Liver Chestnut Marabella

I've actually had this girl for probably about 2 weeks by now, but I've been procrastinating terribly over getting her named and photographed. Even now I'm not entirely sure of the name I picked out for her, so I may go back at some point and rename her. But, for now, please meet my newest Breyer: Whispering Blaze, a.k.a. Whisper.

 She's the 1999-2000 liver chestnut mare on the Marabella mould (can you tell I'm fond of this mould?). I've long admired this model, but I was always a bit put off by the over-spray on her mane. I was also always unsure whether her points were blonde or more of a rosy orange colour, since all photos I could find of her online seemed to be rather old and not very clear.

 I finally decided to just go for it and see if I could find one for sale. This girl was actually being sold on ebay by a retailer in North America, and whilst I normally make a point of avoiding international sales (since I've been stung by customs charges in the past) there were no UK retailers selling the model I was looking for. The price was very reasonable, shipping wasn't too high and customs was included in the price, so I plucked up my courage and went for it. And I'm so glad I did.

 My mare arrived within good time. The seller's photos showed her with these beautiful rosy points and I was quietly hoping they weren't just a trick of the light. I adore liver chestnuts with rich brown bodies and lighter, gingery manes and tails, and when I saw the official photos of the Breyer OT Sara Moniet RSI I thought she was going to be like that (I was a bit disappointed to discover that her mane is actually closer to her body colour, but I still love her none the less). So I was delighted to find that my new Marabella mare really does have this wonderful colour in real life.

 Because of her dark red/brown body she's quite difficult to photograph accurately. But I've done my best to adjust the brightness and contrast on these photos to give you a better idea of what she really looks like.

 The lighter stockings may seem a bit unrealistic, but it's actually very common for chestnut horses to lighten around the fetlocks and lower legs, especially in flaxens. What's more, this shade of liver chestnut with a gingery flaxen mane and tail is actually quite common in Morgans, and since the Marabella mould is meant to be a Morgan broodmare it's a very fitting colour for this model :)

 In certain lights (and photos) she may appear almost black in body colour, but I assure you she really is liver chestnut :)

 Like all Marabella models, my girl has this adorable subtle braid in her tail. It's perhaps a bit more noticeable on her than on Ember because Whisper's tail is lighter than her body. 

 I can't tell for sure, but I think her eyes are the same brown as her face. They've just been glossed so they stand out from the surrounding features. She's got a charming blaze down her nose which sometimes makes her seem a bit Roman (convex) nosed from the side, but this is just an optical illusion.

 Her forelock has an extra piece of hair falling towards her right eye that Ember's model doesn't have. I also have the 2004-2005 My Friend Flicka model on the Marabella mould, and this mare also has the extra strand of forelock hair, so I think it's a feature of the mould that has either been lost or removed, for whatever reason, from the mould since 2005. I'd be interested to know from anyone who has the Renaissance Horse or Lindsay's Faith whether either of these models have the extra tuft of forelock hair.

 The part of her markings I find the most charming is this adorable lip spot on her her lower lip and chin.

  Overall, I'm really happy with my newest mare, and she fits in beautifully with my Marabella conga.

  Since they're all chestnuts I've made these 3 lovely girls half-sisters by the same father, so they all have a link to fire in their names. From left to right it's Indecisive Flare (Flare), Embers of the Heart (Ember) and Whispering Blaze (Whisper. I tried to call her Blaze but she didn't like it...). I imagine their father to be a Kennebec Count model named Flame On :) (though I don't actually own him).

Codicote Steam Fair

Last summer my family and I went to a local steam fair in Codicote, Hertfordshire. It was the typical kind of British fair, held in an open field with market stalls, fast food vendors and a petting zoo with farm animals. Being a steam fair it also included steam traction engines, as well as a collection of vintage cars. But what interested me the most were the horses.

At the furthest end of the field, away from the noisy steam engines, were four Shire horses. The two bay mares were hitched to carts, the black mare was pulling a sled, and her colt was being led by one of his owners.

 For a small donation people could have a ride on one of the carts, so my family and I jumped at the chance. It was quite a bumpy ride, and the carts, although in good working condition, only had bare wooden seats to sit on. Even so, it was good fun.

 

 The horses didn't seem at all fazed by the noisy crowds or the whistling steam engines, and even the colt took it all in his stride like a pro.

 

 It was wonderful to be able to get up close to these beautiful, gentle animals.

 Sadly, I've forgotten what most of their names were. In fact, the only reason I remember this mare's name at all is because she had the same name as me! So, of course, my family had to have a ride in the cart pulled by Beth the horse :)

 Beth was a typical Shire, with thick feathers on her hooves, a well muscled body and a large, Roman nose. You can see in the photos she had a neat blaze and 3 white stockings, whilst her near (left) hind leg was all black.

 The other bay mare (who's name I've forgotten, sorry!) was more of a sabino, with high stockings on all 4 legs and a wide blaze. It was quite some time ago, so I apologise if I'm remembering any of this wrong, but I don't think she was a Clydesdale or Clyde x.

 The black mare also had 4 white stockings and a belly spot, but her whites weren't as extensive as the other bay. Her colt was a lovely baby bay/black (even his owners weren't 100% sure what colour he'd shed out).

So, why am I writing about this over a year and half later? Well, I was going through the photos on my computer and the thought struck me that it would be nice to share them with people. What's more, whilst I don't personally do any model horse showing I know there are plenty of people out there that do. And photos like these can be wonderful as references for people making harness tack, or even as documentation at a show.

 

 I'm sorry that the photos aren't better quality, but if anyone is thinking of making a draught horse harness, or looking for inspiration for a draught horse setup for their next performance entry, you're more than welcome to use these pictures. And check out the driver in this photo! He stood up the whole way round the arena.

2015 Schleich Tennessee Walker Stallion

Here's the 3rd and final model of the new 2015 Schleich horses I recently purchased. He's the Tennessee Walker stallion, and since he looks so refined and elegant I decided to name him Solitaire, or Sol for short.

 Whilst not a new mould, the 2015 Tennessee Walker stallion features a brand new coat colour. This wonderful pale buttermilk buckskin with ebony black points really suits the mould in my opinion, and I love the contrast between the light creamy body and the satin dark points.

 As far as I can tell, the only change made to the mould is the updated branding on the belly (if you've got both, have a look at the underside of their bellies, you'll see what I mean). I think the horse is meant to be walking, turning to his left as he goes, but I might be wrong. His hooves are wonderfully painted and quite realistic.

 The shading on his coat is quite subtle but very effective. It's lovely to see shading, especially as some of the newer Schleich horses lack it. Colour wise, his coat is very similar to the Schleich exclusive Tennessee Walker mare (which sadly I don't have, so I can't show you them side by side), which makes me think that perhaps she was the inspiration for this model. I think the pale buckskin colour really suits her too, though I don't really like the high black points on her legs, so I'm glad they limited the stallion's black to below his knees.

 My boy has a bit of a flaw in his paintwork on his off (right) side, right in the middle of his belly. I think it's a blob of paint, but I'm not too concerned about it. Maybe I'll just call it a scar where he was wounded and the skin and hair grew back a little thicker in that spot :)

 The rich black of his mane and tail make the hairs look super silky here. I almost expect them to be soft to the touch :)

 The mould isn't flawless. The ears are too big and the legs are too thick, but since the mould is one of the 'older' generation of Schleich horses he's perhaps somewhat more realistic than many of the newer models. It'll be very interesting to see if Schleich continue to reuse some of the older moulds in new colours.

 Since the mould already has horseshoes sculpted on Schleich have painted them on this model. This makes him one of the only 2015 horses to still have horseshoes.

 Compared to my chestnut Tennessee Walker stallion this boy's eyes seem to be painted in a bit more, making them appear slightly larger and fuller. His mane and forelock have been painstakingly painted, so there are very few flaws to be seen.

 I love his face. He just seems so alert yet serious, ready to perform his duty at his rider's command.

 Here he is beside to original flaxen chestnut Tennessee Walker stallion. Personally I think the pale buckskin colour really suits this mould, and maybe even looks better than the original chestnut on him.

Overall I'm really, really happy with this stallion, and very glad I added him to my herd.

2015 Schleich Pinto Stallion

 Here's the second of my new Schleich horses: the 2015 Pinto stallion. I've named him Sunburst.

 He's moulded in a lateral/united canter, although he's looking away into the distance rather than the direction he's actually travelling. Like the older pinto stallion he's painted as a chestnut frame overo, although this boy has a much simpler design than the old model, which probably makes him cheaper and easier to produce.

 He's got a wonderfully wild, windswept mane and tail, although I imagine his mane might make it difficult to tack him up. His overall design makes me think more of a mustang stallion than a tame horse.

 Like most of the other new models, this stallion lacks horseshoes. It seems to be the new direction the Schleich company are moving in with their models, which personally I'm a bit sorry about. I used to love the added details of horseshoes on each horse.

 His coat colour is quite flat and lacks any real shading. In contrast, however, his mane and tail are wonderfully painted, with multiple chestnut tones interwoven throughout.

 I'd prefer it if his hooves on the legs with white markings were a different colour to the hooves on his solid legs, but I'm not too bothered by that. I can't quite tell, but it feels to me that his legs are a little disproportionate in length, and he's got an overall 'toy' feel to him, but he's still quite attractive and a nice addition to the herd.

My particular stallion is made in Tunisia, and interestingly has a longer stocking on his off (right) fore leg than the one shown on Schleich's website. His white patches also seem smoother and more rounded.

 His head is a bit too small and short, but the thing that annoys me most is his black muzzle. With the large white blaze on his face his nose should really be pink, and I think I'll probably end up repainting it eventually.

I like his sweet, blue eyes; they nicely complement his chestnut coat. Whilst he's far from perfect, I'm nonetheless happy with him, and glad I added him to my collection.

2015 Schleich Mini Shetland Stallion

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a couple more of the 2015 Schleich horses that I liked. Here's the first, and probably my favourite, of them. He's just so cute!

 I'm extremely happy with this little man. Whilst many of Schleich's horses can be a bit off (or very off) with their conformation, they have better success with their pony moulds. And there is absolutely no doubt that this stallion is meant to be a Shetland pony.

 To be honest I'd never heard of a 'miniature Shetland' before, but from what I can gather they're not a separate pony breed to the Shetland. Rather, the miniature version is simply smaller than average, standing at around 7-8 hh at the withers (regular Shetlands average 10-11 hh).

 Because of this, and because they are very strong willed and said to be, for their height, the strongest horse or pony breed in the world, they're not recommended as a children's riding pony. Instead, miniature Shetlands are often trained to be guide ponies in a similar fashion to guide dogs, or performance ponies in shows or circuses. With this in mind it's not difficult to see why Schleich chose a rearing pose with this boy.

His colour is a little difficult to define. Whilst the cream body and brownish points suggest an amber champagne, he lacks the speckled nose or hazel eyes of a true champagne. With this in mind I think he's probably a buckskin, but I can't say for sure.

  As you can probably see from his mane and forelock my boy isn't painted perfectly. There are strands of hair that have missed the paint altogether. But that really doesn't bother me that much. His adorable pose, his sweet face and his thick pony mane just make me smile affectionately every single time I look at him :)

 It was a little difficult to name him, but not because I couldn't find a name that fits. Rather, I had many, many names that all could have worked for this little guy, and narrowing them down to just one was what took the longest. In the end I decided, partly based on his colour, to name him Peanut. And to reflect his cheeky nature, his show name is May Contain Peanuts :)

 Like the rest of the new moulds, this stallion lacks horse shoes. But that's a good thing; unlike the larger horses and ponies this boy isn't a riding horse and therefore wouldn't need the added protection on his hooves.

There's the faintest hint of a smile on this little chap's face that, combined with his cheeky rear, just makes him seem so mischievous and adorable. Had they painted him in a dark bay he'd look just like Tucker from Racing Stripes!