oh man

All right, here’s my contribution to the art tutorial infographic world, part 1 of 2.  I’ve noticed that even in professional illustration, so often the humans and environments and armor and whatnot is really, really great— correct anatomy, lighting, proportions, like ‘wow this is fantastic WAIT what is up with that HORSE?’

I suspect two things;

First is that I spend 15 hours a day, 365 days a year looking, touching, handling, and just generally being around horses.  

Second is that most people do not.  

Artists have lost touch with their connection to horses as contemporary society has lost touch with them.  Generally, we don’t have that constant presence of horses in our lives that previous generations did, as horses aren’t part of the everyday landscape any more.  They don’t work the fields, they don’t cart the goods, they don’t deliver the mail or transport you to the next town down the road.

However, we still see horses all the time— in movies, books, illustration, ads and logos, we are presented with the image of horses all the time.  So we assume ‘yes, I have seen horses often and I know what they look like.’  Because of our exposure, we as artists don’t always feel like we need to heavily reference the animals as if we were drawing something we don’t see everyday (say, like elephants or giraffes or sea cucumbers).  Our brain just kind of plugs in ‘horse shaped’ and we go with that.

And I suspect that ends up being where a lot of these common mistakes occur.  Dogs are familiar, but we can easily find a dog to draw from live, to see the way the shapes of its face are put together in 3-dimensions.  Cats, humans, birds… if we venture just a little ways outside our studios (or in some cases, inside), we can find live models to study easily.  

You can’t really do that with horses.  They’re a commodity, sequestered away behind fences on private farms and shuttered away in barns.   So few people really get the chance to be up close and have that hands-on experience to really learn how a horse is put together.

So here’s some things, based on my own experience both drawing and working with horses, that might help you if you find yourself needing to draw one for yourself.

The approach I took might be more complicated than absolutely necessary, but I tried to present the subject of ‘how to draw horses’ a little differently than I’ve seen it done before.  I hope someone finds it understandable, and more importantly, helpful!

This is unknown horse tag #8428. We were unable to identify him, and he is most likely from outside the HMA. He needs a name, perhaps Pegasus?

We last visited the BLM holding pens in August, our purpose was to photograph and take a video of horses for the BLM Online Corral adoption event. Our day started at 8 am when we met Steve Leonard in the prison parking lot. We had previously submitted our security clearance, and after a brief ID check at the gate were given access and driven to the horse pens. The horses had already been moved from their large pen into an alley which led to a small round pen. From this small pen they were moved into a long chute of about 20 yards, which had tall sides and did not allow the horses to see out or where they were going. The horses are frightened, some more than others. The last time they were moved was for gelding, and prior to that vaccinations, age estimation, and freeze branding.

When the first horse reaches the end of the chute, a solid metal door is slid aside, and the horse is moved out and into the working chute, and now sees his surroundings. He is held here while his brand is checked, and a photo taken to show head and height. We tried to work as quickly as possible to not delay the time spent in this confined area. The gate of the working chute was then opened, and the horse comes out into an open pen where Linda, Robin and I stood with cameras. Also in this area were BLM and prison personnel and inmates. The inmates work with the horses daily, feeding, cleaning pens, and performing maintenance. On this day their job was to keep the horse moving from one end of the pen to the other for the video portion of the photo session. Videos show the horses movement for interested adopters.

We don’t know where Pegasus was gathered from, but it is possible he had never encountered humans before, and certainly not the scary, noisy world he had been thrust into. He was in flight mode and looking for ways to get away and escape. The fence was 7 feet tall, and the gate which he jumped was close to 6 feet. Pegasus was stressed and afraid, and decided he was going to leave sooner than later. We watched as he galloped towards the gate, jumped it, and joined the other geldings.

We share this photo for educational purposes. If you are adopting a mustang and are experienced then you already know. If you are adopting a mustang for the first time, you need to take the BLM requirements seriously and don’t underestimate the need for appropriate fencing. It must be 6 feet tall (or taller if you can do it) and sturdy. Not all mustangs will react like this guy did, but you must be prepared.

We are hopeful Pegasus will be adopted by a sanctuary or a knowledgeable person who will give him a soft place to land. He is aged at 24 years old by the BLM, but just a guess he is half that age. We can’t bid on horses, but SWAT would be happy to pay for an adoption fee to a qualified sanctuary or adopter.

4 year old bay mare, 14.2hh, #8371

5 year old sorrel mare, 14hh, #4650

5 year old grey gelding, 14.2hh, #8449

5 year old 14hh gelding, #7789

3 year old gelding, 13.2hh, #9156 (shaped like Titus, from same HMA area 0,0)

13 year old gelding, 14hh, #9245

2 year old grey gelding, 13.2hh, #8938

2 year old roan gelding, 14hh, #8906