Mane and tail

Zaphod had a brown mane and tail (I know as I found two bits inside his body cavity) so that's the colour I used. These are cured horse tails, which you soak overnight to soften the hide, and cut to size from the hide side with a stanley knife. You then nail the mane to the neck, with a separate bit for the forelock, and allow to dry. The bridle will cover the join. Some horses have a groove so you don't see the hide on the left side - rocking horses' manes traditionally fall to the right - but I didn't carve Zaphod one. I don't know if he would have had a groove originally.

I forgot to mention that I gave Zaphod three coats of satin acrylic varnish. I chose this after some thought rather than an oil-based varnish as it won't go yellow.