Finnhorse in a forest work

In many cultures, the horse has always been an important partner in forest work and fields, in Finland, too. The importance of the horse in forest work was emphasized when the forest industry with sawmills and paper mills needed large amounts of wood raw material from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

Back in the early 1960s, the timber cut from the forests was almost entirely hauled away by horses. Although tractors started to become more common on farms, agricultural tractors were initially too inefficient for forest work. In the procurement period 1960-1961, there were still around 55,000 horses in forest work in Finland, but in 1970 only 17,300.

Source: Kajaani.fi, Kajaanin museo

Following photos by Tessa Lepistö and Tanja Lundsten

Today they are hardly used at all, but now their use has started to be appreciated again and many manage their own forest with a horse and offer services to others as well.

Finnhorse Tuohivirsu enjoys forest work. He loves it being in the forest and work, and of course he enjoys the company of the team. Tuohivirsu´s owner is Tanja Lundsten.

A horse and winter are a good combination in terms of the well-being of the forest. In Finland the ground freezes to a depth of 20–60 cm on average during the winter months, in the north the depth of frost can be up to 120 cm. The icy ground protects the roots of the trees, and the passage of a horse in the forest does not damage the soil. A horse can also travel through a denser forest than a machine, so when working with a horse there is no need for clearcutting.

Hay for Tuohivirsu...

...and coffee for the rest of the team. "Sootpot coffee" tastes extremely delicious outside by the fire.

"You gave me the very first horsehair jewellery you made from Nitte´s (Nanna´s first horse) and Ogi's tailhair. One was a graduation present and the other as a thank you for Nitte's care. It especially felt and still feels particularly meaningful. Nitte is one of those horses that has been special to me in my life, Tuohivirsu, too."

Teija Ranin, Finland

Thank you, Teija, for your kind words and letting us to see these lovely pictures. We wish you, Tanja and extremely handsome Tuohivirsu many happy working years yet to come!

Follow Tuohivirsu in Facebook or in Instagram, and see more!

"Horse forest work is a suitable alternative for small and sensitive harvesting sites. For example, cultural and historical sites, it is possible to manage ancient remains and urban forests with the help of a horse logger. The harvest mark is really little and horse harvesting does not cause emission or noise problems. The demand for horse forest work will continue to grow in the future."

Thesis, Kirsi Nuutinen: Suomenhevonen metsätyössä (Finnhorse in a forest work) 2011

Forest work in 1950´s, photo from Kainuun museo collection.

And if you wonder what "Tuohivirsu" means: it´s a name for a traditional

Finnish shoe made of birchbark.

Heart warming

When our clients order a piece of jewellery, we often hear lovely and touching stories about the relationship between our customer and her/his horse and their shared journey. So in this case too! 

Krista received a bracelet Puella Star as a gift from her mother. The ribbon is woven of tail hair of her late Ferrari. We got a wonderful story from Krista about her and Ferrari's time together and, of course, these stunning pictures, as she is a professional photographer.

"Ferrari and I traveled together for more than sixteen years. That's more than a half of my life so far. Though losing the one you love the most leaves behind a daily sadness, I will be forever happy for the special time we had together.

Sometimes, perhaps by chance, two souls who are lost in their lives meet, grow a support net which supports each other out of their incompleteness, and create a healing bond of trust that reaches the ends of the earth."

"As we grew together I learned a lot not only about horses, but also about myself. Ferrari showed me the strength dormant in my own sensitivity and showed me how a whisper can be louder than a shout. During our walks together I used to whisper to Ferrari that it was the finest horse in the world, my most precious treasure and a dream come true - more than I could have ever asked for."

"Though we no longer hike along the paths of this world, I will always have my own treasure with me. Grateful for our unique journey I can now wear the touch of Ferrari on my skin in the form of a bracelet and feel that my loved one is still close to me."

"With her perfectly developed hand skills Nanna was able to capture the most characteristic and authentic parts of Ferrari in a beautiful creation. I am particularly impressed by the similarity between the ribbon and Ferrari. Knowing Nanna's professionalism, I expected nothing less - all my wishes regarding the details of the jewelry came true. The sparkling heart gives a perfect finishing touch, and  diamonds' vivid shimmer reminds me of the twinkle in the corner of Ferrari's eye." 

- Krista Kuusela, Finland -

Photos by Krista Kuusela, all rights reserved.

If you, too, wish to have the most valuable piece in your jewellery collection, proceed as follows: 

1) Contact us and tell us which item you would like. In the reply mail you will receive detailed instructions, e.g. about the amount and length of hair strands needed, and of course the answers to your questions.

2) After we have received the hair strands, Nanna has checked them and all the details related to your order have been agreed, we will send you an invoice by email. Once the invoice has been paid your jewellery will begin to be manufactured. Delivery time is 3-4 weeks.

 3) When the jewellery is ready, we will contact you again. You will receive your item as a courier delivery or a registered mail and get a tracking code. 

Send e-mail to minna.maattanen@nannasalmi.com or use contact form on our website. 

Feel free to explore the jewellery models and choose the one you like best! Please note that nannasalmi rings are very massive. They are convex on the inside and have raised edges that protect the band. In this way the most valuable part of the jewellery, the woven ribbon, is best protected from hits and abrasion.

www.horsehairjewellerynannasalmi.com

nannasalmi horsehair jewellery goes museum!

 

Lahti, our hometown, is a town of watch and jewellery makers. The School Of Watchmaking was founded in 1944 and was located in Lahti until 1959.

The goldsmith school was founded earlier, already in 1938, and schooling of goldsmiths and engravers still continues in Lahti.

Teachers of the watchmaking school started a watch collection for the use of the school, but the actual watch museum was founded not earlier than in the end of 1950’s. In 1981 Finland’s Watchmakers Foundation established in Helsinki the Finnish Museum of Horology, and the watch collection was donated there.

To add jewelleries to the collection of the watch museum was an item already about eight years ago. In a new location it would have been possible, but it took a year more of a juridical process to change the rules of the foundation. Finally in 14.6.2021 started the Finnish Museum of Horology and Jewellery Kruunu. The new museum will open its doors in March in Tapiola, Espoo. About a year ago, when it was clear that the rules of the foundation will be changed, Nanna was contacted by the museum.

”When I first saw a horsehair bracelet made by Nanna I was completely astonished how exquisite combination of woven miniature horsehair fabric and modern jewellery design it was. I knew this is something we have to get to the collection of the Finnish Museum of Horology and Jewellery. ”

Essi Pullinen, museum director 

Nanna and Essi met in the beginning of February and Nanna handed over the items for the museum collection.

”It was really great to meet Essi Pullinen and donate two pieces of my jewellery to the collection of the jewellery museum. When I made the first piece of my jewellery twenty two years ago I could not have imagined where it will lead.

The most important thing for me is that clients appreciate these jewelleries. I have heard dozens and dozens of stories of their horses and what these noble animals have ment to them. And though I have been weaving thousands of horse hair ribbons each hair bundle sent to me tells a new, interesting story. An emotional meaning of these jewelleries for those who wear them means a world to me. I feel honored to be able to create somethig so meaningful for them, items which will be some of the most valuable pieces in their jewellery box.  

But I also feel humble and greatful to receive honor from professional goldsmiths though I can’t make goldsmith work myself. The fact that jewelleries designed by me will be in a permanent collection in the only museum of the northern countries  specialized in watches and jewelleries is a great honor to me.”

In the museum’s jewellery collection there are now the bracelet Naomi and the ring Tuum.

"For the museum collection I chose the bracelet Naomi for two reasons: in its wide ribbon sophisticated patterns and colors are distinctly to be seen, and the plain design of the bracelet underscores its most important element, a miniature textile woven with horsehair. When I wear a piece of my jewellery, it’s Naomi."

”The ring Tuum was chosen by the same reasons as the bracelet Naomi. In this ring its distinct construction is clearly to be seen and Tuum is actually a basis of all the other rings in the collection.”

If you already have a piece of nannasalmi horsehair jewellery or you are planning to have one you know that it’s not just any jewellery. The ribbon is for you the most valuable part of it, but your jewellery is also much appreciated design which you can wear with love and joy your whole life.

And we assume that they are the first and only modern horsehair jewelleries in the collections of any museum...

See the whole collection and choose your own favourite one here:

nannasalmi horsehairjewellery shop

Horseshoe - A Good Luck Charm, But Why?

Did you know...

...that an early form of hoof protection was seen in ancient Asia, where horses' hooves were wrapped in rawhide, leather or other materials for both therapeutic purposes and protection from wear.

...that the Romans appeared to have attempted to protect their horses' feet with a strap-on, solid-bottomed "hipposandal" that has a slight resemblance to the modern hoof boot.

...that in 1897 four bronze horse shoes with what are apparently nail holes were found in an Etruscan tomb dated around 400 B.C

...that around 1000 AD, cast bronze horseshoes with nail holes became common in Europe. Common was a design with a scalloped outer rim and six nail holes.

Source Wikipedia

From these it has been a long way to the modern horseshoe. Nowadays horseshoes are available in a wide variety of materials, but also styles, developed for different types of horse and for the work they do.

Horseshoes have traditionally been common lucky charms. You can often see them hanging over the entrance of a home. Horseshoes are thought to bring good luck and protection over the centuries. But why people around the world believe in the luck of the humble horseshoe?

"In the Irish story of the blacksmith and the devil, one day a blacksmith was working hard in his shop forging horseshoes. Suddenly, the devil appeared and demanded his own shoes. The blacksmith, recognizing the devil, took a burning hot shoe and nailed it deep into the devil's hooves. After walking away, the devil was in such excruciating pain, he ripped the horseshoes off and swore he would never go near one again. Thus, the tradition of hanging a horseshoe over the entrance of a house to ward off evil spirits was born."

"Another story has more to do with the metal in the horseshoes. Early Western Europeans believed that iron had magical powers. Iron could drive away evil, and folklore of the time told of many malevolent fairies and mystical creatures. Since horseshoes were made of iron, they kept the badly behaving fairies away. Other legends said that witches were so afraid of iron horseshoes, they traveled on broomsticks instead of on horseback."

Source: people.howstuffworks.com

Horseshoes, like many other goods in our daily use, include both: practicality and beauty. Sometimes we just forget about the beauty of them. In a jewellery, the functional beauty can be very delicate, and can you imagine a better good luck charm for yourself than a ring, bracelet, necklace, tiebar or a plastron needle with your own horse´s tail hair? We bet you can´t!

Ring Artema Star. Also available without stones.

In the nannasalmi collection you find many designs with a horseshoe.

Which one would be your favourite lucky charm?

Bracelet Shoe-shoe, ribbon 6 mm

Bracelet Cedric, ribbon 9 mm

Necklace Salinero, ribbon 6 mm

Necklace Coriano

Plastron needle Max

Tiebar Poco Loco and matching cufflinks

An "everyday good" can become something special. Something fine that brings you good

luck and gives you the possibility to have your horse near you, every day.

Please, visit our website for more details:

www.horsehairjewellerynannasalmi.com

Best Moments with Your Horse (1)

 

Early May morning. It´s quiet, all you hear is birds singing. You walk through the stable yard, gravel snarls under your feet. The sun hasn´t risen yet, but the skyline is already pale pink.

Approaching the stable you hear a friendly neigh. Your horse has recognized your steps and knows what is to come.

A heavy stable door squeaks when you open it. You sense the familiar scents of the stable: hay, manure, leather - and horses. You think that nothing smells as good as a horse. 

You go to greet your horse, give him a little morning hay. But still he must remain in the stall. You head to the tack room first. Your friend is waiting with a basket of a thermos flask full of hot coffee and stuffed breakfast rolls. You drink coffee together, you enjoy the silence of the stable. On the walls saddles and bridles shine cleaned, bits washed and shiny, and you realize that coffee doesn´t taste so good anywhere else. 

Once you have finished your little breakfast, you take the saddles on your arms, bridles to the other hand, and go back to the horses. They are waiting for you vigilantly, ears chortling, eager but calm. 

You brush the horse's sides and back quickly and brush the face a little just for being close. The saddle feels light to get up on the horse’s back. Bridle slips like itself on the head. When the bits snap into place, you hear that familiar sound as metal chinks on the teeth. The horse chews a few times and the bits settle in comfortably. You are ready. 

The hooves clop on the stable floor as you two lead the horses out. Now you get in the saddle and a wonderful, peaceful trek through the dewy meadows and spring-awakening forest begins.

"Moments like this," you think, "I want to cherise in my treasure box of memories."

Worth your memories,

www.horsehairjewellerynannasalmi.com

Any day can be the last one

Every horse owner knows that any day can be the last one.

It goes for horses as well as for us humans.

When going to the stables, you look forward hearing the familiar, friendly neigh.

You know how it feels when a dear friend puts its muzzle against your cheek -

and can´t wait for it.

But one day, suddenly, everything can be different.

For a year we all have read the terrible news about the virus that has no borders or limits.

It´s everywhere. It can choose anyone, no matter if you are young or old.

And now we hear the news from Valencia, Doha and Florida. Riders, grooms and vets say

the same words than the first doctors in Europe a year ago: "It is hell here".

By the time writing this, six horses are reported dead. For sure there is more to come.

There are no words that can comfort those people who have lost their horses.

Any day can be the last one. We all know that. 

It can be a broken leg in the corral. It can be swell. It can be bad laminitis.

It does not have to be very "dramatic", but it´s always a great loss and tragedy for you.

But you can´t start to worry about all that or let worrying thoughts take over,

it would drive you crazy.

What you can do is to enjoy every day you spend with your dearest friend, your horse.

And take the best possible care of it.

And to cherish its wisdom, frienship and love it offers you.

Next time you go to the stables, give your horse a big kiss and an extra apple.

Condolences to those who lost their horses and and many thanks to all those

who have rushed to the rescue, either financially or concretely.

Stay safe, humans and horses.

Pictures pixabay.com

From the Wilderness to be a Top Model

Signed photos by Wojtek Kwiatkowski, others from Ursula´s home album

Luna in the Baroque Horse Magazine. They published a photo of Luna once and later asked Ursula to submit her story of taming her.

Ursula:

I often dreamed of adopting and taming a Mustang. The first time when I was a kid in Germany after watching the movie "Misfits". I used to look at internet adoptions when I lived in England after reading the book "Shy Boy".

Then on this day ten years ago I went to a BLM adoption event, I met some nice Mustangs, watched a gentling demo, met great people and went home with some pamphlets.

I sent a friend request to the TIP trainer that I met there and looked thru her photos......and there she was.

It was love at first sight. A few days later I went back just to look at her, but knew right then and there that I had to have her. That mare had other ideas, but with a lot of patience, time and never giving up this wild horse took me into her heart. ( I can't even type this without tears) 

I named that mare Luna.

She had a colt a few months after she was captured.

Luna and I. Learning to lead.

There was a time when I seriously doubted that I would be able to teach Luna anything.

But she started teaching me.

I am incredibly blessed to have her as my friend.

Ursula, Luna and Stella (borzoi)

Pure love.

• 2018 more than 80,000 horses were shipped out of the U.S. for slaughter.
• Many American cattle ranchers ranch on federal land. Every month they pay the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) a certain amount of money for their cattle to be allowed graze the terrain.
• When the cows feed on the grass, they prevent it from becoming fuel for wildfires.
• Comparatively low feeding cost of cattle and doing business with the government keeps beef costs down for consumers.
• Cattles share the ranges with wild horses.
• Mustangs and burros are protected since 1971 by the federal Bureau of Land Management and there are population limits on cattle herds based on how many horses the land can sustain.

Cattle ranchers don´t like that.

For decades, BLM has rounded up wild horses and burros, aiming to do it every three to five years. In 2018 the bureau removed over 11 000 wild horses and burros nationwide. But the taxpayer-funded corrals and pastures, where horses wait to be sold or adopted, are nearing capacity.

Slaughtering horses for food is illegal in the U.S., but a market exists in Europe, Japan and Russia. This is why brokers called “kill buyers” send trailers full of horses, both wild and domestic, into Mexico and Canada, where slaughter is legal. In 2018 81,573 horses made the trip.

BLM tries to control herd populations through operations known as "gathers". For weeks or months at a time, agents and contractors lure horses to water traps, and chase them with helicopters into temporary pens—six-foot metal fences covered in burlap. The horses are trailered to one of 20 permanent facilities the agency owns around the country. There, the stallions are gelded, and along with the mares, are branded with a freezemark.

Adopters used to pay a $125 fee, but in March 2019 the BLM began paying them $1,000 as an incentive. Adopters get half up front, and receive the rest after BLM checks in, at the end of one year, and finds them to be doing a responsible job. After a year and a day, the adopters can buy the horse, and become his legal owner.

Activists focused on the plight of wild horses beginning in the 1950s, largely due to the crusading efforts of Velma Johnston, better known as "Wild Horse Annie". Johnston convinced Americans that mustangs, which had been set loose on range land as they were replaced by cars and tractors, were national treasures, and that roundups were ruthless and excessive. Congress agreed, and in 1971 passed the Wild and Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act, which declared the animals to be “living symbols of the historic and pioneer spirit of the West.”

Summary from the original article by Sam Bloch / The Counter:

"How America’s wild horses end up in slaughterhouses abroad" (link to the original article)

Luna´s little friend, late Carlos, was a rescue pony.

A bracelet Faune was made for Ursula. Here is the ribbon woven for it:

nannasalmi horsehair bracelets

Thank you, Ursula, for sharing your story and these stunning photos with us! Luna and you are a perfect example of power of love, care, patience and trust.

What is so special about the nannasalmi horsehair jewellery collection?

Because your horse is the most important, most beautiful and dearest, we think that the jewellery made with it´s hair should be as perfect, appreciated and valuable. That´s why so much thought, time and effort is put on each jewellery in nannasalmi collection.

Ribbons 

Ribbons in nannasalmi jewelleries are woven miniatyre textiles. The weaving technique is ancient, but was never used in jewelleries with horsehair before Nanna Salmi made her first item over twenty years ago.

Most of the horsehair jewelleries on market have a braided or plaited ribbon. Those techniques are easy and quick, not very difficult to learn.

Woven ribbons have special qualities:

• They are more durable, no hair strands sticking out
• They are fine and smooth
• It´s possible to weave a pattern to a ribbon that makes it more personal

In a weave hair strands reflect light beautifully and look very special and different compairing to braided or plaited hair.

This technique, even patterns and their names, are copied by some jewellery makers. As the technique is quite challenging you usually find items with pretty short ribbons like rings and bracelets.

Each horse has different kind of hair and even hair strands from the same tail varie of their thickness and quality. That´s why a long or broad, even ribbon is very difficult to weave.

Long ribbons are requiered when making bracelets, and even longer ones when making necklaces. Them you find in nannasalmi collection. Broad ribbons, 9 mm, are used also in some bracelets of the collection.

Necklace Coriano

Metal parts

Each part of each jewellery is hand cast and hand finished by a professional caster and goldsmith. All metal parts are designed by Nanna Salmi and used only in this collection. The only industrial parts are clasps and fasteners.

Engarvings are made manually by our extremely skilled engraver.

Bracelet Falcao

There are plenty of similar looking horsehair rings on a market. But if you take a better look you will see the difference.

Comparing to many other rings with horsehair ribbons, whether woven or braided, the nannasalmi rings are heavier and more massive. For example the golden ring Carus in size 18 weighs ca. 16 g. That is 16 g of pure gold.

Ring Carus

There is a reason for that:

• High edges protect the ribbon against abrasion and hits
• The rings are slightly convex inside which makes them very comfortable to wear

Stones

There are golden items with cubic zirconias or other gemstones on the market. Using cubic zirconias and other gemstones in gold and white gold rings lowers their price comparing to using diamonds.

In nannasalmi rings and other items,too, metals and stones are equivalent: with economical silver economical but high quality Swarovski cubic zirconias, with more valuable and expensive gold and white gold more valuable stones, diamonds. That is also a part of ethics of professional goldsmiths.

Ring Cassiopeia

Collection

The nannasalmi collection offers the most versatile selection of rings, bracelets, brooches, necklaces, earrings, cufflinks and tiebars made with horse hair. We are sure that what ever your taste of jewellery is, you find your favourite in this collection.

We are proud to represent the original collection of woven horsehair jewellery and we are very delighted when you choose your special keepsake from this collection. Like almost 3000 clients all over the world already did. Thank you for that!

When you order a nannasalmi horsehair jewellery, you order fine jewellery which you can carry with pride and is, at least emotionally, the most valuable jewellery in your jewellery box.

horsehairjewellerynannasalmi.com