At Last - a Barn Visit!

Yesterday afternoon I finally had the energy to go visit Abby. As soon as she saw me, she hurried up to the gate. The problem was, Tim had put the babies in the small paddock by the new barn with Hokey as a babysitter, and I needed to cross that paddock to get to her.

Normally, that's not a problem. But right now since I'm post op, I am sore, moving slowly, and under restrictions for lifting. Snickerdoodle and Sultanna are very social, but they're also babies and sometimes crowd me. Or, they nip at each other and get things stirred up, making it so I have to quickly dodge out of the way. I'm just not up to that right now.

I went back to the car and got my pig whip out of the trunk. I usually use it to keep Trouble away (he's just as nosy as the babies) but they, too, know and respect it. (I don't hit them with it; it has a snapper and so I shake at at them when they come too close. They don't like the noise and back away.)

It worked like a charm! Sultanna, Snickerdoodle, and Hokey stayed back so I could visit Abby. (I do think it's funny that they stayed close and watched me chat with her. Like I said, they're very social!)

Abby was really happy to see me. Since Tim is rotating pastures, she, Trouble, and Diablo are together in a smaller field by the old barn so the others can grow. Because of my post op restrictions, I couldn't lift and wrestle the gates to get in with her and I am just too tender to duck between the wires. So, I had to be content with a visit through a partially opened gate. (Tomorrow I'll go down the lane to the old barn. I can get into the pasture she's in from up there.)

Looks like the other four pastures are growing well! I'm not sure which one Tim will rotate into next, but this one with the loafing shed is looking nice.

Surgery Update

Sorry I have not written much this week. I had surgery last Friday, and I was over confident that I would be back on my feet and to normalcy soon. I've discovered that soft tissue surgeries can wipe you out just as much as joint replacements or spinal fusions.

I haven't seen Abby for a week but hope to get out to see her tomorrow. At this point I only have energy for one thing a day, and today my priority has to be picking up my new glasses which have been ready for three days.

I know Abby is in good hands with Tim, but I am anxious to see her anyway. Fingers crossed that tomorrow I will be up to heading out to the barn!

More Generosity from Kathleen

Oh, how I wish I had had better record keeping skills when these resins arrived! All are gifts from Kathleen Moody, and I don't remember the circumstances as to why she sent them to me.

 I believe this came from her personal collection. It's a customized On Broadway.

It's not signed, but it came in a box packed with some other things Kathleen had sent me and was a surprise. I got it in the 2000s some time.

 I also have a Palomar Elite II. It arrived unpainted and so I sent it out to Janis Whitcomb for painting.

 She did not sign him - I think she must've forgotten. He, too, is from the 2000s.

And, Kathleen gave me a Moody Magnificence, one of her signature sculpts! If I remember right, Kathleen told me this was an extra blank she happened to have. From the 2000s like the others.

 Janis Whitcomb painted it, too. (But unlike the Palomar Elite II, she signed her work this time.)

Then, of course, there is my Rockwell. But how he came about is documented in a couple of blog entries earlier this month.

At the time I received all of the resins, I was just returning to work after sixteen years of being home with my children. And, since we had six of them, money was tight, tight, tight. The mama of a lot of children herself, Kathleen understands how tight a budget for a big family can be and that often there simply is no room in it for extras like resin models.

So, in her generosity and having access to resins since she sculpted them, she sent me a few out of the kindness of her heart.

And for that, I will always be grateful. And, I will pass on that gift of generosity to others, too.

Shipping Boots - For Me!

Yesterday I had surgery and several procedures done. Since I have had a lot of surgeries (13 prior to yesterday) I wasn't nervous or anything, but I was anxious to get the two hour surgery done so I could  move forward.

When you have had that many operations, you have seen a lot of needles, tubes, meds, and other items needed for the surgery. Even the nurse who prepped me for yesterday's surgery was familiar - she prepped me last year when I had my spine fused! (We had a nice time catching up.)

Blood clots are a complication from surgery, and a dangerous one at that. I'm used to wearing Tens stockings post op, but I don't remember ever wearing compression devices during surgery. So when the prep nurse put these on, it was a surprise. And, it made me laugh!

(Both photos are file photos from Google image search.)

The nurse set those out on my gurney and told me she was going to put them on and why. Inside, I was giggling. They sure looked like shipping boots for horses!

See the resemblance? Since the nurse is not a horsey-girl, I didn't say anything about that to her, but I did to Craig after she left. He thought it was funny, too.

My recovery time is about 1-2 weeks, and my doctor, knowing that I was going to BreyerFest in July, deliberately did the surgery on her day off so that I would have enough time to be recovered enough to go. That was so nice of her; I am going to bake her some bread to thank her. 

Buggies and Surreys and Buckboards, Oh My!

When Ian and Mila were with me visiting Abby earlier this week, I took them into the new barn to see Tim's collection of horse-drawn vehicles. Ian stepped into the cool shade of the barn aisle and stopped dead in his tracks when he spied them all!

It's quite a line up with buggies, a surrey, a paddy wagon, a mail carriage, buckboard, two sleighs, and a couple of sulkies.

 Ian surveyed the line up like a kid in a candy shop. He didn't know where to begin!

Craig helped both kids up into the driver's seat of the paddy wagon. It was used over a hundred years ago in Morgan County, Indiana. Tim loans it out to historic re-enacting groups and small town festivals. It is really cool, and my favorite of them all.

The family surrey was next. It actually has a child seat (Ian is standing where it goes) that folds down and away when not in use. Basically, the children sit on the floor at their parents' feet - there are no restraints or anything as in modern day car seats.

Me, Mila, and Ian. You can see the children's seat folded up and under the adult seat in this picture.

Next up was the buckboard.

It had a little more room for the kids to stand up and walk around. No leather seats or upholstery on this one - it's all business.

 The modern-day vehicles held some appeal, too.

 Both Ian and Mila wanted to sit in the seat of the tractor.

We toured the indoor arena, the stalls, the lounge, the tackroom, and even peeked into the bathroom! ("Ooo, that's old," Ian said when he saw the toilet. Hey, kiddo, at least it flushes. I've done outhouses before and am grateful for the upgrade!)

Ian taking a break on one of the benches by the lounge entrance.

It was a great day - two of my loves, family and horses, rolled into one!

They're Big Animals!

Since I am around horses so frequently, sometimes I forget how big they might appear to a small child.

Yesterday, Ian and Mila, two of my grandchildren, came with me to the barn to take Abby some "apple spaghetti" (peelings from having made apple crisp.)

 Mila was okay with approaching the gate, but Ian hung back despite my best efforts.

 I picked Mila up so that she could pat Abby's nose...

 .... but when Abby reached out to say "hello," Mila leaned back away from her.

I showed Mila how I fed Abby, but she was content to stay on my hip and just watch.

I tried to encourage Ian to come up by making some jokes, but it didn't work.

As I look at these pictures of me holding Mila, I can't help but think back to a year ago prior to having had my spine fused. Back then, I could not even hold Mila as it was simply too painful! I could barely stand for more than a few minutes, and had some real concerns about becoming wheelchair bound in the near future. Go here to read about my first visit with Abby post-op.

Anyway, I'll take Ian and Mila out again this summer and I am sure that, as they get used to being around the horses, they will warm up to them. They are, after all, my grandchildren with horsey blood in their veins!

Cheeky Snickerdoodle

Like Trouble, Snickerdoodle likes to stick his nose into whatever is happening. Today, Ian and Mila were with me and helping me feed Abby some apples and carrots. Naturally, Snickerdoodle came up to see what we were doing.

 He poked his nose in my face, and so I planted a kiss on his muzzle.

 He pulled his head back, not sure that he like smooching with me.

 But he quickly changed his mind...

... and came back for more!

Muncie Model Swap Meet

Allison Pareis, a fellow Hoosier horse collector, posted a few months ago on Facebook that she was going to hold a get together in Muncie for collectors. It was a meetup for selling, trading, and chatting, plus she was going to have someone talk about model horse repair and someone else speak on conformation.

We were getting together at the Muncie Pizza King and eating pizza and noodling about our collections.

 I packed my items from "Lynn's Rescue" (as Craig calls the things I find at antique shops and buy in order to get them into the hands of collectors. I don't personally want them for my collection, but I know others who do, and so, if the price is good, I'll buy them. I sell them almost at cost as I am not interested in making a profit.)

The banquet room of the Pizza King was very large, and easily held the collectors from Indiana, Kentucky, and Ohio who were gathered together. (Maureen Reynolds in the blue on the left.)

 All sorts of things were for sale, from vintage Breyers and Hagen Renakers, to current models, tack, props, and other things. It was so fun to walk around and take a gander at the goodies!

 But it wasn't just the swap meet items that were fun and exciting. Running into dear friends was, too!

Michelle Evans and I have been friends for years. She's been collecting since the mid 1970s and has a wonderful sense of humor. (She is also an excellent writer.) I always love running into her at collectors' events. I was so happy that she took my HR Butch home for her collection!

 Lunch was served right where we were, and Michelle and Pat Reed came and ate with me. That's Robin Mangus from Indianapolis in the background.

 Mary H.... I cannot remember her last name, but she came with Pat and Michelle....

 ... and Pat's sister, whose name also escapes me at the moment!

 Anna Tackett and her son came up from Kentucky. He collects, too, and was very sweet to talk to.

 Jenn Read (in yellow) gave a talk on simple touch ups on your model.

Ronda Mosley, Kaye Callahan, Anna Tackett, hostess Allison Pareis, Jenn Read, her friend, and her husband.

Allison's husband, Stan Sollars, a professor at Ball State University in Muncie, came along. He and I had a nice chat - he's started his own collection!

I didn't get to talk to everyone there, but I did do a tally when we went around and introduced ourselves. There were thirteen folks from Indiana, two from Kentucky, and six from Ohio. I was interested in that because I have long wanted to put together a fun show for vintage models and I was looking to see if there would be enough people in the area to support it. Judging from this turnout, I think there definitely is.

My HR Butch, HR Specialty Sentinel, HR Specialty Wrangler, and my Stone Critter Zebra all went to new homes. I bought a Cherry Creek Fonzie Merit for $20 and got a Breyer Shetland Pony "Pine" in trade for the Zebra. 

It was a fun and relaxing day. Allison says she will do it again, and Pat and Michelle are talking about having a meet up in Indianapolis some time in September. 

Hope I can be there!

The Making of Rockwell: The Mormon History Connection to the Breed

There is very little information to be found on Moyles horses. Rex Moyle, the breeder, has apparently stopped breeding them, at least, that's what the sources I am finding online say. And if that's true, then the breed, already extremely rare, may go extinct.

This article, cut and pasted from an online message board and several years old, sums it up nicely.

Its a little late I know but I ran across your question regarding the MOYLE horse. The horses were brought to Utah in the mid 1800s, by Porter Rockwell at the request of Brigham Young. They were brought to be used by the Mormon settlers as a working farm horse and to be used by the Pony Express. Where Porter Rockwell got the horses is not known, only that they were brought overseas by ship. But they proved their worth with incredible endurance and stamina. Porter Rockwell fell in love with this breed and bred these horses for use in the stage lines and buggy horses. After his death the horses he had bred so carefully were sold off and and crossed with other breeds. There is a record of a Pony Express company paying $250 per head of the "Mormon horses" when $25 would have bought the best horses available. 

A rancher named Chris Hansen had the fortune of living near the Pony Express route and was able to trade for one of the "Mormon horses". That mare had a filly and the filly was given to his daughter. That little filly had 16 foals which became the foundation herd for Chris Hansen's sturdy ranch horses. Chris Hansen's "Mormon horses" became famous in the area for having unlimited endurance and a working ranch horse that could last one rider, all day; when most ranches had to have a working string of 5-7 horses per cowboy, per day. 

When a horse breeder named Rex Moyle, Chris Hansen's grandson, was a young man he went into the Cedar Valley where the Mormons had grazed their livestock he carefully looked through hundreds of captured mustangs and he found breeding stock that had the characteristics of the ranch horses his grandfather Hansen had bred and loved so much and he began breeding MOYLE Horses. To avoid inbreeding, some outcrosses were made to Cleveland Bay horses. 

These horses owe their unusual endurance and stamina to an unusual freedom of movement in the shoulders. The forelegs are place extremely forward of the ribcage which allows for greater stride and movement. The liver and spleen of these horses are larger, giving them the greater advantage of red blood cell replacement for long distance endurance. In 1961 the Moyle family began entering in endurance races placing consistently in the top 6 and winning awards for having the overall best conditioned horses at the end of the races. Their horses were often the only ones still in good enough shape to ride into town to collect the prize money. 

Not all of the Moyle horses sport the frontal bony bumps but they all have the endurance of the original "Mormon Horses".

Blood samples show trace lineage to the Carthusian Andalusian and from there to some asian breeds who show some of the horses with bony bumps on their foreheads.

This is another, with some of the same information, but some new as well.

Brief History

Moyles are named after a family that bred them for generations. However, the family freely acknowledges that they did not originate the breed. The Mormons did that. Bringham Young was supposed to have them himself. How he discovered them, no one knows.

Mormons kept their incredibly strong and small horses to themselves with strict orders that they were never to sell their horses to unbelievers. However, according to International Encyclopedia of Horse Breeds (University of Oklahoma Press, 1995), many Mormon horses served in the short-lived Pony Express, costing 100 times more than any other horse because of their stamina.

Legend has it that the non-Mormon rancher Chris Hansen long admired the Mormons’ little horses. One day a Mormon’s mare dropped in exhaustion on Hanson’s ranch property. The custom at the time was to lend a fresh horse to the stricken rider. Hanson, sensing it was now or never, refused. But he would give a sound gelding in the place of the dying mare. The Mormon accepted and was on his way.

The mare recovered and soon foaled a filly. That filly in turn had sixteen foals. She was given to Chris Hansen’s daughter, who married into the Moyle family of Idaho. The Moyle family has been breeding them ever since. Some Cleveland Bay was added in order to keep the core herd from inbreeding. However, it is unknown if the Moyle family has continued the work and no breed registration exists.

General Description

Not all Moyle horses have frontal bosses. They do have forelegs that are positioned the furthest forward of any breed, making their strides long and smooth. They now stand about 15 hands high but can be smaller. They have long backs, handsome heads and excellent hooves. Their livers and spleens are the largest of any horse breed in the world, which may be one of the reasons why Moyles have such incredible stamina. They come in several solid colors, but mostly bay and chestnut.

Moyles excel in trail riding, ranch work and endurance riding. One Moyle named Hawk is in the Endurance Horse Hall of Fame. Another Moyle endurance horse champion was named Pretty Boy Moyle and was ridden by Bonnie Rose Sehlemeyer.

And, now, some pictures of Moyles horses.

 You can see how those front legs are set forward a bit.

See those bumps on this horse's forehead? Those are the horns.

Having horses with horns, and the anti-Mormon sentiment of the time led to rumors about the horses and their connection to members of the Mormon Church. Cristine wrote about that when we first began discussing having a Moyles horse resin made for us.

August 7, 2001

Oh, Lynn, I am *so* enjoying Christmas in August! The articles you mention 

sound fascinating! You know, I actually worked with a sweet Christian woman 

at a local university in the music department. I wasn't LDS yet, but I was 

investigating the church. She told me in all seriousness that Mormons had 

horns. She said you could feel them if you ran your fingers through their 

hair and to beware of the men who were wearing hats to cover up the bumps 

if they had thin or no hair. I thought then that it was a little strange 

and dismissed the notion immediately. But now I look back and wonder that 

anyone could truly believe such nonsense .... which this dear lady did!

Cristine  ........... =D

Now, Cristine's experience was over 100 years after the Brigham Young/Porter Rockwell era, yet the rumors persist that we, and our equines, have horns to this day.

(Er, in case you are wondering, it's not true. I have no horns that I am hiding under my hair. Abby is hornless, too. Haha!)

And that's how Rockwell, Kathleen Moody's sculpture and Mormon Model Collectors' own "special run" came to be. Quite a ride, and very, very special to me to have been a small part in Rockwell's history.

The Making of Rockwell - Kathleen's Generous Surprise

Things were quiet, Rockwell-wise, on Mormon Model Collectors for the next several months. We chatted about horses, real and model, our families, and church as usual, while Kathleen quietly worked on Rockwell.

At the end November, 2001, she sent out this email, with a surprise embedded within.

1200Rockwell is finished!!

Expand Messages

kmmoody@
Nov 28, 2001
That's right ladies- Rockwell is coming your way- hopefully before

Christmas. (Cross 

your fingers!!) I sent the model off with Paula to be sent to the

molder this week. She will also put up photos of him on the Desert

Artisans website for all to see. (Since my scanner doesn't work) Her

instructions are to send each of the four remaining

Mormon Model Collectors the first four copies as a Christmas gift.

said, that's the plan- we will see how fast the molder gets the first

copies out!

Kathleen

Cristine, Stephanie, Jessica, and I were receiving the very first copies of the mold as gifts from Kathleen! As you might imagine, we all went a little crazy with happiness and excitement.

1207Re: [Mormonmodelcollectors] Rockwell is finished!!

Expand Messages

Jessica@
Nov 29, 2001
Kathleen thank you so much for your generosity..  I was so excited to hear he was done I missed the part about him coming at Christmas... course I was flabbergasted when I read the other posts and realized what you were doing then I reread you post and just sat there dumbfounded... your gift is both kind, thoughtful and a treasure.. im sure we all will be hanging onto our Rockwell's for a long time to come!!  :)  Merry Christmas and thank you!
- Jessica
 

1209RE: [Mormonmodelcollectors] Rockwell is finished!!

Expand Messages

Stephanie@
Nov 29, 2001
Wow! Kathleen, you're done already!!! Amazing! Did I read that right that

you're sending us each an actual model of Rockwell?! I'm flabbergasted! =D

In a good way of course!

Stephanie

Pictures of Rockwell came the very next day.

Photo from Google Images.

pics of Rockwell!

Expand Messages

kmmoody@

Message 1 of 4 , Nov 30, 2001

Here he is ladies! Dave got my scanner re-loaded so I could get these

shots to you-

I did take a few liberties with the breed- I gave him a little better

conformation than what the photos showed and enlarged the horns so you

can see them better at this scale- (which is large classic size). The

"attitude" evolved on it's own.(He does appear to be demanding doesn't

he?)

Enjoy- Kathleen 

Lynn@
Nov 30, 2001

WOWWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW!!!

And did I say WOW?? I love Rockwell, Kathleen!!

Especially his head -- I am drawn to it for some

reason. And I love the attitude he exudes. He is

wonderful!!

Lynn

Lynn@
Dec 1, 2001
I love his face, but I can't explain why. It just

tickles me. :) I can see Rockwell in a Pony Express

set up or some sort of cowboy one. Maybe even a

pioneer one? Leaving Nauvoo and crossing the

Mississippi maybe?

Lynn

Cristine@

> that is so perfect! But you know what I

> love-love-love is his mane! For 

> some reason it just exudes a wilderness feeling and

> seems to radiate 

> endurance and freedom to me. I find it strange that

> a mane would affect me 

> like this. I always used to love your tails. Hmm. I

> see him on a Pony 

> Express route and showing his impatience because the

> relay rider isn't 

> mounting up as fast as he should. Neatneatneat!!!

> Kathleen .... you are 

> cool. Thank you for just being. 

> cristine

> 

And the waiting began. Not only were we all anticipating Christmas, we were watching the mail and UPS truck for our Rockwells. Just after Christmas, Kathleen let us know that he should be arriving soon.

kmmoody@
Dec 27, 2001
Did he arrive at anyone's place yet? He was sent out last week. We

thought we might

miss Christmas but he should show up this week- if you get him, let us

know!

Kathleen

1308Re: [Mormonmodelcollectors] Anyone get Rockwell yet??

Expand Messages

Lynn@
Dec 27, 2001
I am certain you will hear the scream of joy from Illinois when he

does. :)

Looking forward to getting him, Kathleen!! 

Lynn :)

1309Re: Anyone get Rockwell yet??

Expand Messages

jholt@
Dec 27, 2001
Not yet, Kathleen, but I don't expect him for a few days yet. I understand 

the mail is backed up significantly. I'm still sending out my Christmas 

cards, by the way. Slow but sure on my end. <grin>

cristine

And then the Rockwells were delivered! Mine came on New Year's Eve.

1337Rockwell's arrived!!!

Expand Messages

Lynn@
Dec 31, 2001
YOWZA!!! WOWZA!!!!!!! DOUBLE TRIPLE MEOWZA!!!!!!!!

Rockwell arrived today!! Intelligible words are escaping me -- all I

want to do is babble on about how much I like this horse!! Neat!

Amazing! Wowowowowowowowow!!!!!

Thank you, Kathleen, for this gift! He's standing proudly on my

dresser as I type. I especially love the 3D forelock that sweeps out

over his neck!!

I am going to contact some painters, and I am sure they will ask me how

to get one of these. Is Rockwell to be released commercially? Should I

tell them to contact Desert Artisans about it?

Thanks again. This is a wonderful gift and I am so excited. :)

Love, Lynn

1338Re: [Mormonmodelcollectors] Rockwell's arrived!!!

Expand Messages

kmmoody@
Dec 31, 2001
> 

We will not announce this horse until we

have enough

copies to go around, so at the moment, he's exclusively YOURS-! Let

them drool for 

awhile!! SO glad you like him!

Enjoy!

Kathleen

Showing more of her generous nature, Kathleen even was a litte concerned that we might mind that Rockwell had arrived unpainted. This also prompted a discussion on colors for the breed and who we might recommend as artists to paint our Rockwells.

Kathleen@

hope you don't mind, all the horses sent out were unpainted. If I had

had time before

Christmas, I would have painted them too-! 

Thanks, Kathleen

Message 3 of 9 , Dec 31, 2001

Mind?? You've given us all this INCREDIBLE gift, and you ask if we MIND

that they're unpainted????

Kathleen, I am just so excited, so humbled, so blessed just to have the

gift of Rockwell! Your generosity astounded me.

Living on a CES and teacher salaries, add in 6 kids, one on a mission,

two in college, some healthy medical bills, and you'll see why I can

only afford to collect OF Breyers. And even then, only one or two a

year. :)

Your gift of Rockwel enabled me to have a resin I would not have been

able to afford otherwise, and I thank you from the bottom of my

heart!!!

Love, Lynn 

——-

Message 4 of 9 , Jan 2, 2002

Oh no, I don't mind. I'm EXCITED TO paint mine! Thank you, Thank you

again!!! =D

He came the day I got home (Jan 2). My son was ready to watch me paint. I

just have to do a bit of research on colors first. Lynn any idea what

colors these guys can in. Besides the usual bay, chestnut, and grey?

Stephanie

——-

Message 7 of 9 , Jan 4, 2002

I did the original in red roan and it looks really neat! (although it

didn't survive 

the molding process). Since all colors are found in all breeds, ANY

color you really

like will be wonderful. (Did you know there are blue roan Friesians and

pinto arabians??

Kathleen

——-

43Moyle Horse colors

Expand Messages

Lynn@Jan 3, 2002

My breed book says, "bay or bronw, although a few other colors do

occur." It doesn't note what those other colors are. 

Lynn

> just have to do a bit of research on colors first. Lynn any idea

> what

> colors these guys can in. Besides the usual bay, chestnut, and grey?

> 

> Stephanie

> 

I enjoyed having my Rockwell resin hang out with me for a while, and then I sent him to Janis Whitcomb for painting. Since Kathleen's original was done in red roan, I asked for a blue roan. I loved what I received back from her a few months later.

Head study by Janis Whitcomb.

So, that's the story of how Rockwell, the Moyles horse, came to be as a resin. I still smile when I think back to how it all unfolded.

But just what is a Moyles horse, and how was it associated with our church? It's a pretty interesting story involving Brigham Young and Porter Rockwell back in the 1850s.

Stay tuned!