Hand Painted Manes - A Second Look

Continuing the discussion of hand painted manes from Monday's post. I have put the date the models were produced according to the Identify Your Breyer site.

I focused on vintage molds when trying to determine which of my models had hand painted manes. As I scanned my shelves, I decided to begin with my conga of Running Mares. (1961/63)

Bingo! The first piece I pulled off the shelf had a hand painted mane.

This piece exhibits a pattern that I soon began noticing - the hand painted mane tendrils typically (but not always) are rounded at the end instead of being sharply pointed.

More of that rounding can be seen in her forelock. (1961/63)

This Western Prancer was another discovery - the rounded aspect of the hand painted tendrils is very evident. (1963)

The bay Western Pracing Horse is also hand painted. (1963)

A closer look at the mane tendrils.

Gool ol' carpet herd Hercules may have his mane in bobs, but his forelock isn't! (1963)

His no-muscle glossy (and dusty) counterpart also has a hand painted forelock. (1958)

I've always said there is something different about this particular buckskin Quarter Horse but I cannot put my finger on just what it is. Add hand painting to his list of oddities. (1961/63)

A better view of the mane.

Carpet herd Sheena's mane may be black, but the evidence of hand painting in her forelock really stood out against her bald face.

I thought it might be fun to show how my buckskin Semi-Rearing Mustangs compared. Both have hand painted manes.

#1 - looks like the painter was careful with the brushstrokes.

#2 - thicker brushstrokes.

#1 - check out the forelock.

#2 - again, the thicker, less careful brushstrokes.

I have no doubts that these models are all hand painted. But there are others that I am not sure about. I'll show those tomorrow.

Stay 'tooned!

Gotta Be Hokey

When I brought Abby home from Indiana Horse Rescue in 2012, she had a lovely full mane.

In just a short time after her arrival, that beautiful mane had disappeared.

At first I thought she might be rubbing it off on the round hay feeder, but when it was summer and she was on pasture, her mane did not regrow.

I have never seen her rubbing her mane on the fences nor have I found long blonde strands of mane on any fencing, so I know she isn't rubbing it out.

That left one of her pasture mates as the suspect. One of them had to be chewing if off. But who?

I had seen Hokey once or twice go after her mane while they were doing some mutual grooming, but that didn't mean it was him. After all, Trouble, Dolly, Persuasion, Diablo, Yukon, Mason, Snickerdoodle, and several other horses have been pastured with Abby during her time with me.

But all those horses are gone now. Sultana is still pastured with Abby, but she wasn't even born when Abby's mane first disappeared. 

So, unless there's a possibility I haven't considered, I've found the culprit. 

The Culprit?

When I got Abby from Indiana Horse Rescue in 2012, she had a pretty blonde mane. It was a typical Appaloosa mane in that it was short, but it was pretty and it was THERE.

About a year later, it had disappeared. Since Tim's pastures are so large and well maintained, I knew she was not rubbing it off as she put her head under the fence to get at grass on the other side. I figured one of the other horses was nibbling it. (Although why she is targeted and no one else is is a mystery.)

The whole herd came up yesterday to say hello, and so I decided to take a selfie. I wasn't very successful in getting them all into the frame, but I did notice this when I looked at the photos.

 Diablo sure was interested in my hair.

 And she is Abby's best friend so they spend a lot of time together. 

Goodness! My girl barely has a forelock left! 

I really think, though, that it is actually Hokey who nibbles her mane. I have seen them mutually groom each other and he has gone for Abby's mane while doing so. But Diablo certainly is a suspect.

While I would love for her to have her pretty mane intact, in the grand scheme of things it isn't important. She is in a  good place, healthy, and happy. Who could ask for more?