Tracing That Horsey Love Through the Years

I have loved horses for as far back as I can remember. My mother used to tell me that when I was two, I would stand up in the car while we were driving (those were pre-car seat days), and watch for horses as we drove along.  But WHY I am so attracted to them remains a mystery to me. I simply have a deep, abiding love for horses.

I have been going through some boxes of old schoolwork that my mother saved and it has been an eye opener. You can see that love of horses in almost every assignment that required drawing. Here are a few samples of what I mean.

 2nd Grade, November 10, 1964. (How about those birds in the sky, hm?? The big one must be an eagle.)

2nd grade, 1965. A horse in one paddock and a pig in the next. (At least, I think it's a pig, judging by the curly tail I drew!)

 2nd grade, 1965. I think the brown horse is supposed to be lying down.

Date unknown, but I am guessing 3rd Grade, 1966.

4th Grade, 1967. You can see a sudden shift in realism. I think this is because a new horsey girl, Bobbie Sue,  moved into my school. Her mom was an artist, so Bobbie Sue had had some art training. I learned and improved from looking at how she drew horses. (However, I was still drawing red barns which had doors with Xs on them - in fact, I still do that!)

 Undated, but I think this is 5th grade, 1968. My drawing was continuing to improve.

Undated, but I think 6th grade, 1968. Notice how I slipped a horse into this assignment! It was supposed to be a calendar wheel of seasons and weather in Mediterranean countries.

My all time favorite has to be this picture from 2nd grade, December, 1965. Can you see what makes me smile when I look at it?

I'm holding a model horse!

Santa brought me my first model horse, a Made in Japan china saddle pony in December, 1963. (I don't think he missed a year after that.) I believe that this picture was drawn the following Christmas because the model horse I am holding is the same color, is in the same position, and has tack on it just like that first piece, Brownie.

Brownie made an appearance in Nancy Kelly's recent book, Exploring the Model Horse Hobby. (Photo of page from book used with permission.)

My drawing skills are not much better than these even now, decades later. Still, it was interesting to be able to step back in time and see how I expressed my love of horses way back in early elementary school. 

I have some more boxes to go through; I hope there is a box of kindergarten papers. I'd love to see what the horses that I drew looked like way back then!