Give Me an X!

In order to honor Karen Crossley, a Canadian hobbyist who unexpectedly passed away in July, 2020, Jennifer Buxton, Anne Field, and I are finishing Karen's project of going through her collection by alphabet and sharing models whose names begin with those letters.

The last post of this project was back in August, 2022. It has taken a while, but the project will be completed. Three letters are left (X, Y, Z) and that's been the hold up - finding a model whose name begins with X.

I have none that begin with X, but I have several that have the letter in their name so I decided to go with that.

Maxinkukee. Named after the second largest lake natural lake in Indiana, the more I look at him, the more I like him - his coloring has pretty depth and shading.

Dominante XXIX. The name the model came with, but I liked it and kept it.

Windsong Matrix. Matrix was a 2008 Collector's Choice model; I tacked my stable name onto it.

Desperaux. This Beswick Lying Foal has been in my collection for several decades. I got him before there was an internet and we had to buy models from each other via snail mail. Because you could not just go to eBay and look for a certain piece, Beswicks and other models were harder to add to your collection than they are today. I still remember the thrill I felt at owning a Beswick.

Two more letters of the alphabet are left and, like X, they won't be easy. But I have two new models that need names so perhaps I'll come up with something that fits.

Stay 'tooned!

 

Carriage Clarification

 We have some more information on Cinderella's carriage thanks to someone who commented anonymously on the original post:

This is a rather typical Landau style of carriage. https://horseyhooves.com/types-of-horse-drawn-carriages/

Made by Les Voitures Robert Carriages, this is probably their Classic, though they also make them for ponies and miniature horses, Vis a Vis, they're one of the largest and one of the last remaining carriage makers in the world, it's a dying art form, sadly. They do actually make the true Cinderella style carriage which is essentially this carriage with a modified roof. http://voituresrobert.com/portfolio/classic-vis-a-vis/?lang=en

This one is set up for a single horse with shafts rather than a team with a central pole, and for some reason the top is not covering the rear facing seats, which it usually would. I am not sure what the knobs are, but would assume you're correct. The metal brake on the driver's foot well is hydraulic, a safety feature to prevent runaway. 

Thanks for sharing! And if you'd like to let us know who you are, you can email me at horsiemama8@yahoo.com.

An Outlandish (and Apparently Scary) Hat

The Kalamazoo Living History Event is next weekend, and I am in the final throes of preparation. Lisa and I went up to Leslie's farm yesterday to try on hats and riding habits to wear at the event.

No, I'm not going as the Mad Hatter - this is a 19th century women's hat that goes with one of Leslie's more unusual habits.

Lisa trying on an 18th century habit with lots of beautiful detail.

From the front - look at those cuffs! The waistcoat is silk.

Eddie, Leslie's 8 month old Newfoundland puppy kept us company while we tried on habits. He was fine until Leslie pulled out a second 19th century hat.

What. Is. That??

A 19th century riding habit with an empire waist, peplum with short pleats, and a very surprising hat.

Eddie took refuge behind my chair the rest of the time that that hat (which was actually quite elegant) was in view.

My favorite was the 19th century Mad Hatter hat, but I don't have a 19th century riding habit. Yet...

If you happen to be in Kalamazoo next weekend and stop by the event, come see me!  Look for Jolis Chevaux - I will be right next to Chien Noir, Leslie and Rick's company that sells hand block printed fabrics.

I've packed a few give-aways for readers who stop by!

Cinderella's Carriage

I was sorting through some photos this morning and came across a set taken when The Farm at Prophetstown dedicated their new heirloom orchard in memory of my family's orchard last October. I think I'd intended to do a second blog post about the dedication and include those pictures then, but that never happened.

This carriage is too beautiful and unusual to miss so here are the pictures.

 While it isn't pumpkin shaped, it reminds me of Cinderella's carriage.

I'm not sure where it is stored in the park - I've been in all the barns and never seen it. It could also be a new acquisition which may be why it was parked outside on display for attendees to view.

I know little to nothing about carriages and had a lot of questions. One was, what are these three knobs for that are under the legs of the driver? (My guess is that they may control the lights on the vehicle.)

Or this metal box at the feet of the driver - a brake, maybe?

There are two bench seats, both with purple velvet-covered seats, and one which was under a cover

while the facing seat was out in the open.

Attached to the back of the carriage was this box - probably to carry food and drink, rain gear, and things like that.

The Farm also has a sleigh that is similar in that there are two bench seats that face each other. I know it is called a "vis a vis" (face to face) sleigh, so perhaps this one is called a vis a vis carriage.

I'd love to learn more about this lovely carriage, so if you can share anything, please do! You can post in the comments or by emailing me at horsiemama8@gmail.com. Thanks!

The Winter Mud Spa

There has been a rumor going around for years that Abby might be part pig. Why? Because if there is a mud source, no matter how small, she will roll in it.

And we have had a muddy, muddy winter. The rest of the herd follows her lead and they are all encrusted with dried mud.

Abby might love to wallow in mud, but she doesn't like to walk through it.

Not even for peppermints, candy canes, or carrots. She thinks I should come to her and that is NOT happening.

Ever curious Two Socks doesn't mind trekking through the mud and is happy to come say hello regardless of what the ground is like. And, it looks like she's gotten up to some naughtiness, too.

Remember last summer when I caught her stepping between the fence lines? Looks like she's been at it again. No harm done, but we might need to turn the fence back on for a while.

Spring cannot come fast enough!

Back to (Horse) School!

 Model Horse University has opened!

The brainchild of educator, hobbyist, and horsewoman Kerri Gehrmann Johnson, it is a place of learning as well as socializing.

Kerri already has one major hobby event that she has founded, Great Lakes Congress. Originally known as Great Lakes Breyer Registry, Kerri founded it as a 6th grader and ran it from her parents' basement in 1984. GLC is the longest continuously running model horse club/show in the model horse hobby. 

With that history of success already under her belt, I have no doubt that Kerri can make a success out of MHU. (Read the history of GLC here.)

Things are continually being added to the lists of things offered to do or learn

and there are new things on the web site that were not there when I took these photos a couple of days ago.

I'm excited about MHU and I think it will be a terrific addition to the hobby. Best of luck to Kerri with her new endeavor.

And now, I'd better get my back to school shopping done. Let's see, I need a mare and foal set, a couple of new drafters, some sticky wax, three haversacks...

Brothers?

Susan Young was able to get some pictures of her Grenendere with a light behind him to compare with my Shadow.

My Shadow - you can see just a bit of light passing through the body of the model.

Her Grenendere - it appears that a bit more light comes though.

My standard PAS - lots of light passing through.

It appears at first that Shadow and Genendere are not quite the same but there is something to consider and that is that we used different lights. I used the flashlight on my phone, and Sue used a lamp in her drafting room. To really compare them, we should use the same light source. (Maybe we could bring them both to BreyerFest and check them together there.)

Sue also pointed out something that I'd not paid too much attention to on Shadow. She wrote:

There is something staring us in the face:  I believe these two models were painted by the same person. Take a look at the stripe of dark paint up the front of the near hind.

Then take a look at the stripe going up the rear of the off hind leg.  Both horses have this feature.  It isn’t exactly realistic, but it’s very Breyer.  If the same person didn’t paint them both, then whoever did was going through the same motions. I’ve noticed other old Breyers with this oddball feature.

The two photos above are of those stripes on Shadow. (Now I have an urge to start taking other vintage pieces off my shelves and looking for hind leg stripes!)

The place where Genendere and Shadow still appear to really vary, though, are their ears.

Genendere - smoother, thinner pink.

Shadow - thicker, almost pearly pink.

Those ears are what caught my eyes years ago in the antique shop; they are unlike any ears I've ever seen on a Breyer. However, as I've said before, they are VERY difficult to photograph true, and it is possible that Sue had the same trouble I have every time I try to take a picture of them and that, an in-hand comparison would show that they are very similar.

If I attend BreyerFest in person, and if Sue has room in her car to pack Grenendere, maybe we can get our two PASs together this summer and examine and compare them closely together. I'd be really interested in what other similarities and differences we might find, and especially to check out the ears on them both.

If we do, I'll be sure to report the results here after BreyerFest.