#equine equestrian

[gsmess]

‪“Gestural 202” 24 x 18 inch ink and acrylic on paper. Available on my website.

#painting #horses #art #equestrian #paintings #horseart #equineart #artist

https://www.equineartiststevemessenger.com

[backroad-life]

Credit: Backroad-life

[whywishesarehorses]

Pensioner sets off on 600-mile pony trek with pet dog in saddlebag

Jane Dotchin, 80, has been making the unusual journey from Northumberland to the Highlands since 1972. (Story from STV News)

An 80-year-old woman who wears an eyepatch is on an annual trek with her pony from England to the Highlands – on a seven-week adventure which began in 1972.

Jane Dotchin packs her saddlebags onto her trusty pony’s back every year, and heads to the hills from her home near Hexham, Northumberland, on an epic 600-mile trek to Inverness, covering between 15 and 20 miles a day.

She set off on August 31 with her steed, Diamond, aged 13, and her disabled Jack Russell named Dinky for company, from the off-grid smallholding where she lives.

She carries everything she needs including her tent, food and just a few belongings – and despite wearing an eyepatch is determined to continue as long as she can.

Ms Dotchin said: “My mother would look after my other ponies but she wasn’t that keen on looking after my Halfinger stallion, so I rode him down to Somerset to see a friend, which is about 300 miles.

“It was a bit of a hard slog, but it was good.”

After that initial journey, she caught the taste for the open road and travelled to visit friends near Fort Augustus, near Loch Ness, every autumn since.

The journey takes around seven weeks depending on weather and Ms Dotchin tries to stop off to see people she has met over the years.

She said: “I refuse to go slogging on through pouring wet rain.

“There are a few different routes I can take depending on the weather.

“I don’t want to go over hilltops in foul weather, but I work it out on the way.

“I don’t bother with maps, I just keep to the routes I know.

“It is nice to go and see [people] again – I ring them up in the morning to say I’m going to be there in the evening.

“I don’t warn them too far in advance, because if the weather suddenly changes or I decide to stop early then they can be left wondering where I’ve got to.”

Disabled Jack Russell Dinky, who has deformed front legs, travels in a saddle bag.

Ms Dotchin said: “She manages fine, when there is a nice grassy track she gets out and has a run, but she doesn’t like stoney ground but she is a nice hot water bottle for me in the tent.”

She said: “I asked for something good and solid in my old age and he got me a cob from Ireland. I struggle to get on her half the time, but otherwise I manage fine.”

Her diet consists of porridge oats, oatcakes and cheese which is bought at local shops.

She prefers to make porridge with milk, but water will suffice.

Ms Dotchin added: “You can always boil it from a stream.”

Her bathroom habits are equally DIY, and she said: “I dig a hole.”

Ms Dotchin is devastated by the littering she has seen over the years and said Cumbernauld, North Lanarkshire, is somewhere she finds “shameful” due to the amount of rubbish.

She said: “It’s appalling, in particular single used barbecues which are left lying all over the place.

“Cumbernauld is the fly-tipping capital of Britain.

“There are some lovely people there who let me camp, but some of it is so disgusting and shameful.”

Campervans on single track roads have also become a more persistent problem.

She said: “Drivers just didn’t seem to know how wide they were, I was forever just about getting swept off the roads by them.”

The right to roam has helped with countryside access, but she said: “There are still some locked gates or little side gates that you can’t get a horse with packs on through.”

For emergencies she carries an old mobile phone as the battery lasts six weeks.

Ms Dotchin said: “I keep it switched off and just ring out to ring up landowners to get gates unlocked or to warn people when I’m coming but sometimes the trouble is getting a signal.”

During the foot and mouth crisis in 2001 she went on bicycle instead.

She said: “I covered many more miles with the dog in a pannier but it was not the same, I missed my horse.”

In recognition of her independent spirit, and many years of long distance trekking, she received The British Horse Society lifetime achievement award last year, which she said was “a bit of a surprise.”

During her travels she witnesses rutting deer and stags fighting in the autumn, and foxes.

She said: “There is always something interesting happening and there is never a dull moment.

“I will probably be stopped one of these days.”

[alllthesewordsleftunsaid]

Lady Mae (and the reflection of me)

[walnuthillfarm]

Enhanced Horse Tail Slider

It's been a long time coming... the very first CC horse slider! This is a replacement for EA's tail slider.

This is an all-in-one slider which includes 4 sliders total.

Tail Height (up and down, left view)

Tail Distance (left and right, left view)

Tail Thickness (left and right, back view)

Tail Length (up and down, back view)

I've done very little testing outside of CAS with this, so please feel free to let me know of any issues you run into! Everything seems to work quite nicely with CAS poses, which is a good sign. The only little issue I've noticed with them is when the tail distance is extended, it can stick out a bit unnaturally. This might be fixable on my end in the future.

Should anyone else create a tail slider, this mod will NOT be compatible - you will have to decide between them.

Are you working on any other sliders? I have a whole list planned and in the works, however this was the easiest of them. Some of the other sliders I'm working on have had over 15 versions where I've just had to make constant tweaks. I'm open to suggestions below, but they're probably already on my to-do list.

Are you working on a height slider? I cannot for the life of me get this to work, likely because I (honestly) have no idea what I'm doing, but also potentially because MorphMaker isn't 100% yet for horses. This one may have to be left to the experts, however I am working on sliders that will affect height slightly.

Are you making head or body presets? The version of MorphMaker we currently have is experimental and therefore lots of things aren't working. I haven't been able to get the features I need for presets working yet, but I would like to make them in the future!

Enjoy!

Notes:

It can be difficult to grab the tail to use the sliders, especially when you're using certain tail styles. From my limited testing, you can usually grab it right at the base of the tail. You can slightly change the angle or swap to a different tail if need be.

When shortening the tail distance, it can distort the area it joins the horse's bum. I might be able to fix this in the future, but for now we'll just have to live with it.

When extending the tail length, the tail may clip into the ground if it's particularly long - have a play around with this, as sliders don't need to be used at their maximum!

Any other distortion is likely to do with the tail style you're using and not really the slider.

The GIFs help to demonstrate the angle you need to use these sliders, just like any EA ones.

Download - Patreon

[romanian-goddess]

[bellbootsandcandles]

I just finished making this in procreate after 40 hours, please dont let this flop 🥺

[ultimateequestrianescapade]

This is the Work of Katja Jensen

[hella-hannah-art]

A lil chestnut horse on this fall day <3

[thebaybae]

my lovely mare’s Christmas photos 🥰

[ahorsenamedphoebe]

Lunge day

[artparfilo]

Original Oil Painting Available For Sale https://www.etsy.com/listing/1335974270/

[doodlehorseafternoon]

You know, we talk about horses being these big majestic creatures; and they are. They're also sometimes really dumb and uncoordinated. Sometimes afraid of the smallest things. Sometimes oblivious to their own size and so very dangerous

And sometimes...

... mine tunes her movements so carefully to mine that it's like we're dancing without any words said. She always knows where I'm at and keeps me in the safest place, even though I am so small compared to her. Yesterday, she would pause her steps as I did, almost hovering in place to make sure she stayed with me

And I think such a big animal being so very careful with me is why I will be in awe of the relationship we can have with horses

[in-tenebris-et-in-solitudine]

[griffinequestrian]

Feels like summer 💦 already

[walnuthillfarm]

New CC For Download! TOU has also been updated

Note: these are reposts of CC that were available in our Christmas event and is now for permanent download.

Create A Pet

Foal Rugs Download Here (Conversion of Objuct's rugs, all credits go to him!) Icelandic Saddle Pad Download Here (Made for SchrodCat's Icelandic saddle) Full-Body Slinky & Slinky Hood Download Here Cribbing Collar Download Here Basic Ear Bonnet Download Here Multicolor Long & Longest Straight Tail Download Here (116 swatches each, includes pinto variations, two-tone chestnut tails, flaxen chestnut tails, silver black/bay tails, black to brown tails, frosted tails, and more! Edit of Objuct's tails, all credits go to him. Requires my edited meshes) Generic Coat Clip Thicknesses 2 Download Here (Texture used by minervamagicka, all credits go to them!) Auction Number Stickers Download Here Snow-verlay Download Here

Build & Buy

Paddock Fence Set Download Here Tack Room Locker Download Here (Requires High School Years DLC (I think))

Pose Packs

Picture Day Pt. 1 & Pt. 2 Download Here Did Someone Say Food? Download Here Those Pesky Flies Download Here Snow Day Download Here Bad Habits Download Here

Our TOU has also been updated - please check it out!