Straightening A Foal

 

I write this for those who are interested in learning more about straightening bent legs on model horses.  Specifically, this is an account of how I straightened out my Stone foal, Hazy Crazy, last August.  Her story falls into the category of showing off my Stone horses while ever so gently, ever so subliminally, complaining about their cost;  the only way I could purchase this foal was because she was damaged goods.  (It also turns out I purchased a far more expensive Stone later, so take my complaints with some salt.)  But this story also tells how I repaired her, to the extent that you would never know she was bent.  I'm absolutely enchanted to have her;  I've always wanted one of these lovely foals.  I was lucky to find her.  Maybe she was lucky to find me. 

See those twisted hooves?

I've coined the phrase, "the Black Art of O.F. Enhancement," to refer to all acts that, technically, change the factory finish or shape, or might change it, while either returning to or enhancing a horse into what you want it to be.  To call this art "Black," reflects a long career in the hobby watching a public mythos grow and grow around the sanctity of Original Finish.  Alter a valuable O. F.?  Sacrilege!  But if you can't explore and play, how will you ever develop your talents?  I have always felt that the freedom to pursue my creative ideas was worth the price of a few plastic horses.  From this background of being able to experiment with repositioning, as it was called during my formative years (1978 - ~2000), has grown the confidence and skill to do what this foal so clearly needed doing.  With the right approach, leg straightening takes about 15 minutes.

I found Hazy at BreyerFest 2024 and paid one hundred dollars for her, a rather high price for a foal for me.  These Stone foals cost anywhere from $139 to $350 and up.  I waited until corn season before attempting her case.  Laugh if you like;  cooking corn on the cob leaves a large pot of hot water, with the added bonus of a small amount of corn oil.

When I first started using corn water for models I was thinking that the oil would provide a bit of gloss and protection for them.  But as it turns out, a good bath would remove the oil, and a good bath is the normal last step of straightening.  Even so, I still prefer the convenience and the recycling of hot water (and the good lighting in the kitchen).  I usually add enough water to bring the level to where it's deep enough to comfortably immerse the part, and adjust the heat so it's nearly steaming but not bubbling.

Leftover silk and bits of corn will do no harm.  I started with the near hind.  The secret is not to dip the leg for longer than about 7 to 10 seconds.  Again and again, I'm dipping it, but never for very long each time;  and never beyond the concerned part:  here, below the hock.  After 4 or 5 dips, with a few seconds between dips, I start testing the plastic with my fingers.

The trick is not to get the water so hot as to cook the paint -- which will turn opaque, flat and whitish -- but still to get it hot enough to partially soften the plastic.  I use my bare hands;  either I have cold hands or my technique achieves non-dangerously-hot plastic.  The skill does have to distinguish between a leg soft enough to move and one that merely bends to pressure.  I have not yet broken a leg by bending it when it was too cold;  but the possibility is always there, especially with a foal.

I think my success is due to simple repetition as much as anything.  Many small tries gives me much more control over the process.  I am coaxing, coaxing, gently bending and squeezing and asking, constantly moving between dipping her in the water and crouching down to stare at her feet from eye level.  This is where a knowledge of anatomy really helps (not to mention that kitchen counter!).  I'm spinning her, shoving her in circles, looking at every possible angle of those legs.  Note above how the front hooves are too close together.  Water all over the counter? -- that means something's going right!

This picture proves I felt the hocks and gaskins needed moving.  Again, the trick is not to leave her too long in, but still get the plastic soft enough to slowly budge it into position.  And, surprise, the thicker the plastic, the more heat it takes to soften.

 The last task is hoof position.

It always amuses me how many showers don't realize their horses' hooves aren't flat on the table.  But it's not always easy to get them all lined up.  I spin her and spin her, looking at all angles from the ground level, stretching a pastern here, shortening an angle there.  The plastic can compress just as it can stretch.  How can I achieve a good-looking stance with the least amount of change to the joint angles and the distance between joints?  with the least heat?!  Below, notice the inward slant of that off hind hoof.  Dip the last inch of that leg into the water for 7 to 10 seconds, until the pastern is soft enough, and bend just the hoof.

Although it's probably unnatural for a foal to be perfectly square, this is what I want.

The final step is using cold water to solidify the plastic once you've got it where you want it.  This step can also be used during the straightening process.

A good toweling and she's done.

Hazy Crazy was, of course, named after the famous song, "Those Lazy, Hazy, Crazy Days of Summer."  But I simply refuse to name any of my horses "Lazy."  Two words is enough.  The halter for this little cutie is the one I rebuilt to be smaller.  As much as I love and respect (and collect!) Jaapi's halters, the foal one I'd bought simply didn't fit.  So I shrank it.  That was difficult, yes,... but we managed.

Happy ending.

A Good Mail Day

 

I nearly called this post "Christmas in -- December?!"  because in any other month of the year, it would indeed be Christmas in -- fill-in-the-blank!   This is my Christmas on Mane Street haul, combined with other December purchases, combined with a very kind and lucky win during the Mares In Black December zoom party.  If I'm guilty of conspicuous consumption, just think of BreyerFest loot shots.  Shouldn't that kind of tradition grow up around Mane Street...?

Two tackmakers, two blanket makers, three halters, three scales of stuff, and one Santa suit!  There's actually a good deal more than this.  Let's start at the beginning:

I had held off on going down to the mail box (UPS store on Hamilton Ave.) because it was so cold and I was so busy.  But when I finally went, the haul was overwhelming.  I became ashamed that only the day before I'd felt left out and suffered from holiday malaise.  It makes you afraid to want anything---!   The large box in the back is Harry & David from my Dad, a family tradition from my grandfather's time.  Bless you, Dad, only 2200 miles away...

These halters were made by Bobbie Allen, of Horse Tender Studios.  I was delighted with their design -- my love affair with International Orange is still going strong.  I hadn't seen the hybrid part-leather part-nylon approach before, neither in model nor in full scale.  It makes for a well-wearing piece of tack.  The crown strap won't fray.  The leather has to fit the buckle, but if it's too big, trimming is easy.  These are so sharp and cool that the horses fight over them.

Generous to a fault, Bobbie knew I adored her Stablemate scale blankets.  This lovely little gift of a bright orange one brings my total of hers to four.  Honestly, they are a great value for the price.  The hardware is all handmade and works very well.  They're even slightly darted.

Maggie Bennet's Poet is on the left (above).  The Mares In Black crew watched him being born, that is, being created from a 3D program with Maggie's magic.  Ever since then I've wanted one.  No, I don't make tack in this scale;  I don't even know anybody who does.  His conformation is lovely and seeing him makes me happy.

Bobbie Allen gave me another gift, an enamel pin of a coach and four from Remington Carriage Museum, a place I did not know about.  Thank you, you know my soft spots!  This leads us to the subject of pins, always a favorite around here!

When I saw Breyer's Blue Zeus pin on FB but heard it was only obtainable by those purchasing the horse at BFest, I sort of gave up in half-disgust.  Just another  secondary market target;  or so I thought.  I was delighted a few weeks later to find myself proven wrong, and Blue Zeus' pin listed on Breyer's website.  I went and indulged.  While Breyer's pins can't really be compared to Minkiewicz's, for instance, I now have four Unicorn pins by them, depicting 6 of the creatures.  [Two of these pins are of horses sculpted by Mink.]  It doesn't take a rocket scientist to conclude that Breyer, also, knows my soft spots,...

... like Blankets!!  I was very pleased to find this 75th Anniversary blanket is unusually soft and thick.  It's lined with white fuzzy fleece and the golden binding has minute rainbow sparkles all through it.  Push my buttons! -- even though the front closure is of minimal design and does not really fit Jota /(Beyond the Pale in my herd).  Delightfully, the design is printed on both sides:

Speaking of blankets, here's a purchase which technically falls under Christmas on Mane Street.  I got this through Anne Field's Field of Dolls Live Sale.  It's a blanket by Kathy Wood.  I have several K Wood blankets, but this one beats 'em all for sheer detail and fanciness.  Only one other blanket-maker I collect (Nichelle Jones) compares with this:

This one too is soft white fleece inside.  Dig all the straps.

Circling back to Bobbie Allen of Horse Tender, I need to briefly explain that I'd lost out on a Santa doll auction during the CR Dispersal series.  My own Santa is a disgrace and I'd been looking for a replacement.  Bobbie happened to mention she'd found "Santa suit" Christmas tree ornaments in a store known for cheapness.  I asked if I could buy one and she said yes.  Amazingly, I was able to get Steve, my Western Handler (note chaps and turquoise bolo), into the suit.  I think this goes a good ways towards solving my Santa, although Steve is going to have to get out of it again, since he refuses to wear a beard.

With this photo, we close in on my first, nearly only and truly inaugural Christmas on Mane Street purchase.  I got a halter.  One halter.  By the time I got there, only nylon halters were left from this particular rising star of a tackmaker.  I'd gotten a halter from Dani Boiko before, but this was emotionally necessary retail therapy;  and outside of the Field of Dolls sale, it was my only C.O.M.S. purchase.

Even something as simple as a nylon stable halter can, in the hands of different tackmakers, reveal their different styles.  Tongue buckle or no, rolled throat or no, different hardware, lead or no;  these are all clues.  I was quietly amazed to discover the Savvy Appy halter didn't have a pointed tip to its crown strap;  rather, it featured a flat end.  In 45 years of model tack I'd never seen this on purpose.  And yet it immediately made sense.  The nylon end was heat-sealed, so it couldn't fray.  And to beat all, it passed quite easily through the buckle, giving me no trouble.  Learn something new every day...

You never know about tack until you put it on the horse.   It's a truism about the field,  reflecting what I value:  the feel of how the piece goes on.

Let me slip in another view of Bobbie's SM blanket and Poet.  This photo shows their other sides.  I was pleased how this blanket design managed to fit under even his overpowering mane.  Let it snow!

Penultimate shot.   This shows the true extent of gifts from Horse Tender:  see those picture postcards on the right?  And the lasercut wooden coaster?  All from this multi-talented artist.  I'd like to point out Bobbie's elegantly simple way of shaping the halters with only bubblewrap.  It's another idea I'd never seen in all my career, yet it is so obvious.  It just makes me wonder what the hobby could be capable of, if we'd been more connected.

One last gift from the Good Mail gods is the postcard peeking out from behind the box on the left.  That's from my husband's hobby of paper wargaming.  Technically it's an advert from Operational Studies Group but I snagged it because it's a great painting of equine art, Napoleon on Marengo (I presume).  I love adding spare equine ephemera to my usually-in-deep-sleep stamp albums.

If you don't hear from me until February, Happy Holidays!

TSII #325 Fountain Art Deco: Finished

 

The pictures are going to do most of the talking!  This is another long post,...  It isn't eight horses, it's nine:  I almost forgot the original, the Classic Arab Mare, upon whom this saddle was built.  There's even a rack (stand) shot.  Having gone through them all, I find that Nicolas, or Carrizozo as he is known in my herd, is my own best overall model to display the fabulous Art Deco set.  We'll look at the "ones that fit" first, then consider some horses that shade towards too small and too big, ending with the rack.  Oh yeeks, 'the rack' sounds so bad!! --  just remember this is a saddle shop.

A close up of the marvelous fountain.  It's always hard to shoot prism tape and I don't know how I managed to be so successful here.

There is a kindness in Carrizozo's eye.  The bridle fits perfectly.  One can overlook that the cinch billet isn't quite long enough to reach the cinch's keeper.

The breastcollar doesn't pinch or choke;  the blanket isn't too big;  the reins might be a tad short, but they're workable.  As for lighting, well, blame the photographer,...

His size is neither too small nor too large.  He's so perfectly proportioned he appears as a full Traditional, yet the saddle was made for a Classic.  As a tackmaker I know he is an equal to the Pony of the Americas.  With that in mind, -- and given that I conga the P.O.A.!! -- I hauled out no less than three of them.

My first wish was to see what this saddle looked like on a cold-colored horse, i.e. a black or gray.  Answer:  Pretty cool in fact!

The black sets off the blues, while the red bits pick up on the blanket.  What looks red at the base of the fountain is actually some peach + pink holographic.

I was quietly delighted to find that this mold truly is a perfect size for #325.   The POA's long barrel is a plus for a saddle with so notable a serape and so fluffy a blanket.  The cinch billets were long enough for the keepers and the breastcollar fit snugly.  Here's another cold color, with more warm hues in the coat:

 

 

Finally I get to use my Kandinsky, hah!  Oh this is a good choice.

 

Continuing down the scale of Classic molds, I wondered about the Warmblod Mare, what I call the Ariat.  I have the entire Blossom series, and it was easy to choose which one to shoot.  The combination of Wedgewood blue and #325 makes for a fantastical, mystical combination, downright magical.  The purple flowers on her butt blend the two major color groups.

 

At the same time we agree that the color goes well, the saddle is getting a bit big.  Note how the neckstrap is up from the withers, into the mane.  The blanket is a little too far back, as are the skirts.  The bridle still fits.

It could be made to work.  The cinch billet is certainly long enough now!   But my next horse choice is an oh dear.  I also conga the Stock Horse Gelding, known as Liam.  And here we come to grief. 

Though the color is lovely, the size is clearly wrong.  This horse is too small.  The saddle overpowers him, the blanket is halfway to his tail!  The neckstrap is further up than on the Ariat, and the breastcollar sides push the cinch rearwards.   This is the limit;  this mold is below the proper size.  Below:  not the best angle perhaps, but it shows how far back that corona goes, well past the hips.

So let's try the other direction, a bigger horse.

See how the breastcollar is perched on the front of the shoulder, and how far out along the neck the neckstrap is?  Worse, the face ornament is too short:  It's dragging the noseband and browband inwards.

From the side you can see that the neckstrap is barely long enough for the buckle.  The berastcollar hasn't yet started to press against the throat, but it's right on the edge of doing so.

And as for the cinch, well, it's on the last couple of holes.  There's no margin of easy use here.

This next pair of photos is almost painful.  I wanted to try the set on my smallest resin which I thought could wear it.  (Sumara, sculpted by S. Prosser.)  I got an illustration of how widely varied the selection of model horses is:  this one's body is narrow enough for the saddle (and the spine perfect length), but the head is much too large.

See how the neckstrap is too far forward, and the throat is definitely being pressed.  The horse becomes larger as you progress from back to front.  The forelock was meant to accommodate tack, but this bridle is too small even for that.

This pretty version of Poker Joe was painted by Elizabeth Bouras, commission by me.  

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I had almost forgotten the CAM.  Strangely, she hasn't a name.  For this month of work on the Fountain Art Deco, I'm calling her Beauty.

At long last, here we see the vision in all its original splendor.  Thirty-three years ago this is what was created, on this very model.  Only now, drawing back in the flush of completion, do I begin to acknowledge that that corona might've been a bit much.  (Too fat, too big.)  Oh yes, wrinkle grin, such blame must be laid at my door.  A good name for it would be pride,...

What a lovely portrait she makes, with such a delicate face.  Maureen's skill is still evident, even across decades of battering.

It's hard to believe I'm done.  These pictures, the photo session, are the only way I get to keep them.

Rack shot.  

Here's a couple extras.  One shows close up the repair that was done at the top of the offside serape to the 'missing network.'

And one shows the underside and inside of the bridle.  This is a unique view.  The design and work is not that complex or sophisticated.  There is an elegant simplicity about the work of the TSII from those times.   In the course of the restoration, I was able to achieve a sliding noseband on the off side but not the near;  the thread ties were too bulky.  But it's still quite adjustable, as all the photos show.

A final bonus picture.  Photography credit goes to Liz Bouras and design to Judy Renee Pope, and Paula O'Keeffe who gave the photo to me.  Hagen Renaker Roan Lady.

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So, what's next for the TSII?

Fancy's Hackamore for the book, gods, time and muse willing,...