal. Draft Show Harness, including Scotch Peak. Fully Carved Western Saddle (treeless).
"...remarkable: the fact that you're sharing...so well with well-organized text, excellent photos, and outstanding drawings. Then, there's the detailed table of contents, source list, and index, not to mention the best covers and binding I've seen on a self-published model horse book."---Gail Fitch
"The book is GREAT! You must have put a LOT of work into it... going through your book is the next best thing to getting together...with another tackmaker."---J. Kistler
"I got your book this AM and I have to tell you this is AWESOME X 10. I now know what everyone was going on about. They were right. Thanks so much."---K Wilkerson
"I am ever so grateful that you have taken the time to produce such a wonderfully illustrated book for those of us who are 'Still in the Dark Ages of tackmaking' (somewhat!)...What a great book!"---Angie Thomas
"All I can say is WOW!!! Love the drawings, love the color photos, love all the details! Thank you Susan for providing this book to the hobbyists."---C Mundee
"I just wanted to send my praises regarding your tack making book...It is honestly the first book I have ever read over and over. It has been a real inspiration... I really feel that it was largely in part to your book that my tack was so successful."---Melissa Hart
"The guide arrived safe and sound before the weekend. Thank you so much!! I spent all weekend pouring(sic) over the book and now am chomping at the bit! It's everything I was told it was!"---L Sharpe
"Just a quick note to say that my tack book arrived. I'm totally knocked out. The detail!! The illustrations!!! The invaluable insider information!!!!!! Thank you so much for offering this wonderful resource."---A Richardson
"I purchased 'Guide to Making Model Horse Tack' recently and just finished reading it from cover to cover. What a great book and exactly what I was looking for! ... Thanks for all the inspiration you've given me and all the hard work it must have been to create the book."---L Blake
A critical reivew of this book was published in The Hobby Horse News, Issue 63, April 1999.
HISTORY: The Guide was first published in November 1998. It is registered with the Copyright Office of the United States and can be found in the Library of Congress. Demand has been steady enough to justify all the printings listed below. Each printing is 150 copies. This record is truly amazing for a home-built, and I am deeply grateful. :) The reprintings are distinguished only by their coil binding color. Future demand, and future technology, will determine further reprintings.
Priced at $56.00 US plus Postage and Handling of $11.50 for the Lower-48. (Overseas see next paragraph.) The $11.50 flat postage rate includes insurance and covers UPS Ground shipment to residences in the 48 States. If your address is a business your UPS postage will only be $9.00. Please include your STREET address: UPS does not ship to P.O. Boxes. If you submit a P.O. Box address, I will use USPS Priority Mail, and this is not insured. Pennsylvania residents please add state sales tax of 6% (56.00 x .06 = 3.36). NEW: Media Mail Option. Flat postage rate of $5.00 for residences and businesses of the domestic US only. This option may take as long as three weeks or more for delivery. Media Mail is not insured and has no tracking number. But it has been known to succeed.
Overseas or Foreign order postage. We offer two choices: USPS Priority International or Flat Rate Priority International. The first choice, while more expensive, delivers in about a week and is trackable and insured, and we've never lost a package yet. Priority International for Canada & Mexico is $20.00 ; for Europe, Scandinavia, Australia & NZ it is $25.00. The second choice, Flat Rate, is more problematic (the Guide barely fits in the envelope) and is not trackable, but it is insured. Sometimes the Post Office refuses my Flat Rate envelopes; it depends on the clerk! Flat Rate Priority International for Canada & Mexico is $12.00 ; for Europe, Scandinavia, and Australia it is $15.00. US dollars only please.
YES we take PAYPAL!! NO we don't have a checkout button! (at least not yet.) You get to be a good pro-active customer and go to the PayPal site itself and enter the two email addresses, yours and mine, and PayPal will take care of the rest. YES we can take credit cards with PayPal. NO we will not charge you extra fees, even though PayPal charges us... My email address is my PayPal name.
To order via traditional methods, send check or Money Order (US funds only) made out to Susan Bensema Young. Please Do Not make checks out to Timaru Star II. Mis-written checks will be returned. Mail to:
Susan Bensema Young
210 West Hamilton #104
State College PA 16801-5218
As of February 2010 copies are in stock. Note that we are out of town March 5 - March 13th.
Further printings will be made in response to demand.
Thank you for your order! Have fun making tack!
1st printing: November 1998. Red
2nd printing: June 1999. Emerald Green
3rd printing: June 2001. Deep Blue
4th printing: September 2003. Clear
5th printing: April 2006. Gold
6th printing: February 2010: Purple
7th printing (projected): Silver or White
8th printing (projected): Light Blue
REPRINTING: The Guide text is NOT CHANGED when reprinted!! NO so-called 'updates' are planned for the future---don't confuse me with Felicia Browell!! The only change brought about by a reprinting is an updating of the Resources page, which lists websites. Businesses and websites change over time, and I check out these links and update the list for a reprinting. To my amazmement most of them (90%) are consistent! Any concerned owner can request a current Resources page to be mailed or emailed to them. The information is similar to that handed out at the Hobby Info Booth during BreyerFest.
If and when I write another book, you will hear about it on this website's main page. I have so many ambitions: a book on the Silver Saddles of the TSII; a book on Miniature Braidwork; a Second or Volume II of the Guide; and yes, even more!! But meanwhile a reprinting represents a truly enormous outlay of time and resources. Thanks to all my customers who have made it worth it.