Good afternoon Richard! Great to hear from you - how're you keeping? "Life-span", as it applies to gauntlets, really is a two-fold consideration. There really are some highly suspect Falconry gloves being sold which are of no more than "fair" quality; they're often overpriced, poorly tanned (ie: the dyes easily rub off on your fingers, and the glove smells 'funny'), and are made from cheaper leather. These often _look_ amazing, but frequently don't bear up under close scrutiny. 😐 In short, I definitely encourage everyone to ask members of your Falconry community for names of reputable suppliers and/or glove-makers *_they_* regularly purchase-from, as these cheaper gauntlets are likely to thin out your wallet. When you're fortunate enough to connect with a 'Glover' (yes, this is the accurate term for describing the trade of glove-making), who sources and uses higher quality leathers - say from Elk-hide, Buffalo-hide, or high-end saddle making leather, you _are_ going to pay more for the product...the payoff here is you'll have gloves which will take abuse from larger raptors (such as eagles, larger buzzards and the like), but which also provide the "touch" needed to handle the more modest-sized feathered-companions in your life. These gloves will - if *properly* cared-for - last a good deal longer than your medium-quality "working" gloves, which typically have a lifespan of around 3 - 4 years, (with average use and care-habits). I've encountered gauntlets which were incredibly robust, but provided poor "touch" sensitivity through the leather. Protection from talons had taken over the front seat of the list of considerations given to their construction, which meant I could've handled a Harpy Eagle with one of them, but would've had poor feedback through the leather in the bargain. There's a balance you're looking for here, namely well-tanned leather which is thick AND supple, thus providing protection AND sensitivity to the messages coming through the feet of your Feathered-one. I've always encouraged my peers and new practitioners to purchase at least two medium to excellent quality gauntlets; one for feeding/daily-chores, and the other for manning. Just as its the case you'll extend the lifespan of the tires on your vehicle by purchasing good to excellent quality summer *and* winter treads, (there is *no* such thing as "all season tires" - this is a mythology of gross proportion), you'll likewise reap benefits by having at _least_ one (preferably _two_ )"working" gloves, _and_ a manning glove, in your toolkit. With daily attention and care, turning a gauntlet into compost material can be stretched out to 4 or even more years of reliable use. Naturally, when the leather ages - regardless of the original quality of the gauntlet, you'll get spots which have stretched or thinned out...which of course opens you up to experiencing what its like to be a pin-cushion. Likewise, when you've repaired the stitches which have failed along the seams of the fingers or wrist several times, you'll find the leather here begins to fail with increasing regularity. When this is happening - regardless of the care you've taken to extend its service-life, this gauntlet has become a liability to you and your feathered-companion, and its time to replace it. I hope this helps clarify things for you Richard - do let me know if you'd benefit from further insights. Have a great week! Jo

@@TheFalconLady had a tough few months but getting there a last yes i feel it could benefit not only myself but others btw i am loving seeing spectacular feathered ones deffinitely red kites and possibly a few others

Hey man, TL;DR I hear on average most basic, working, gauntlets last about three to four years with minimal care. These are typically gloves that are used for nearly every daily activity all year round. The Elk-hide gloves we have are by far my favourites, however they are not the ones I commonly use. Not for chores. For a long manning adventure, work on set, or demonstrations they are my go-to. To add to what Jo says about the quality of gauntlet: another consideration is your feathered companion. For sure the leathers get more traumatized by Mohave than by the Falcon's. Just down to a pure power difference. So take into account your companion's behavior (mannerisms like tending to bite at the gauntlet or strike at the gauntlet while communicating) as well as their anatomy. The larger birds with powerful and/or sharp talons will see differing degrees of wear and tear in your gear. Another consideration is the time (season) you operate the most in. Hunting in colder, or damper, weather can cause different types of stress to your gear and will require you to take proper precautions ie: water proofing before major activity. Most of our gauntlets are reinforced, but not everyone goes this route. That extra layer of tougher leather can really increase a gauntlet's life span, but it might make the gauntlet less comfortable for longer sessions of use. It is also worth considering getting gauntlets with a warmer lining in them for colder seasons, for these gauntlets get a slightly larger size than you might normally. Having multiple gauntlets for different tasks and different seasons will exponentially increase each gauntlet's lifespan... It is also a very simple form of manning to get your team used to working with different surfaces and people. Our gloves last much longer than what I have heard others talk about. With care (maintenance) and making use of these tactics I think yours could too. Take care! J

Good afternoon TheHawkNerd; _Soooo_ glad to hear you enjoyed the episode - Joey is a great teacher, and it was important to me to capture as much detail in his technique as possible in order to minimize any questions or confusion. We're all looking for *smart* ways to save money right now, and both Joey and I felt this was a worthwhile undertaking...sometimes gauntlets need to be shredded up and consigned to the compost-heap for both health *and* safety reasons, and _sometimes_ we can extend their usability. Thanks so much for checking in - do let me know if you've any questions you'd like me to pass along to Joey regarding the gauntlet-episode. Have a great week! 😃 Jo

@@TheFalconLady I was wondering about how often you should clean your gauntlet, but forgot to put it into my earlier comment.:)

@@KitisTheMandalorian Good morning TheHawkNerd; Great question - take a *damp* wad of paper-towel to your gauntlet every evening when all the chores, manning, etc., has wrapped up for the day, and pat the blood out of the leather, (you may need to do this a couple of times until its basically coming up with very little colour on the paper-towel). You can often stop here if your glove isn't _particularly_ soiled. just hang it to dry on its hook in your work area (or in the mews), and it'll be waiting for you the next morning. *[Note]* - This is definitely a worthy habit to get into at the end of *each* day. Should your gauntlet be _quite_ soiled, you'll be best served by continuing on to the following steps on a more frequent basis (that is, how gory are your gloves at the end of each week, even with damp mopping them every evening???) After you've used damp paper-towels to soak the worst of the blood from the leather, pat the glove dry, then using a long-handled wire brush like the one Joey uses in the video (almost any hardware store should have them in stock - they're pretty common), *gently* work along the seams - where most of the gore tends to end up, in between the fingers, and along the upper palm area. Once again with a *damp* piece of paper-towel, lightly pat the areas you've been working on with the wire-brush until it seems pretty much dry. Joey's technique is awesome, so if you're not quite sure how much wire-brush work to bring to bear, the video is here to help you. 😉 Finally, apply some leather-conditioner, focusing on the areas most in need of a bit of "moisturizing". Work the conditioner into the leather quite vigorously, as Joey demonstrates. It should feel like the leather has really taken everything up, and there's very little superficial residue. Do let me know if this clarifies things for you - thanks so much for watching, and please share the video link on your social media pages to help us get the word out! Best, Jo

Heyo! Dabbing every night without fail is the "Master's" answer. I do not doubt it is also the answer every other master out there tells all their assistants. The truth is not that simple or OCD. Your gauntlets will not become equally dirtied each day. It simply will not happen. Some days are messier than others. I save myself a lot of cleaning time by doing simple things like wiping fresh gore and blood off on dry, green, grass. Just as you would if you were clearing audacious cheeto crumbs off your hands and onto your sweatpants during a Netflix marathon. Do not store your gauntlet wet, be it wet with gore, blood, water, whatever... If your glove is wet or damp this is the perfect opportunity to do the "dab" thing Jo mentioned. If you can actually see layers of blood, with differing colours to them: it is time to clean it. If there are hard chunks of gore on your glove that is not ok. Remove them. Huge major cleans like what I did here happens, for us, maybe once every six or seven weeks. Sometimes it is the same gauntlet and sometimes it is not. And often multiple gloves are done at once. Personally it seems easier to turn it into a bit of a project to get all the "worthy" gauntlets maintained and conditioned at once. Rather than keeping a long daily to-do list. Necessary daily tasks are demanding enough. Especially for someone starting out. If you are working with a large team it might be the smarter idea to perform basic maintenance daily for hygienic reasons. If you want to keep your gauntlet fresh and gorgeous, comfortable and supple, all the time... Then for sure the daily maintenance is the way to go. I definitely do not clean the gauntlets EVERY day... However I do -not- put gauntlets away dirty and gross. Keep being a super star THN! J

Huh... using hyphens to highlight a word crosses it out... awesome. To be clear I do NOT put gauntlets away dirty or gross :p

Red-tailed Hawks are the best, since Kestrels are (In my preference) very small with an extremely fast metabolism, and are hard to keep in good condition (And alive, in some cases) Red-shouldered Hawks are smaller than Red-tails, and are high-strung, or easy to stress, but they're not as bad as the Accipiters. Overall, it's your decision, but you'd have a lot more support from potential sponsors if you're planning on a Red-tail.