The Hardest Thing...

About getting new horses is naming them.

At least for me, although I doubt I'm the only one who runs into this problem.

There is it, sitting all nice and new in front of you. The color is (mostly) obvious, the gender is *turn it over* blatantly obvious...and the breed type can at least be determined with a general glance over.

But that leaves a name. If you're lucky, you have a BSO that this body fits perfectly. If you're smart, you create BSOs and then buy bodies to match them. I am neither lucky or smart.

My newest acquisitions have given me similar issues.

 

This one came easily. He's such a powerful, strong looking stud. I've recently started watching Naruto, an anime-cartoon, and the episode before I got online featured a Shuriken, a weapon that looks like a group of sharp windmill blades. So I named him Shuriken.

  

His mare was a bit harder. But when I looked at this picture, she just seemed so feminine and royal, she reminded me of a queen. The part of The Lion King where Scar calls Simba's mom up to the ledge, by yelling "Sarabiiii!!" popped into my head. So I shortened it and called her Naabi, a mix of Sarabi and Nala.

  

 This girl's colors were so bright, she made me think Hot Tamale, which wasn't very original. And next came to mind- I like it hot. Another pretty cliche name. So I decided to twist it a bit and came up with I Like It Spicy.

These two haven't been named yet, but I will share their "Ah-hah!" moments here once I decide!

Gold mine!

I decided to go flea market/ antique store shopping with my mom in the next city over today.

Turns out to be one of the best finds of my life. In our last stop, I came across this...

Too bad I'm not loaded, or I would've cleaned her out. As it is, I obtained the dark bay Proud Arabian Family on the bottom left shelf. I really want the Clydesdale mare/foal in the front, so next time I have money, I'm grabbing them. The two Shams will be next :P

I've dreamy about finding a motherlode such as this! (Except in my dreams, the horses are like, $1.00 a piece, lmao)

Note to Self...

Those model horse sites that have the extensive info, pictures, and beautiful layouts for each horse usually have only a small, quality collection. When I decide to have a similar goal of a personal page for each horse, I should remind myself just how many horses I have, and question whether I have the time, motivation and desire to complete the task.

It is now going on two years since I started this enormous venture.

Also, I should also keep in mind just how many horses I normally add to the collection throughout the year.

Thanks,
Your Self

Website Makeover

So I once again delved into the maze of CSS of Weebly (thank you Weebly, btw, for making that an option) and did a complete makeover on my website, stableforchampions.weebly.com.

I altered just about everything: background color, text, drop down menu colors, and the main banner. I kept the layout the same because I like it.

My main concern is the black background. Does it give a more professional edge or does it create a void in space? I was hoping to have both a professional look and focus the attention to center.

So if you have the time, please check it out, and leave comments here :)

Rescuing Horses

I love that feeling of finding a beat-up, lost horse at a flea-market and knowing I can give it a new life. No matter how "fun" its life before was, it cannot escape the fact it is now unwanted and for sale.

I came across a whole box of Breyers, mostly Classics and a few baggies of Stablemates, about three in a bag. My budget allowed me to rescue four of them, so I chose two stock horses, a calf, and a Stablemate bag with a TB, ASB and foal in it.


I spent many minutes, probably over an hour, using soap, water, and my fingernail, to carefully scrape off most of the marks. Luckily, they cleaned up very good, and I was happy with my find. They'll soon be found pedigrees and put into the stables with the rest of the horses.

Once I find tack (everything is packed up since the move), buckskin up there and the calf will try their hand at western performance cattle entries.


The Stablemates don't have their pics yet, but I'll show them off soon!

Boarding

I put this service up on my site, expecting to maybe host a friend's horse for a week or so, but not really thinking it would appeal to strangers.

Boy, was I wrong, and pleasantly surprised, when my service was able to help someone out!

Due to stipulations of the All Breeds Racing Board that racing models must have bodies and show photos as proof, a customer approached me about boarding her racers at my stable since she didn't have a website of her own.

A few minutes of my time, and viola, her horses were boarded and ready to race!

Find of the Year

So I was in Fort Collins, looking for a Savers so my mom could check out their books, and we went just a little too far down the road. I turned into a shopping block, and noticed a Tuesday Morning sign. I immediately got excited--some of the girls on the Grand Champion sites have said that the store sometimes sells old Grand Champions, including foals. We stopped and went in.

My mom went to start at one end so she could look over the whole store; I went straight for the toy section. Sadly, only one GC, one I already had, but then I saw this:

There were two of them. And it was on my top ten most wanted list. But they usually sell for $100+, so I knew it'd be awhile before I could get one. And then I saw the price- $49.99!! I showed my mom, called my boyfriend, and pretty much established that I really needed this horse when he got paid. But my mom, being as awesome as she is, told me to grab it. So I picked the one I liked best (they were both in great condition) and now it's mine! Yay!

My horse-buying drought was well worth it to come out with a jewel like this. It's nothing rare or super-special, but it makes me happy to have it.

Any of my readers, please feel free to share the story of your best find in the comments section. I'd love to hear them!