Materials

• Horse brushes
• Sandpaper
• Acrylic paint
• Paint brushes
• Blue painter’s tape
• Clear finish gloss spray

Instructions

• Step 1: Lightly sand the wood or plastic backs of the brushes. Any shiny finish should be gone, leaving a dull and porous surface.
  
• Step 2: Place blue painter’s tape around the bristles of your brushes. You don’t want any of the paint getting on the bristles.
  
• Step 3: Paint the handles of your brushes with your base color. This may take a couple of thin coats. If that is the case, let the paint dry in between coats.
  
• Step 4: Paint your design on the horse brushes. We chose to use various sizes of paint brushes and pencils to create a dot pattern.
• Step 5: Ask an adult to help you spray your brushes with a clear finish gloss spray. Let it dry. Check your specific spray for details, but we would recommend letting them sit overnight.
• Step 6: Remove the blue painter’s tape and take your new designed horse brushes to the barn!

Tip: You can use the erasers on pencils, the top of a paint brush handle, or even toothpicks to make nice, clean dots with paint.

This article originally appeared in the May/June 2019 issue of Young Rider magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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