Five White Foals

 

For over 50 years, from 1973 to 2024, my herd has had one white foal.  She reigned supreme, being the girlfriend of the King's son, Tesoro.  He was a charcoal as she was an alabaster FAF (Family Arab Foal).  Her beginnings are almost lost in the mists of history;  her registry card claims either 1972 or 1973.  My memories tell she was a replacement for an earlier alabaster FAF, named Snowy.  This name touches the deepest springs of my horse fever, being the title character of a series of books that were given to me and my sister in the 60s by Claire Sittler.  Mrs Sittler, a patient of my grandfather, Dr Bensema, was the person responsible, as near as I can determine, for my original infection with that fever.

Payasada, "She is like a clown," or Pie, was named after a phrase in one of my favorite books, Judy Van der Veer's Hold the Rein Free.  There was something about the eyes of this young filly that gave her exceptional character.  She was perfect for Tesoro.  The two of them settled down to an extremely long going-steady-hood, and things were stable for decades.  There is a blog post about their blankets:  Felts for Foals

In 1989 another white foal crept in, a Hartland.  I remember my herd struggling with the concept of separate-but-equal social castes.  The rise of Hartlands, from 1987 on through the early 2000s, paralleled my own late 20s through my early 40s, formative years.  Unfortuantely Spindrift never became a favorite, never got played with and barely developed any personality.  It's a pity.  He is the least of the five today.

In the late 90s and early 2000s the Stones started coming in.  King's Herd ultimately got 9 of the Weanlings, the only Stone foal molds that I wanted.  (I didn't consider the trotting Arab Filly to be a foal.  She was so expensive and I only wanted one color of her, finally managing to afford a Wedgewood in 2017.)  For the record, my first Weanling was acquired in 2002 and my last in 2008.  While none of these are white, some of them could pass as light-colored.  It is interesting looking at them as a group.  Future conga post, anyone?

A white foal seemed so desirable to me.  The animal is mythic.  It has reverberations of great purity, unicorn-like, and qualities of beauty and fragility which inspire one to protect it.  There may be a bit of denied motherhood in there too.  Smaller models were more handy for carrying around.  Although you'll never get me to admit it, there was a certain relief in not having to make tack for a model horse beyond a halter or blanket.  Oh, I was overdue for a white foal!  Pie had become ancient, delicate and too historic to risk breakage;  she could not compete, in detail or in finish, with the newer horses coming onto the market.  She simply had nothing that had not already been known for decades.

 

Here is a glimpse of something that might have to do with my valuing a white foal so much.  This is my basement wall.  I did all the paint-by-numbers (total 5), in the 1970s.

 

Buck & horse drawing by Kim Swanger Grove

 The white foal was done last, probably in the early 80s, and is the only painting to have a name, Pale Guy.

 

In 2022 the Vintage Club put out its 3 mare-and-foal sets, Poppy and Ollie, on the Andalusian Mare and Foal molds, in bay, palomino and white (alabaster).  Except it wasn't white.  It was supposed to be a Perlino.  I first saw this foal while judging my little backyard show in November of 2023.  All I know is I fell hard!  It was the iridescence.  I'd never seen anything like that on a Breyer.  The colt won the class, big surprise! and I was off on a long trek to collect this desirable creature.  

 

 

But the Perlino proved quite difficult to separate from its mother.  No one was willing to break up the set.  In the end not even I was!  That was a real surprise, when I'd already planned out who the mother and father would be.  My Uffington, Albedo, was obviously the father.  It was more difficult to settle on a mother;  at one point, there was a black and white pinto in the running!  Eventually a Cremello mare, the Girls Rule the World beauty (2024) became the obvious choice,... but this was for Zehatan the unicorn.  I didn't get the Perlino mare and foal until BreyerFest 2025.  

 

Note shoulder color is from a shadow

  

I had long since named the foal -- Shoni, after the author of the horsehair hitching book -- but her arrival was not what it could have been.  Her eyes were blobby, without much expression.  The much-vaunted color was barely iridescent and strangely green, almost the color of mould.  What to do with the mare?  She eventually was solved by pairing with Cosimo the black Murguese.  But Shoni had been upstaged;  she hasn't yet emerged from that shadow.

In September 2024 a foal appeared that supplied what I had wanted, though the realization grew slowly.  This was Breyer's Rigel, my first unicorn. I had long admired the color of Rosalind & Rigel (2022 issue), the pearly-pink unicorn mare and foal;  but how to get just the foal?  Finding one online with a barrel rub solved that.  Scratches didn't matter to me!  Save a buck!!  Thank you Devon Frinzi!  In a happy hour I named him Zehatan, after one of the worlds in the Expanse sci-fi series.  (There were 1373 worlds, though not all named!)  Zehatan has his own blog post:  A Minor Miracle

 

While I'm not advocating that a horse break himself in order to get my attention, it's true that this adventure caused me to really bond with him.  I love this most beautiful model, iridescent and with glorious color. He's not exactly white, but he clearly belongs in the category of magical white foals.  Zehatan, Albedo and the cremello mare Kiss Away all belonged together, with their pearlescent finish and blue eyes.  Palomino Insatiety

 

Members of 3 different families, grouped by color

And then, 2 years later, came Floriana.

Riding on the wave of my Stone emphasis and obsession, she came to my attention right when I was thinking about a fourth Stone Arab foal.  I dared seek a white one;  I already had acquired a baby black, a redgold pinto and a brown appy, these colors covering the spectrum of my desires.  At least for now. 

  

 

Floriana was being sold to raise funds for a cancer victim.  I was a cancer survivor myself.  The seller made haste to show me her broken and missing flowers.  Those only made me want her more, and the price reduction didn't hurt!  Floriana was my 12th Stone purchase since Erin took the reins:  a dozen horses in less than 3 years (Jan 2024 to Sept 2026).  In the 13 years previous to Erin I'd gotten only 3 Stones.  

Floriana arrived in late July 2026.  She has gone through several arrangements of her flowers.  Trust a unicorn to associate with gold (the gold wire was for the tack shop):

 

Within a few days I'd carefully peeled off the forehead flower and moved it to the gap at the top of the neck.  This arrangement (below) lasted for a couple of weeks.  The original adhesive had become weak and rubbery and could be peeled off;  the surface beneath was unmarked.  I also re-glued the next flower down, since it was equally unstable.  I used Triple Thick Glaze for the new places:  that dried hard and strong.  Of course only time will tell whether it will last for years and years, but I have hopes.

 

Ultimately I chose to move the small yellow flower to the top of the neck.  Not only did that harmonize with the horn, it left the largest flower lowest, satisfying my artistic sense of balance.  [Note from the future:  I have since re-glued the 2 lowest flowers also.  Traveling in a pony pocket proved too much for them;  but since their adhesive was strong enough to cling to the lining, thank heavens they didn't get lost!]

 

I love Floriana out of all proportion.  Here is a charming animal.  She is quietly pearlescent.  She easily became friends with Zehatan.  She has customizations few Stones in my herd have.  She even has cloven hooves!  A case of slightly curled legs was taken care of during corn season.  Straightening a Foal   She is regal, lovely and charming as a princess should be.  In a twist only my model horses can do, Floriana chose Magia Pesca, my blue Remington, as her father.  (You will be hearing more about Pesca later!)  Of my 4 Stone Arab foals, only Graf had bonded with his father faster.  

 

Floriana keeps her Stone name, because it fits her perfectly.  As of this writing I am carefully dreaming up her mother.  Harmony mold, pearlescent white with translucent metallic blue points and shadings, gold hooves and highlights and,...  She needs no horn, though I could never convince the world of that.  Magic does not need a horn, only love.

And metallicism.