A Horse a Day Challenge #32 - Appaloosa Colt

Well, I made the logical choice to take Christmas as my day off from drawing this week:-) This little guy is for 12/26, and is a leopard spot Appaloosa colt. If you've been following, you may remember the adult leopard spot Appy I drew - horse #24. Since I've been on a baby theme lately, the foal version seemed the logical choice for tonight. Plus, spots are fun!

I wrote on the Etsy listing about the memories doing these drawings are evoking. I'll copy and paste that part here:

"Drawing all of these babies has really brought back what it was like having foals in my life. There’s the excitement of waiting over 11 months for the birth, all the while wondering if it will be a filly or a colt. Wondering which traits will come through, and if all of the planning paid off. Then the actual birth and watching this tiny thing with impossibly long legs struggle and struggle to get up to drink that first milk – with lots of encouragement from mom (and those nips on the rump when baby nurses too hard:-). They seem to become more coordinated by the minute, gamboling alongside their mothers, so impressed with how cool they are – yet not quite daring to leave mom’s side for a little while. Watching a foal grow to adulthood is an amazing experience, and often the culmination of many years of dreams. It’s so good to have those memories!"

It amazed me to realize tonight how blessed I am to have these memories. What I didn't realize is that because of the pain of giving up my horses, I don't often delve to deep into my memories. Yet I have so many good ones!!! Foals are some of the best memories. My mom and I put so much into the dream of breeding Farrah. While we only did it three times, each time we learned more and every time was precious. I remember sleeping in the back of our station wagon in the freezing cold waiting for April to be born - and still missing the actual birth!

We actually missed all three births, though Deringer's was the closest by just a couple of minutes. Farrah had gone 11 months, 18 days with him. She also had a very serious complication just prior to the 11 month mark: she colicked pretty severely. However, even the vet wasn't sure if she was colicking or going into labor early. We were up all night, walking her, bran mash, etc. - praying. She couldn't have had surgery, because she was too far along. Finally, around 5 a.m., she passed a huge enterolith (a stone). The vet said it was the largest he'd ever seen passed without surgery! Believe it or not, we still have it;-) It's about the size of a tennis ball. If I figure out where it is, I'll have to take a picture. Won't that be exciting?

Anyways, every foal was different, yet so beautiful and so special! Drawing these babies here reminds me of them and the experiences I had. It reminds me to remember, and to appreciate how incredible having horses in my life was:-)

A Horse a Day Challenge #29 - Zebra Foal

I did it! I took on a new subject, and my drawing mojo came back today:-) It's not the same subject I tried yesterday, but it's brand new to me. I always thought it would be a pain to draw a zebra - all those stripes! However, like the Appaloosa, it was easier than I thought. I guess it shows that when you let it flow, it does.

I'm calling this guy a zebra teenager. He isn't a tiny baby, but he isn't full grown, either. It's just the way he turned out, and I kept thinking of him as a teen. He looks like he thinks he knows it all, just to keep the younger crowd in awe of him:-)

Here's some of my Etsy blurb:

"Everyone knows zebras as the wild horses of Africa; the stripes we think are so flashy are meant to confuse predators and camouflage the zebras. They can be domesticated – I think more as a novelty than for practical purposes. Looking at their movement, I can’t imagine enjoying a smooth ride. From what I’ve read, they’re also too unpredictable to make steady performance animals. That just means they belong in the wild, right? I hope I get to see them there someday…"

A Horse a Day Challenge #27 - Quarter Horse Colt

Continuing my baby kick, here's a Quarter Horse colt:-) The foals are more challenging than the adult horses to me, and I'm really enjoying drawing them. They have to look like babies, they have to look like their breed, and they have to look different from each other - so far I think I've done it!

Here's the blurb on this one, which tells why the Quarter Horse was tonight's breed:

"Baby #3! After I posted #2 foal on Flickr (My Pics), one of my contacts, PaprikasPlace (also on Etsy) responded to my question, “Who knows what tomorrow will bring?” She suggested a Quarter Horse foal, and I took her suggestion. I’m always open to ideas:-) It can be helpful to have suggestions, because I sometimes have problems deciding what next. Too many choices! So, here’s a little American Quarter Horse colt. I worked at maintaining his “baby-ness” while giving emphasis of those big muscles to come. I also have an adult Quarter Horse drawing as my #6 horse here in the challenge. The do-it-all horse!"

A Horse a Day Challenge #26 - Gypsy Vanner Colt

Yay! A little earlier tonight! And another cute baby:-) I decided that I should do some of the other breeds, since I've given more time to Arabians than anybody. Since I love Vanners, I thought I'd try a little Vanner colt tonight. They're cute little fuzz-balls, so much different than Arabians, but just as adorable.

This one's on Etsy, too. Hope you like him, and his fuzzy little chin:-)

Going to try and make it an earlier night, so need to get on over to Etsy and Flickr.