A little rant

So I was trying to take a photo yesterday to enter Breyer's "Picture Perfect" contest. Granted, the toddler's "assistance" didn't help any, but still. I ended up skipping the contest, because this


was the best picture I ended up with, and it's out of focus.

Part of my rant is that Breyer's directions weren't clear about whether I had to use all of the props from the kit. Because honestly, that paper fence is crap. The little cross-feet that it "stands" on are hideously hard to disguise, and the fence isn't nearly long enough for those of us who are cursed with rotten lighting conditions. Thanks to my lighting (hah!) setup, I have to have about a foot between the horse and backdrop - otherwise, shadows on the fence and backdrop. So, the short fence and small poster didn't work well. Neither did the lovely creases in the poster, for that matter.

The backdrop is actually pretty nice. I just wish it hadn't been folded. If it wasn't two-sided, I'd get it mounted on foamcore. I may anyway, when I decide which side I like better. The flowerpot is also pretty nice. And the horse is really good; I like the dun color they used, and while peanut rollers make me twitchy and Zippo's head is too short, he's a versatile sort of OF horse for the Western classes.

But the fence is still crap. And what's with making the deadline fall on a Sunday?

Pegasus & a Palouse

Two new horses in the mail today. UPS delivered my Pegasus


and USPS brought the Iskitpe Palouse I bought on Ebay last week.

Also, two new SMs from Target over the weekend, the red roan Peruvian Paso and the bay/buckskin (haven't decided yet) Highland Pony.

Plus, I'm spending the day working on a photo for the Picture Perfect contest. Having left it to the deadline and fighting with their sorry fence, I may skip the contest.

My first Hartlands

Technically, my very first Hartland is a grey grazing mare that I found at a flea market this summer.



Then I got this bunch on Ebay. The alabaster FAS is glossy but could use a sun bath and is missing an eartip. The ASB is Tenite (cellulose acetate), same as Breyers, but the Morgan family is the Styrene. That explains why I probably saw Hartlands earlier and didn't know it - the plastic just screams "cheap Hong Kong toy" to me for some reason.

The Hartlands are all in pretty good shape, considering their age. Not bad for about $20. I like the metallic chestnut, too.

I'd really like to have one of the Regal-size prancing QHs, but that'll have to wait until I find one in my price range. Thrill of the hunt and all that.