HoofTut2

Okay, let's go.

Shave your legs. Yuppers. Shave 'em. Sorry. *smile* You'll thank me, trust me on this.

I'm going to describe this as if you were doing another person's leg.

Have your friend put the sock on, pull it all the way up. Then have them stand on the foot the way they plan to
stand on it as the character. Ed Kline and I stood on our toes so it was like we were walking tip toed. We'd do
this for hours once the hoof was done. It takes a bit of leg strengthening or a lot of dedication. *smile* But if
done right, you'll also be able to go down onto your heel for a few minutes at a time as the material will likely
stretch a bit after time to allow this. This can be a bit hidden with some nice feathering, too.

Have your friend put one foot in the position they wants to be in and then stand very still. (If you do it on
yourself, it's likely you'll want to actually sit while you are doing this, on a lowish chair that allows you to put
your foot comfortably in the position you want to walk around in.) You then cover the sock with latex - do one
foot/sock at a time. Use your fingers to apply the latex. It goes faster. The latex WILL soak into the sock--
this is why you need to shave your legs. You will terribly regret it if you don't. You'll be able to tell when the
layer is beginning to set because the color of the latex will start change slightly. It should darken.

When that starts to happen, add another layer of latex--before it's completely set. Repeat this until the sock is
fairly rubbery. A good solid layer over the whole thing. Basically a latex sock. Try to keep the layers smooth.
(A trick when the latex is building up on your fingers is to rub them briskly together over a paper bag or the
floor if it's tile - you can clean up later. The stuff rolls off. Have a roll of paper towels handy to get the
majority off and then rub. You'll want to cover the floor at your feet with newspaper, if it's carpeted. If it's tile,
the latex will very easily peel off. But I'd suggest doing this whole thing over tile.) Cover the entire sock with
the latex. The foot, heel and toes included. Even the underside of the foot. Put the latex up only to say, just
under the knee. That's what we usually do. You can do it shorter or taller if you want. It all depends. You can
even make it only ankle length if you want though we've never done a hoof appliance that short ourselves so
there may be some catch in the costruction that we've not experienced. You can leave a bit of the sock at the
top with no latex on it. Especially if the sock stretches above the knee. This can be trimmed later.

Part way through this process the latex should be heavy enough that your friend can sit down on a chair
without changing the way their muscles will lay and you can finish up the process with them sitting. This will
likely take several hours. Put a movie on or something or get a book to read. *smile* You can speed up the
curing process between layers with a blow dryer but be careful to not get the latex too hot. You'll "vulcanize"
it and it will no longer accept any more latex--it will split and/or fall/peel right off when set.

After the last layer, usually we make that the layer where we can no longer see the grain of the sock, let the
latex then finish curing completely ON your friend. This, again, will take a while.