Long Way to Go

Stable: Lakewood Farm
Horse Number: 1
Horse Name: Kiwi
Entry: Optional

Storyline:
1. Mandatory: First Meeting
2. Optional: The First Steps
3. Optional: Interlude - Things for the Future
4. Optional: Breakthrough
5. Optional: Building Trust
6. Mandatory: Mishap - Halter Training
7. Optional: Progression
8. Optional: Mishap - Early Saddle Sessions: You are Here
9. Mandatory: Backing
10. Optional: Mounting Up
11. Mandatory: Flat Training
12. Optional: Jump training
13. Optional: Christmas Hack
14. Optional: Kaimanawa Hack
15. Optional: Beach/water riding
16. Optional: The Future

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"That horse wasn't built to tread the earth
He took natural to the air
And every time he went aloft
He tried to leave me there"
~ unknown.

I've always liked that poem, and it fits oddly well, I thought

Well, I said I'd try to do a quick sketch of this stage, and this morning (between watching The Hole) I sat down with my sketchbook with the thick, grainy paper and *gasp* a photo reference to draw this. It got a little out of hand as a 'quick sketch' but I was really happy with how it came out.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any good pictures of horses bucking with english saddles, so I adapted a western bronc rider and completely invented the saddle.

Anyway, this would be Kiwi in the first few sessions with her saddle. It is out of chronological order in regards to posting, since this happens before the image of Alec long reining her. And though it may not have occured to some people, I was deliberate about not using the yellow girth. While Kiwi's unpredictable like this, we were using leather girths only, so they could be more trusted to break if she had enough of a freak out.

Sketched and rendered on paper and flat colours added in PS CS5 - sketch layer set to multiply.
A couple of hours, maybe 3.
This used as a ref for the pose and shading: [link]
Art and character copyright to *Tattered-Dreams
Character design copyright to *LeavingNeverland
Do not take, copy, edit, redistribute or manipulate.