I received a call this evening as I was making dinner (that, in itself, is uncommon!). Since I bought the house, I've been bombarded with companies trying to market their products, so I've learned to let unknown numbers go to voicemail.
It was the man hiring the automotive photographer, and he wanted to offer me the job. I gladly accepted, of course!
What does that mean for my hobby? Everything good! It means that I will be treating myself to a new model out of the first paycheck, as a celebratory gift to myself. It means my precious ponies are safe from Evilbay and Facebook. And it means I maybe, just maybe, have a chance to get all the lovely models I want this year.
That means I can treat myself to daydreams of which model it's going to be. The custom model in the antique store clear across town (hour drive?). One of the Stone Morgans I desperately desire? The new Breyer Gypsy Vanner? The much delayed Totilas? Which one do you guys vote for?
Thanks to all who have been praying and thinking good thoughts for me! I thank the Lord for this opportunity, and for the income that comes with it.
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
Monday, February 25, 2013
2013 Scottsdale Arabian Horse Show
I got to go again this year, thanks to my awesome Grandma, who likes looking at the pretty grays.
I posted the whole reel on a photobucket album here
http://s179.beta.photobucket.com/user/fearthegold/library/2013%20Scottsdale%20Arabian%20Horse%20Show
For those who don't want to wade through all 359 photos, I'll do a highlight here!
I went Saturday the 23rd and Sunday the 24th to meet Sshameless and watch the Classic Championships. Those are always the highlights for me. I tried to catch a few of the other events, but the seats closest to the arenas are reserved and I only have a mid-range lens, so getting decent pictures is difficult. I'll leave awesome performance pictures and tack explanation posts to the Braymere blog ;)
Luckily, I was in the right place at the right time when Rick Love Stables was handing out fliers and inviting everyone to come for a meet n greet of their horses. I imagined they would allow us back into the stables to see the horses through the bars, but little did I know we would get a much closer display!
They brought out Ames Charisma, and it was my first time seeing a National Champion so close. The only celebrities I care about are the horse kind! Luckily for us, he was a bit of showoff.
I can't quite remember the names because I was too busy taking pictures, but the chestnut seemed a little intimidated at the nose-touching!
Later, I couldn't help getting a shot of this gorgeous black
Later that day (Saturday), I got to meet Sshameless. My grandma was again amazing and picked me up a signed copy of the Breyer model, who is just stunning in person, much like the real one!
I hate hate hate having my picture taken. I always look better in the mirror than in pictures! LOL. That is owner Lisa Shover, who I asked how Sshameless was named, and she had started explaining to me, as I remembered I should be looking at the camera for pictures.
Sunday morning, I wanted to watch the working cow competition before the Classics started at 10.
And then the Classics. I always take lots and lots of pictures (ergo why the album has 300+!)
They do geldings first, then fillies, colts, mares, stallions, and supreme champion. Both years I've gone, champion stallion took supreme champion. Seems reasonable, considering how flashy they are!
This was the second time he got the filly to do this, so I'm assuming it was a trick they were teaching her. Unfortunately, right after this picture, she got her leg tangled in the line and took off. They stopped her over near the gate, and she seemed unharmed. Last year they had a loose horse, as well, although the baby had gotten spunky and the amateur handler had let go of the leadline.
It's not always the babies who get skittish. This year, one of the stallions took a bit of a tumble. Sat down on his butt, really, but it is always nerve wracking because you don't want them to get hurt!
One of the stallions bolted as he came into the arena, and the handler was nearly dragged on his feet. Props to him, he was able to keep up with the stallion and get him under control, earning a large applause from the crowd. I don't get pictures of the actual incidents, because I don't want to create negative press for the horses/stables, and in case the horse/handler got hurt. I'm sure there are some floating around somewhere else, though, if you need to satisfy your curiousity!
And *Pogrom, winning the Stallion Classic Champion, as well as the Supreme Championship! He certainly is a gorgeous fellow!
I posted the whole reel on a photobucket album here
http://s179.beta.photobucket.com/user/fearthegold/library/2013%20Scottsdale%20Arabian%20Horse%20Show
For those who don't want to wade through all 359 photos, I'll do a highlight here!
I went Saturday the 23rd and Sunday the 24th to meet Sshameless and watch the Classic Championships. Those are always the highlights for me. I tried to catch a few of the other events, but the seats closest to the arenas are reserved and I only have a mid-range lens, so getting decent pictures is difficult. I'll leave awesome performance pictures and tack explanation posts to the Braymere blog ;)
Luckily, I was in the right place at the right time when Rick Love Stables was handing out fliers and inviting everyone to come for a meet n greet of their horses. I imagined they would allow us back into the stables to see the horses through the bars, but little did I know we would get a much closer display!
They brought out Ames Charisma, and it was my first time seeing a National Champion so close. The only celebrities I care about are the horse kind! Luckily for us, he was a bit of showoff.
I can't quite remember the names because I was too busy taking pictures, but the chestnut seemed a little intimidated at the nose-touching!
Later, I couldn't help getting a shot of this gorgeous black
Later that day (Saturday), I got to meet Sshameless. My grandma was again amazing and picked me up a signed copy of the Breyer model, who is just stunning in person, much like the real one!
I hate hate hate having my picture taken. I always look better in the mirror than in pictures! LOL. That is owner Lisa Shover, who I asked how Sshameless was named, and she had started explaining to me, as I remembered I should be looking at the camera for pictures.
Sunday morning, I wanted to watch the working cow competition before the Classics started at 10.
And then the Classics. I always take lots and lots of pictures (ergo why the album has 300+!)
They do geldings first, then fillies, colts, mares, stallions, and supreme champion. Both years I've gone, champion stallion took supreme champion. Seems reasonable, considering how flashy they are!
This was the second time he got the filly to do this, so I'm assuming it was a trick they were teaching her. Unfortunately, right after this picture, she got her leg tangled in the line and took off. They stopped her over near the gate, and she seemed unharmed. Last year they had a loose horse, as well, although the baby had gotten spunky and the amateur handler had let go of the leadline.
It's not always the babies who get skittish. This year, one of the stallions took a bit of a tumble. Sat down on his butt, really, but it is always nerve wracking because you don't want them to get hurt!
One of the stallions bolted as he came into the arena, and the handler was nearly dragged on his feet. Props to him, he was able to keep up with the stallion and get him under control, earning a large applause from the crowd. I don't get pictures of the actual incidents, because I don't want to create negative press for the horses/stables, and in case the horse/handler got hurt. I'm sure there are some floating around somewhere else, though, if you need to satisfy your curiousity!
And *Pogrom, winning the Stallion Classic Champion, as well as the Supreme Championship! He certainly is a gorgeous fellow!
Friday, February 22, 2013
Who Goes?
The last few days have left me pondering the question any hobbyist never really wants to face. If we have to start selling pieces from our collection-- who goes first?
For me, the biggest question is: GCs or Breyers? GCs are -not- as some hobbyist think, necessarily worth less. A NIB can easily go for $50, same as a RR Breyer. But most of my models aren't in boxes. And the ones that still are--are really really hard to get.(For not being resins or OOAK Stones, anyway)
The GCs (or Grand Champions, if anyone is new to my blog), are less valuable to the hobby as a whole, and take a lot less time to collect, as only a couple hundred were released, as opposed to thousands of Breyers. They are less likely to win in photo shows, and only specific clubs even contain classes for them. And they would never be at a live show except maybe as a prop.
But they mean something to me. The Breyers are obviously prettier, and more realistic, but some of them don't even have names. Every GC of mine (minus a few special exceptions) is named. Maybe two-thirds of my Breyers are so lucky. The GCs have been with me since I was 7. That's a lot to let go of.
The GC's came in families, for the most part. Once I start selling off one, I'm making a family incomplete. That suggests I should just sell any families I can part with. Ouch, that even looks painful written out.
The Breyers are the best choice. But most collectors are snobs. (Yes, I said it). If it's not perfect, it's body quality. And most people won't pay for what a model's worth, even NIB. I'd be taking a huge hit on the worth of my collection, and have to pay it all over again in the future to get them back.
And then, if I ever make it past that question, I'm still faced with the big one. Who first?
Obviously not my favorites. And if I'm lucky, my favorites and the expensive ones aren't one and the same. But the biggest rule is: the harder to find, the more it's worth. Generally. If I let go of the jewel in my collection, the rarest I've ever had, I've got a good chunk of money in my pocket. But I'll most likely never see it again. Is it worth it? Twenty years from now, when I look back, I'm either going to be glad I got rid of the ones I did to save the rest, or regret it for the rest of my life. How do you know which ones are which?
Sorry this isn't a performance post, or a how to do it yourself for cheap, or a yay-look at this cool model I got/made. But this is real, raw stuff that collectors deal with behind the scenes, and I'm willing to share a little bit of it with you guys. After this last mortgage goes through, there will be a measly $5 left. That was a close call. Next time, we might not make it all. And when it gets to that, even the favorites are on the chopping block.
For me, the biggest question is: GCs or Breyers? GCs are -not- as some hobbyist think, necessarily worth less. A NIB can easily go for $50, same as a RR Breyer. But most of my models aren't in boxes. And the ones that still are--are really really hard to get.(For not being resins or OOAK Stones, anyway)
The GCs (or Grand Champions, if anyone is new to my blog), are less valuable to the hobby as a whole, and take a lot less time to collect, as only a couple hundred were released, as opposed to thousands of Breyers. They are less likely to win in photo shows, and only specific clubs even contain classes for them. And they would never be at a live show except maybe as a prop.
But they mean something to me. The Breyers are obviously prettier, and more realistic, but some of them don't even have names. Every GC of mine (minus a few special exceptions) is named. Maybe two-thirds of my Breyers are so lucky. The GCs have been with me since I was 7. That's a lot to let go of.
The GC's came in families, for the most part. Once I start selling off one, I'm making a family incomplete. That suggests I should just sell any families I can part with. Ouch, that even looks painful written out.
The Breyers are the best choice. But most collectors are snobs. (Yes, I said it). If it's not perfect, it's body quality. And most people won't pay for what a model's worth, even NIB. I'd be taking a huge hit on the worth of my collection, and have to pay it all over again in the future to get them back.
And then, if I ever make it past that question, I'm still faced with the big one. Who first?
Obviously not my favorites. And if I'm lucky, my favorites and the expensive ones aren't one and the same. But the biggest rule is: the harder to find, the more it's worth. Generally. If I let go of the jewel in my collection, the rarest I've ever had, I've got a good chunk of money in my pocket. But I'll most likely never see it again. Is it worth it? Twenty years from now, when I look back, I'm either going to be glad I got rid of the ones I did to save the rest, or regret it for the rest of my life. How do you know which ones are which?
Sorry this isn't a performance post, or a how to do it yourself for cheap, or a yay-look at this cool model I got/made. But this is real, raw stuff that collectors deal with behind the scenes, and I'm willing to share a little bit of it with you guys. After this last mortgage goes through, there will be a measly $5 left. That was a close call. Next time, we might not make it all. And when it gets to that, even the favorites are on the chopping block.
Saturday, February 16, 2013
Nostalgia
Wow. Tonight I got hit -hard- by a wave of memories/nostalgia for my beloved Grand Champions brand while looking at pictures of catalogs and advertising from around 1995. I miss them. And they will never, ever be made again. It's sad. Like...emo sad.
Maybe it was brought on by the lack of monies to buy the ones I need. But, if I feel that way now, how am I going to feel once I do own them all? There's going to be this empty nothingness of beyond. No more to chase. Is that why the ladies who preceded me turned around and sold off their collections once they reached the grand finale? And that poses the question- should I keep chasing that dream if it's proven to not satisfy the hunger?
Or maybe with all this stress of being broke and trying to take care of a house and not having the funds to travel or get married or have kids, I'm longing for the simplicity of childhood.
Whatever it is, it's painful. And I hope it goes away soon.
Maybe it was brought on by the lack of monies to buy the ones I need. But, if I feel that way now, how am I going to feel once I do own them all? There's going to be this empty nothingness of beyond. No more to chase. Is that why the ladies who preceded me turned around and sold off their collections once they reached the grand finale? And that poses the question- should I keep chasing that dream if it's proven to not satisfy the hunger?
Or maybe with all this stress of being broke and trying to take care of a house and not having the funds to travel or get married or have kids, I'm longing for the simplicity of childhood.
Whatever it is, it's painful. And I hope it goes away soon.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Micro Mini Footing
A lot of the fun of this hobby, when related to photos and photo showing, is experimenting and trying new things, and the following satisfaction when one of those ideas pays off.
Sometimes, it is difficult for people new to the hobby to figure out these tips and tricks, without directly asking, and-- let's be honest-- it can be very intimidating to do so.
I present the following article as a quick, easy guide for one aspect of photos- footing. This particular article pertains to micro minis, which can be either very easy or extremely frustrating.
There are two main things you need to look for when picking footing:
1. Scale.
Dirt
My first suggestion is to look at real horse photos and study how large the particles of the ground are in comparison to the horse. Here we have an Arabian horse in a show ring in Arizona, and the dirt has been kicked up behind. It can be hard to see, but that's the point. The particles- each and every piece of dirt- are tiny relative to the horse. (Since we are talking about such a small scale, I've made every photo as large as possible so we can see detail, so please bear with me if you're on a slow computer).
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| Photo copyright Courtney Gearhart 2012 |
That poses a problem for owners of the micro sized models. If we are striving for realism (and that is the point, isn't it?), then the particles for our dirt must be microscopic!
My first suggestion is ballast. This stuff can be found online or in any good hobby store. It is often found in the model train/scenery section, and is relatively cheap. It comes in fine, medium, and coarse grain. The two above are both fine grain, but hopefully you can see that even the dark brown particles are a bit larger than the tan ones.
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| Fine grain ballast |
Here is the tan fine ballast in practice. It is small enough to not detract from the model, and the particles are almost small enough to not be seen.
+show.JPG) |
| Ballast at work |
Another option that is commonly suggested is cinnamon. Here is an example:
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| Cinnamon |
A third choice might be corkboard. It provides a level, solid surface, and actually makes passable dirt!
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| Corkboard |
If you don’t have a hobby store close, most Walmarts carry a type of sand in the decorative aisle with the fake plants and colored rocks.
The color choices are less realistic, but the white sand makes decent snow! For the yellow, think beaches or desert.
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| "Snow" covered field |
I also found these at my Walmart in the same decorative section:
Again, the white works well for snow or an exotic beach, but the one on the left is too large for minis, and maybe even too large for SMs. It would work well for Classics or Trads, though.
If you don't have the money or simply don't want to pay for dirt (understandable), then there are plenty of places you can get some. Playground sand can be found at (where else?) playgrounds, or bought for a huge bag for only about $4 from Home Depot. It is a bit more difficult to achieve the desirable scale using this stuff, as most of the grains are large. However, I have poured some on a table and let it sit outside through rain and weather, and the larger, heavier particles naturally settle to the bottom, leaving patches of fine particles on top in some places. Below is an example
To the left of the picture, you can see a group of large pebbles typical in playground sand. However, I set the model on top of one of the "sieved" parts of my table. This process can work with any backyard dirt as well. A good wetting and a chance to settle can create a smooth surface of fine particles for your smaller models.
Grass
Scale is relative to depth. A grass that comes up to the model’s knees is not going to work for a halter photo, nor a good pasture one. In real life, cropped grass only reaches partway up the hoof. Anything higher is passable as “wild” grass and would work for mustang photos or outdoor events like trail rides.
Two products I’ve found that work well are Static Grass Flock, again found in hobby shops in the model section. This stuff is a bit more expensive, as you can see. It clumps together well, and can be teased up into strands like blades of grass.
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| Static Grass Flock |
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| Grass mat |
Here is an example photo using the grass mat:
The hooves are *more* visible, but at least they're not totally obscured.
2. Depth
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| Photo copyright Courtney Gearhart 2012 |
A way to avoid this is to take a piece of cardboard and spray sticky spray or spread a thin layer of rubber cement over it, then pour your ballast/dirt over it, and dump off the excess. Here is what mine looks like:
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| Cardboard with glued on dirt |
It is okay if there are some spots with missing dirt. When you get “at level” with the horse, you can’t tell. Here is a photo using that exact cardboard piece:
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| Using the sprayed cardboard |
Otherwise, you may end up with a situation like this:
Not only are his hooves hidden, but also part of his leg!
Check back next time for a discussion on tips and tricks to achieve believable bushes, leaves, and other additions to your scenery!
Saturday, February 9, 2013
Mares At A Fence
Or so, that's how I titled my newest set of photos I took today.
I was inspired by the banner at the top of Eclipse Acres' site- http://eclipseacres.weebly.com/others.html.
At first I was going to grab some different mare poses, but I thought how cute would it be if I did a conga of all my Arabs?
And then I happily played around with Photobucket's new editor.
Any favorites? I ended up using my favorite as the home page banner for my website. So many ways to enjoy the same photo. I hope everyone smells the roses from time to time.
And lastly, I took one like I wanted, with a few different poses:
Have a wonderful Saturday!
I was inspired by the banner at the top of Eclipse Acres' site- http://eclipseacres.weebly.com/others.html.
At first I was going to grab some different mare poses, but I thought how cute would it be if I did a conga of all my Arabs?
And then I happily played around with Photobucket's new editor.
 |
| "Old" |
 |
| "Antique" |
 |
| "Boardwalk" |
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| "Sage" |
Any favorites? I ended up using my favorite as the home page banner for my website. So many ways to enjoy the same photo. I hope everyone smells the roses from time to time.
And lastly, I took one like I wanted, with a few different poses:
Have a wonderful Saturday!
Thursday, February 7, 2013
Micro Mini Mayhem
Thanks to the new mini forum/photo show club, MMPSA, the Mini Model Photo Show Association, I was inspired to dig out my micros and have a go at some playful pictures with them. Here's a post dedicated to setting up scenes just for the heck of it, lacking tack and doing it anyway, and things being maybe just a little out of scale. I like how they turned out. How about you?
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| Morning romp in the paddock |
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| The "It" girls |
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| Wild |
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| Let's try some barrels! |
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| Somebody's got to haul the hay... |
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| And take the kids for a hayride. |
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| The manager checks on one of the stallions |
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| The Arabians are always feisty! |
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| Barrel racing for the big guy |
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| A mare cools off under the shelter |
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| Always training! |
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| There is nothing better than going out for a ride with friends |
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| And here's the set up I used, for anyone interested! |
Wednesday, February 6, 2013
Wielkopalooza
Life has been weird lately, so yesterday I decided to submerge myself in my favorite hobby--> horses. I've been on a quest to pedigree all the orphans currently already posted on my website, stableforchampions.weebly.com. Instead of starting at the top of my List of All Horses Excel spreadsheet, I mixed it up a bit and started from the bottom.
This brought me to a bunch of Wurttembergers that were already pedigreed, and then a Wielkopolski. No idea how to pronounce that. My closest is Wee-all-ca-pole-ski. I have a feeling that W might be pronounced like a V, but I'm not familiar with Polish at all.
Charger is a Grand Champion produced in the later years of the company (~2003), so he didn't come with a name, bio card, or any other sort of identity.
They did, however, create a GC Sound N Action stallion by the name of Champ, with the breed of Wielkopolski. On his bio card, his parent's names are Charger and Champagne. I decided to ID my orphan as the sire.
His colorful stockings posed me a problem. I called him a sabino, for lack of better knowledge, although I later entered him in a color show as a splash. I had no idea if Wielkopolskis came in either, so I decided to ignore it for the time being, to see what my research would turn up.
I came to find out that this breed isn't so popular here in the States. That meant I was soon perusing a lot of websites ending in .pl . Thank you, Google Translate.
The biggest help came from, not Yahoo web, but rather Yahoo Images. Doing a web search often comes up with an annoying amount of "about this breed" websites, but very little to do with actual horses or pedigrees in the breed. But an Image search produces actual horses, and a little bit of searching can get you to the host websites.
My first try found me at http://www.equigaia.com. A filter search only brought up one Wielkopolski mare for sale, but following old pictures from the Images search could get me to expired advertisements, which often included pedigrees. Here's an example-
http://www.equigaia.com/Horses-for-sale/horse/Wielkopolski/Stallion/Poland/12653810078ijV2ngBYPCNp9dttEOsuQwlumlF3Rc1
One of the horse pictures, I think the one of Powój, led me to this site- http://ogloszenia.voltahorse.pl. Goldmine! You don't even need to put it through the Translate, as long as you know Stanówka stands for "Breeding" or something similar. There is also a handy language changer at the bottom of the left column. Click on the picture of the British flag, and most of the website goes to English. All you have to do is then sort by Breed.
Click on a horse, click on "Full Datails" and at the bottom, under "Additional Actions", click Show Family Tree. Some of the others are blocked and require you to register, but for a pedigree assigner, this is more than we can normally ask for! All of the names in the pedigree are clickable, but the amount of information varies. Still, a filled in pedigree is great!
(A side note: I also found this site-- http://www.wikihorseworld.com. I don't know where I've been, but this place is amazing.)
I -finally- found a breeder website that had information on their horses- http://www.mazurek-konie.pl/ogiery/. Again, a handy little British flag up at the top helps out us English-speaking folk. There's not much info actually with the pictures of the horses, but they have a whole separate page called Pedigree Database. This is an alphabetical list of all horses they've owned or currently own, I guess, and clicking on "przejdź by sprawdzić rodowód" takes you to their horses' pedigree information at http://www.bazakoni.pl. A whole database of horses, similar to the link I posted above. Except, by using the breeder site, you can quickly peruse a bunch of them. (Again, Advanced Search is accessible only to members).
I wanted to take a moment to point out that they bother separating Wielkopolski, Malopolska (Polish Angloarab), Wielkopolska/Trak (which I can only assume has Trakehner lines, although the horses under Wielkopolski often have heavy Trakehner lines, so this is still a mystery to me), and Trakehner into separate breed categories. Also, good luck comparing this to Allbreed, because they either have the horses listed as Trakehners or "Warmblood". If you're lucky, someone added in "Wielkopolski" under additional info, but otherwise there's not much to tell if it's registered as such. Not only that, but many of the horses as ancestors to Wielkopolskis or off the Mazurek breeder site are of the breed "szlachetna półkrew". The Translate can only get it to "steel półkrew", so I'm still not sure what it is! Can anyone enlighten me? My best guess is some sort of "Polish Warmblood" type of breed. As it is, I decided to stick with only horses with Wielkopolski as their breed, since it seems that that does not necessarily equal any of the others, or vice versa.
And then I found something interesting. Appaloosa coats! http://www.mazurek-konie.pl/klacze/ Their mare, right at the top, has a blanket. I'm not sure exactly where the patterns trace back to, but they are registerable with the WLKP. And not only that, but the cream gene exists, as well. AND the tobiano pattern. Phew. Well, that can take care of any weird palomino pintaloosa anyone might have with a sporting build.
So of course I had to take advantage of the find and create a mate for my lone Wielkopolski stallion. Unluckily, I didn't seem to have any spotty mares with the right build among by orphans, but I did have a foal. Foals are kind of a cop out with difficult breeds, since they can pass as just about anything, so I try not to do it, but she was just too cute. And she didn't want to be another boring Appaloosa, lost in the huge herd.
I named her a mix of her dam and grandsire's names.
So, not only did I pedigree one posted orphan, I got to add a completely nameless, no-breed orphan to the website with all info! And it looks like a few tobiano Wielkopolskis will be added soon.
(Added 2/7: I found out that szlachetna półkrew means Polish Halfbred Horse, thanks to this scientific paper on how the sire's breed affects the measurements of the foals, here- http://www.ighz.edu.pl/files/objects/2103/66/strona171-180.pdf. That goes along with my instinct that the horses were a mixed breed/didn't have a specific breed, so I am glad I avoided using one as a parent. It also explains more regarding the Malopolski and the Wielkopolski, so it is worth a quick read)
This brought me to a bunch of Wurttembergers that were already pedigreed, and then a Wielkopolski. No idea how to pronounce that. My closest is Wee-all-ca-pole-ski. I have a feeling that W might be pronounced like a V, but I'm not familiar with Polish at all.
Charger is a Grand Champion produced in the later years of the company (~2003), so he didn't come with a name, bio card, or any other sort of identity.
 |
| SFC Charger, black Wielkopolski stallion |
His colorful stockings posed me a problem. I called him a sabino, for lack of better knowledge, although I later entered him in a color show as a splash. I had no idea if Wielkopolskis came in either, so I decided to ignore it for the time being, to see what my research would turn up.
I came to find out that this breed isn't so popular here in the States. That meant I was soon perusing a lot of websites ending in .pl . Thank you, Google Translate.
The biggest help came from, not Yahoo web, but rather Yahoo Images. Doing a web search often comes up with an annoying amount of "about this breed" websites, but very little to do with actual horses or pedigrees in the breed. But an Image search produces actual horses, and a little bit of searching can get you to the host websites.
My first try found me at http://www.equigaia.com. A filter search only brought up one Wielkopolski mare for sale, but following old pictures from the Images search could get me to expired advertisements, which often included pedigrees. Here's an example-
http://www.equigaia.com/Horses-for-sale/horse/Wielkopolski/Stallion/Poland/12653810078ijV2ngBYPCNp9dttEOsuQwlumlF3Rc1
One of the horse pictures, I think the one of Powój, led me to this site- http://ogloszenia.voltahorse.pl. Goldmine! You don't even need to put it through the Translate, as long as you know Stanówka stands for "Breeding" or something similar. There is also a handy language changer at the bottom of the left column. Click on the picture of the British flag, and most of the website goes to English. All you have to do is then sort by Breed.
Click on a horse, click on "Full Datails" and at the bottom, under "Additional Actions", click Show Family Tree. Some of the others are blocked and require you to register, but for a pedigree assigner, this is more than we can normally ask for! All of the names in the pedigree are clickable, but the amount of information varies. Still, a filled in pedigree is great!
(A side note: I also found this site-- http://www.wikihorseworld.com. I don't know where I've been, but this place is amazing.)
I -finally- found a breeder website that had information on their horses- http://www.mazurek-konie.pl/ogiery/. Again, a handy little British flag up at the top helps out us English-speaking folk. There's not much info actually with the pictures of the horses, but they have a whole separate page called Pedigree Database. This is an alphabetical list of all horses they've owned or currently own, I guess, and clicking on "przejdź by sprawdzić rodowód" takes you to their horses' pedigree information at http://www.bazakoni.pl. A whole database of horses, similar to the link I posted above. Except, by using the breeder site, you can quickly peruse a bunch of them. (Again, Advanced Search is accessible only to members).
I wanted to take a moment to point out that they bother separating Wielkopolski, Malopolska (Polish Angloarab), Wielkopolska/Trak (which I can only assume has Trakehner lines, although the horses under Wielkopolski often have heavy Trakehner lines, so this is still a mystery to me), and Trakehner into separate breed categories. Also, good luck comparing this to Allbreed, because they either have the horses listed as Trakehners or "Warmblood". If you're lucky, someone added in "Wielkopolski" under additional info, but otherwise there's not much to tell if it's registered as such. Not only that, but many of the horses as ancestors to Wielkopolskis or off the Mazurek breeder site are of the breed "szlachetna półkrew". The Translate can only get it to "steel półkrew", so I'm still not sure what it is! Can anyone enlighten me? My best guess is some sort of "Polish Warmblood" type of breed. As it is, I decided to stick with only horses with Wielkopolski as their breed, since it seems that that does not necessarily equal any of the others, or vice versa.
And then I found something interesting. Appaloosa coats! http://www.mazurek-konie.pl/klacze/ Their mare, right at the top, has a blanket. I'm not sure exactly where the patterns trace back to, but they are registerable with the WLKP. And not only that, but the cream gene exists, as well. AND the tobiano pattern. Phew. Well, that can take care of any weird palomino pintaloosa anyone might have with a sporting build.
So of course I had to take advantage of the find and create a mate for my lone Wielkopolski stallion. Unluckily, I didn't seem to have any spotty mares with the right build among by orphans, but I did have a foal. Foals are kind of a cop out with difficult breeds, since they can pass as just about anything, so I try not to do it, but she was just too cute. And she didn't want to be another boring Appaloosa, lost in the huge herd.
.JPG) |
| Sorajka, bay blanket Wielkopolski filly |
So, not only did I pedigree one posted orphan, I got to add a completely nameless, no-breed orphan to the website with all info! And it looks like a few tobiano Wielkopolskis will be added soon.
(Added 2/7: I found out that szlachetna półkrew means Polish Halfbred Horse, thanks to this scientific paper on how the sire's breed affects the measurements of the foals, here- http://www.ighz.edu.pl/files/objects/2103/66/strona171-180.pdf. That goes along with my instinct that the horses were a mixed breed/didn't have a specific breed, so I am glad I avoided using one as a parent. It also explains more regarding the Malopolski and the Wielkopolski, so it is worth a quick read)
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