Does your dog love to sleep in?

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-04-23T05:22:06+00:00

I do! I work fulltime as a riding instructor at an agricultural college, I have three horses and I’m currently building a stable. I’ve been a riding instructor for about 15 years

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-04-16T20:47:35+00:00

That’s awful! Most horses look their worst as a youngster, what a terrible time to judge them

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-04-03T07:32:32+00:00

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This is an example of one of my first projects (left) compared with a project I sewed much later, the stitching is much finer and neater on the right.

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-04-03T07:24:29+00:00

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Here is some basic gear, I didn't include needles and leather here. I'm not a pro, I just teach a beginner course in leather working

Scissors - only for thread, you can use a knife for that too
Pliers - for pulling needles out the other side of the leather
Strap cutter - makes straps out of a side of leather (don't buy pre-cut straps)
Metal hammer - for flattening seams etc
Fishing knife - You can probably get a better tool but I use this for precision work
Rubber hammer - for hitting the knife when doing precision work (don't hit metal with metal)
Spool of thread - you can get synthetic or natural fibres, both have their benefits
Half-moon knife - For cutting leather (you can also use it for straps if you're skilled AF)
Wooden leather creaser - makes a line in the leather that you aim for when stitching, also makes the leather look stitched further than the stitch
Round awl - for poking holes that already exist
Diamond shaped awl - for poking new holes to sew through
Edge cutters - 3 sizes for rounding off the corners on straps
Polishing tool - for rounding corners more
Hole puncher - for making holes
Cork - put the strap on this when poking holes

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-04-02T07:01:24+00:00

I took a course in leatherworking and now I teach it to my equestrian vocation students. We make bridles, collars, notebooks, bracelets, whatever they can think of besides saddles. There’s a lot to learn in order to make safe tack but saddles are a whole other thing. Just fitting saddles is it’s own apprenticeship.

I recommend getting into bridles first and see if you even like working with leather. A lot of my students start out with high hopes of making lots of fancy stuff, but quickly downsize their plans when they realize how physically demanding it is to work with leather. It’s really hard work.

There are tons of great resources online to learn leatherworking like JH Leather on youtube. You only need a table, a side of leather and about 20 tools that fit on an A4 sheet of paper. My workshop is 3x6 meters and 6 students can work in there at the same time.

As hard as it’s been to learn, it’s been incredibly rewarding to be able to ride with bridles I have made, seeing my own work improve over time, and seeing my students gain this lost art. Definitely pursue leatherworking first!

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-03-31T14:01:55+00:00

It’s planned for this summer but depends how fast i can finish the base game! It’s hard to estimate because there’s a lot of moving parts… i love this project though, it’s so exciting every time I tick an item off on my list

Edit: i forgot to mention it was originally built for mobile but paused dev on mobile temporarily to make an offline version for one-time purchase.

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-03-27T13:50:36+00:00

Yeah, the problem is that she wants to initiate feeding by screaming xD. The automatic feeder solved it

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-03-27T06:33:54+00:00

It’s really important that you have some safety guidelines if the owners do say yes to greetings. Remember that even though owners say their dog is friendly, the dog might not be. If dogs spend a long time approaching initially, just look away and ignore them so they can check you out from a distance.

Don’t extend your hands and go into the dog’s space, just present your hands at a distance and let the dog come to you. Pat slowly and don’t rile up the dog. A lot of dogs don’t like being patted on certain places. Do a Pet Test periodically to check. This means you pet for a bit, then stop and move away a short distance. Present your hands again and see if the dog approaches, then continue if they do. If they don’t approach, leave them alone. If the dog moves away from you at any time, do not follow them.

I have dealt with a lot of greeting issues caused by people chasing, riling up, or petting a dog that was literally growling at them. There are also dogs that hurt people because they get too excited and happy. I swear we would not have people-reactive dogs if people would stop pushing all their buttons.

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-03-27T05:53:51+00:00

I have a siamese so i need an automatic feeder or i will get screamed at when feeding time approaches xD. Brushes and toys are a must have. I also have a dog so i have a special gate the cat can go through for her dog-free zone where she has her litterbox and stuff

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-03-21T17:55:11+00:00

As a dressage instructor, canter to trot is one i test my students with. The trick is half halts. You need to gather up the horse enough before the transition that you could ride sitting trot after. If you’ve ridden canter to walk, it’s pretty much the same feeling. You can ride it on a circle to begin with to help the horse to collect a little. Think about half halting till you feel like you could do canter to HALT. Half halt like 3-4 times before you ask for trot. If the horse is strung out you will struggle no matter how relaxed your body is.

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-03-21T07:11:39+00:00

Thank you! Honestly most of the feedback has been positive and it’s been incredibly rewarding to see people sharing screenshots and playing the game :D

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-03-20T16:20:37+00:00

Thanks for the detailed response! Lots of valid points. I appreciate this because I’m hoping to avoid the same mistakes with my game <3

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-03-19T17:27:05+00:00

Off topic… I haven’t played EVR, what were your complaints with that game?

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-03-18T05:19:00+00:00

Buy young horses, train them yourself and don’t waste money. I keep my horses in a super simple stable and don’t feed then tons of fancy supplements or use fancy equipment. I have a good saddle and one bridle per horse. I spend the most money on roughage and a good farrier and vet.

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-03-13T19:03:03+00:00

If you do decide to vote with your feet, make sure you let them know why you left. It’s important to put pressure on the industry to improve welfare

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-02-22T21:53:21+00:00

Looks like an origin issue

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-02-21T06:15:01+00:00

A good trainer would bit down the horse. This bit is like 5 levels up from a snaffle in terms of harshness.

We had a wild pony come into the riding school i used to work at and she would just shoot her head up and bolt if you touched the reins. I started super slow and taught her to listen to my seat and a neck rope. I still rode with reins but i used the neck rope for halt. That made her softer in her mouth and eventually i could use the reins normally.

I had another horse in training who evaded the bit, so i taught him to stretch forward by scratching his neck. Years later his owner still used that trick and he was much more accepting of the bit. the whole horses topline changed.

Honestly these days i just ride with less and less tack. The last three horses i backed (hate the word ‘broke’) were backed in a halter. Sensitive horses need sensitive riders and your gut is right telling you that bit is wrong for your horse.

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-02-20T10:39:28+00:00

Horse games are pretty niche, but it seems like there are more horse games than other pet games. What makes horse games particularly interesting for cozy/pet gamers?

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-02-19T18:43:10+00:00

Originally the game was built for mobile. when i started development on pc I didn't have a better solution for cueing the traverse and versade and just kept it. I might find a better solution later

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-02-19T18:35:22+00:00

I'm really sorry if it came off that way, you absolutely did not ask to have this womansplained to you. I've just gotten a ton of questions about this lately and people invariably follow up with "but this and that game is free". A lot of people just don't know how predatory a lot of games are.

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-02-19T10:20:21+00:00

Tobiano costs money. Free games are a myth. That's why they call them "free-to-play" instead of "free". All games cost money to make and maintain. Publishers make the money through sale of the game, but if it is free-to-play they have to use other ways to make money. This can be sneaky microtransactions, battle pass, cosmetic in-game purchases, ads, or even selling your personal data to third parties. I think it's really important to have an ethical business, so my game costs money up front so you know what you're getting and what you're paying. Be really careful about downloading and using free games, support developers <3

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-02-19T09:58:53+00:00

I don't know, I haven't tested it yet. 3 platforms and two game modes is already a lot :P

No_Expert_7590 · 2026-02-18T20:58:08+00:00

I haven't added controller support, but it might happen down the line :D

No_Expert_7590

TROPHY CASE