Vegan leather is another name for PU leather but let’s be honest, it just sounds better. Here’s the thing – yes I am a Californian vegan hippie and making animal keepsakes without the use of real animal hide just sits better with me. But honestly once I found the vegan leather that I’m using I couldn’t imagine using anything else! It’s soft and flexible so it’s really comfortable to wear, it’s durable and holds up nicely over time, and the stitching along the edges is a beautiful touch. It’s a win-win-win!

My hope is that your keepsake will last a long, long time! While I can’t make any guarantees and life happens, I can confidently say that the keepsakes I made myself in 2020 when I first opened this business are still going strong and they’ve been through a LOT (like, daily wear and being tossed around with my car keys). I craft these keepsakes very carefully to ensure that they hold up for a long time.

Absolutely! Sometimes it can be a really difficult process emotionally to have a keepsake made for a horse who has passed and people find it easier to have a special keepsake made while their horse is still with them.

Definitely, the passing of my partner is why I started Black Dragon in the first place. Please know that I have been in your position and I will treat your horse’s hair with the utmost love, care, and respect as I’m working on your keepsake.

Yes, and sometimes we get the coolest color combinations this way! I can combine up to 5 horses’ hair into a single keepsake either into a single braid or by separating them into the double braids. Please specify when you are ordering how you would like their hair to be combined (all together in one braid, one horse each braid, color-blocked, etc.)

Unfortunately I am not able to customize the leather with any sort of stamping or embossing.

I totally understand this hangup and have heard some stories about people’s negative experiences with other companies. The short answer is yes, you can absolutely trust me. I started this business after losing a horse and I know how difficult it can be to send your most precious horse’s hair off to a stranger, especially after they’re gone. I’m happy to chat with you directly before you place your order to put you more at ease – feel free to send me an email at any time.

Believe it or not, there are actually a ton of horses in LA. We even have some of those cool neighborhoods with bridle paths next to the sidewalk! I wouldn’t have believed it before I lived here either.

It is very important to measure your wrist correctly and accurately for a bracelet! Please measure SNUG (like, tight but not cutting off your circulation) around the SMALLEST part of your wrist.

I will add the appropriate length to your bracelet so that it fits comfortably on your wrist – not tight but not so loose that it’s falling off. I have a tried and tested formula for a perfect fit!

Measure snug around your hat where the band would sit. The beauty of the adjustable hat bands is that they allow some room for error and also allow you to switch easily between hats of differing sizes, but we still want to make sure your band fits beautifully on your favorite hat!

The amount needed is specified on each product listing, but here’s a recap:

• Bracelets: pencil thick bundle at least 14-16 in.
• Hat Bands: pencil thick bundle AT THE BOTTOM (be generous with what you send please!) at least 30 in. (ideally a full tail length). SEE VIDEO AT BOTTOM OF PAGE FOR HELP WITH COLLECTING YOUR HORSE’S HAIR FOR A HAT BAND!
• Keychains and Hoof Picks: pencil thick bundle at least 10-12 in.
• Tassels: pencil thick bundle at least 14 in.

Don’t worry about this step, I’ve got you covered! I always carefully wash and prep your horsehair before braiding it.

I totally get this – when I lost my horse I wanted her hair to smell like her for as long as possible. While it is much easier to work with and will keep your braid nicer for longer if it’s done with clean hair, I will absolutely respect your wishes if you’d like me to not wash your horsehair. Just please include it in a note when you send me your horsehair.

The majority of what you send needs to be tail hair as it is much coarser and holds better in a braid. However, I’m happy to incorporate some mane hair for color accents.

It’s easier than you think! If you take hair from the very center of bottom near the base of the tail it won’t show. Just make sure to sort out the shorter hair and only cut longer strands so you don’t take more than is necessary.

I will ALWAYS send back any extra horsehair that I have after making your keepsake(s). It will never end up in the trash or be kept to use for other keepsakes without your explicit permission (and I will never ask to keep it).

I have a small amount of horsehair on hand that has been donated to me with explicit permission to use it for keepsakes. Please reach out to me directly by email to discuss this before placing an order.

I would highly recommend sending your horsehair to me either UPS or USPS with tracking. In the four years that I’ve been doing this I’ve only had horsehair get lost on its way to me once, but it can happen and having tracking information can be very helpful.

Once you place your order you will get an email with the address to send me your horsehair.

I ship all of my keepsakes UPS with tracking information to ensure their safe travel back to you.

Unfortunately I am not responsible for horsehair that gets lost on its way to me. I would highly recommend sending your horsehair with tracking to help prevent this from happening. If your horsehair gets lost before arriving to me you may either send more horsehair or I will refund your order.

In the 4 years and hundreds of keepsakes I’ve made since starting this business, this has only happened one time at the fault of UPS and I spent weeks trying to track down the package. I have since ensured that I only take your package to a UPS store that I fully trust and I ALWAYS get tracking on my packages. However in the very unlikely event that this were to happen, I am happy to make you another keepsake of the same value free of cost if you send me more hair.

My official turnaround time is 14 days from the day I receive your horsehair, however I always do my best to work as quickly as possible and can often have your keepsake in the mail within a week. During busier seasons hat bands can take up to 21 days to be shipped out, but this is very rare.

I can refund your order at any point until I receive your horsehair. At that point I am unable to issue a refund.

Unfortunately due to the amount of hours and skilled labor that I will have put into your keepsake, I am not able to issue a refund once it has been delivered. However, I will do everything in my power to make sure you love your keepsake so please send me an email and let’s see what we can do to make it right.

If you have followed my measuring instructions properly your bracelet should fit perfectly! I have a tried and true formula for bracelet sizing and am yet to have a bracelet that doesn’t fit correctly. If there is an issue with sizing however, please email me to discuss how we can make it right.

I sometimes recommend sizing your child’s bracelet up slightly if you anticipate them growing out of it soon. However, it’s still a special keepsake to have even if they eventually grow out of it. If you’d like another larger bracelet made later on for a child who has grown out of their keepsake please send me an email and I will send you a discount code for a new keepsake.

Unfortunately I cannot offer any sort of binding warranty or guarantee. What I can give you is my word that I carefully craft these keepsakes to last and that if anything does happen to your keepsake I am happy to discuss with you to figure out how we can make it right! Just send me an email.