# My Little Curlies--Art with a Curl



## BiologyBrain (Jul 9, 2015)

*Horses I have known--King*

I'm doing a new series Within the My Little Curlys series--Horses I have known. Right now they're just in the sketch phase. I've also taken artistic license to add Curly Horse features to them--mainly curly hair. Otherwise I'm being faithful to their images in my mind. 

I met King, the Belgian, one blistering summer day as he trotted haphazardly down our country road. His elderly gentleman owner's face was beet red and sweat dripped from his face. I was on my way home from work and in a borrowed vehicle, but I nonetheless abandoned the vehicle on the road to assist. Never having handled this behemoth 18 HH horse, I was a bit cautious. I actually grabbed his fellow mischief-maker, a nearly 16 HH QH, by the mane. The QH was nearing 30 years old and, like his owner, was hot and sweaty. As I buckled on his halter, I told the gentleman I'd go after the big horse next. He cautioned me, saying King wasn't too fond of strangers. I told King what a big beautiful boy he was as I approached. His ears flickered this way and that as his nostrils flared catching my scent. He seemed poised to run, but when I stopped a few feet away, he lowered his head slightly and took a hesitant step toward me. We met each other halfway and he allowed me to lead him by his profuse mane up the long driveway to his barn. It was the beginning of a beautiful and entertaining relationship.


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## BiologyBrain (Jul 9, 2015)

*Meet Mulligan*

Meet Mulligan, roping horse extraordinaire. I briefly met and rode Mulligan when I was a teenager. My dad was transferred to Northern Minnesota and let me bring our 2 horses with me. We had to board them, so we found a family with openings in their barn. The family had a non-horsey mother, very horsey dad, and a horsey daughter. The dad roped off his horses with his buddies-- even going to competitions on a fairly regular basis. As I rode there over the summer, riding my bike 5 miles each way, the owners of the other horses grew to appreciate my energy, feel for the horses, and persistence. Greg, the barn owner was one of them. Initially he hired me to keep his roping horses in condition by riding them several times a week. One weekend his partner wasn't available, so he asked me if I wanted to give roping a try. Of course I agreed and got a quick tutorial on heading. 

Mulligan was his heading horse. He was a bright sorrel QH with some foundation lines. He was built like a tank with the typical heavily muscled haunches and shoulders as well as a neck that would make a Belgian proud. He had a Roman nose and funny little 'bumps' on his forehead that I think were just overdeveloped muscles for his ears or eyes. Riding him was a dream. He had explosive speed, typical of his breed, but was easily rated. Although he wasn't a reining horse or anything, but he could do rollbacks and stop on a dime. He tolerated my inept efforts at roping with grace. While we didn't set the world on fire winning all the events we entered, we did pretty well. It was great fun experiencing a working horse/event. I also had fun teaching him some Dressage moves (with permission of his owner) although he sure did look silly in my English saddle! I will always remember Mulligan fondly.


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Really nice drawings.


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

Nice work, @BiologyBrain!


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## csimkunas6 (Apr 18, 2010)

Great work! Love the stories behind the artwork and how they relate to you! So very interesting to me! Couldnt stop reading on! Ready for some more!


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## BiologyBrain (Jul 9, 2015)

*Starlie the Curly rescue*

Starlie came into my life when I sought to solve the problem of a highly horse-allergic daughter, horse-crazy mother and daughter, and low funds. She was advertised on a small private rescue organization for the lowly sum of $400. She had a huge right knee as a result of having it partially fused as a weanling. Her original rescuer pulled her off a trailer headed for the New Holland sale. She wasn't dead lame, but she wasn't sound either. It was inevitable that if she continued her journey on the trailer she'd soon be headed for a slaughter house. Her rescuer saw something in her and saved her. Then she put a lot of veterinary care into her--fusing the knee to prevent the damage from spreading. As a result, she spent a huge portion of her time on stall rest eating organic carrots and being a pet. Once she was able, she had to basically re-learn how to use her leg. Her rescuer let her go to a family she thought would care for her, but a while later found Starlie was being neglected and practically abandoned. Her rescuer stepped in again to save this bright eye little horse. However, she had to give her up again due to health issues, but his time she was turned over to the small private rescue. She was declared sound for light riding and driving at the rescue. She was at least 5 years old when training started. She was ridden about 5 times when winter set in and all training halted. Then I found her on the internet...

I've been riding since before I could walk. I started 'training' my horses to do new things as a teen or even before. I even bred and trained a foal before I was 16. Sure, it had been a while since I'd polished my training boots, but I figured I could handle Starlie. What I didn't take into account was what I lost from my numerous surgeries for breast cancer--namely some fine control in my hands and arms. I was also plagued by nerve damage and severe migraines. For the first 5 rides Starlie didn't throw anything at me I couldn't handle. Then the bucking began. I tried different saddles, bareback, rest, and even 'calming' supplements. Nothing was found wrong with her except the partially fused knee. Everything checked out. Then one August day she bucked like a bronc until I flipped over her shoulder and landed on my head and shoulder. I got up, led her around, and got back on...This time she bucked even harder and I fell again. This time I didn't get up until my husband found me some time later and called an ambulance. My helmet was cracked I need 4 spots, I had a serious concussion, my shoulder was dislocated, my tailbone bruised, and other bruises and cuts scattered across my body. I couldn't get back on for a long time and never did. Every time I put something on her back, Starlie went into her bronco routine. No amount of desensitization lasted more than a few minutes. Even a light harness saddle prompted bucks and grunts of a bronc. 

So Starlie washed out as a potential child's horse or even my riding horse. However, her story moved me, her beauty blinded me, and her personality charmed me. So with me she remains. From our very first meeting, Starlie has inspired me though. My daughter loves to color and of course horses are her favorite theme. Sometimes she wanted a specific image that was not available on the vast internet. So I pulled out my trusty pencil and began drawing the images she requested. I soon traded my pencil for an iPad and stylus. My series of My Little Curlys began. Here is the original model, Starlie, in her unfettered freedom, drawn from photos I took of her wearing her Rhythm Beads for the first time. The photos had crazy shadows and poor lighting, but were good enough for me to catch the spirit of Starlie.


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## BiologyBrain (Jul 9, 2015)

*Finally Faith*

In a previous post, I introduced you to Starlie, my rescued Curly mare. I shared that she was purchased as a potential riding horse for my severely allergic daughter. She has since been removed from contention. So the search was on to find a hypoallergenic horse for my daughter and me to share. Finally Faith entered our lives. 

I started searching the internet again on a whim. When I was searching for Starlie, I happened upon a Ranch in my neck of the woods that had Curly horses, but I found a deal, so I put off visiting. However, when I started looking again, Hidden Cave Ranch popped up again. Initially I was asking advice from the Ranch owne, but she mentioned that she had a suitable mare. I was interested, but my husband was convinced we needed to go smaller than her mare, so I put her off again. I couldn't get the little mare and her proximity out of my mind though. So I continued the conversation with the Ranch owner. We set up an appointment for a visit. 

Faith is a 2012 grulla American Bashkir Curly that stands about 13-3HH. She is covered with a veritable mat of curls from head to hoof. In fact, she makes Starlie look like a regular 'straight' haired horse. Her coat of curls is a rich chocolate brown in winter. So dark in fact that her zebra stripes and dorsal stripe aren't very visible. She has SLO's the perfectly round hard feet and a disposition I could search the world over for and never find an equal. 

When we met, she was standing in a little pen nosing around the feed bowl for any extra grains. She had been out to pasture for more than 6 months, but stood with little fidgeting while my daughter danced, squealed and otherwise acted like a very excite daughter 8 year old little girl. Her owner haltered her and immediately let comfortable handing the lead to my aforementioned excited 8 year old. Faith didn't hesitate or barge ahead. She simply ambled to the tie area behind my daughter like she'd known her forever. We examined her and saddled her with no trouble. 

After the owner rode her, I hopped up on her back too. It had been 2 years since I'd ridden after a serious accident on Starlie (the reason she's out of contention for being my daughter's horse). I was a bit nervous, but overall super excited to ride again. This mare had lead in her behind and no desire to throw any tricks at her rider. I even intentionally pointed her to areas of the arena she disliked for her owner. She hesitated, but didn't shy, buck, bolt, or break into anything more than a working trot. 

She was so good that I didn't even have to think before letting my daughter on her back. Of course, my highly excited daughter couldn't contain her quiet squeals of delight and the inevitable bouncing with joy. Faith didn't even twitch an ear at the excitement on her back. She kept her head down and walked even calmer and slower than she had for me. I led her around the arena and then started short-line lungeing her. My daughter was thrilled with the 'freedom' and Faith responded beautifully. Eventually I even let them trot together. Still, Faith jogged as slow as a Western Pleasure horse no matter how much my daughter bounced. It was such an easy decision to buy her with this performance. 

She finally arrived on Valentine's Day. It was a muddy nasty cold day, but she offloaded from the trailer and walked to the pasture like she'd lived with us her whole life. In the month since, we have been working with her on the ground. She stands like a rock for my children as they giggle, bounce, and groom her. She is helping my husband gain confidence in horses. We are looking forward to many many years of enjoyment with her. 

This is the first drawing of her, but I'm sure there will be many more. I'm attaching the photo I used as my reference just to show the curls this girl has!


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## whisperbaby22 (Jan 25, 2013)

Wow, she really is a curly. And such a nice color.


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## JoBlueQuarter (Jan 20, 2017)

Definitely a Curly! ;-) Very beautiful horse!


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## BiologyBrain (Jul 9, 2015)

*Perfect Pepper*

As a child, I had a beginner pony and then graduated to my intermediate pony, Pepper. Whereas my first pony was a typical pony with all the attitude, naughtiness, and diminutive size, Pepper was none of that. She was about 13 HH and a Saddlebred cross. When I got her she looked more pony than horse, but after I rode the hay belly off of her, she looked more horse than pony. Nowadays, I would say she was probably a silver bay (silver dapple), but at the time, she was just considered a bay. She didn't have a white marking on her except for a tiny scar high on her neck. She inherited the Saddlebred way of moving with high head, elevated knees, and flashy footwork. Although she wasn't truly gaited, she had a wonderful 2-speed road gait when hitched to the cart. She was the perfect child's pony--a true baby sitter. A 2-year old could sit on her and no matter what, she wouldn't take a quick move. As I grew in size and skill, she let me have more speed and quickness. When ridden by a small adult she could run like the wind and jump anything in her path. She tolerated my first attempts at harnessing (a complete disaster according to my old-timer pony-driving neighbor) and pull quite the load in her cart. I can't even begin to count the hours I spent with that pony. She truly was the perfect Pepper. 

Here's a sketch of what I'm painting of her, as well as what I have completed so far.


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