Variations (Collier)

The Belgian Heavy Draft horse, or Brabant, is one of the ancient draft breeds, tracing its lineage through the medieval Great Horse to the European Forest Horse of Roman times. With centuries of selective breeding, the Belgian is known for type & prepotency. It has been used to develop or improve most modern draft breeds. Because of its influence, it is sometimes called the Arabian of draft breeds.

In 1998, Kristina Lucas sculpted a lovely thumb size Belgian for the Pour Horse lineup. From his large head, through his sloped shoulders, to his muscular rump, Collier is an excellent example of this celebrated breed. Collier is walking with his left leg forward and his head high. His ears flick back, and his expression is relaxed. He has a full mane and a short tail, large-boned and muscular legs, and large upright hooves with moderate feather.

Collier was produced in a typical Belgian color, chestnut roan. His body is creamy with chestnut shading, and his head, mane, tail, and legs are darker chestnut. His hooves are gray, and he has a small white blaze ending in pink at his muzzle.

Customers on the Pour Horse mailing list received a picture postcard of Collier in late 1998 and were able to order one glazed and one unpainted bisque model. Collier was also the first Pour Horse offered as an one mold run edition in unpainted resin, made by Randy Buckler of DaBar Express. 196 glazed, 58 bisque, and 67 resin models were produced.

Collier inaugurated a new PH tradition. Models produced in the first production kiln firing were marked with a star on the belly. 8 Colliers bear the star, and other first-firing pieces have been marked ever since.

Collier is a very consistent fellow, with only two variations during the run. The first 70 or so models had an evenly colored, creamy body with chestnut shading. This variation is termed the "smooth body" Collier.

While painting a run of bay roan Seneca models, Joan discovered a new airbrush technique for spraying very fine speckles of color. For the last part of the Collier run, Joan used this method to mist chestnut flecks over Collier's neck and body, creating the "flecked" Collier.

Since the smooth and flecked variations were produced in relatively large numbers, they are both easy to come by, and each has its charm. The smooth variation creates a very realistic roan color, especially for the mini scale, where individual light and dark hairs cannot be resolved. On the other hand, the speckles add delightful fine detail and depth to the body color.

Whichever variation you have, Collier will bring history, beauty and attitude to your collection.

Credits:

article written by Liz Holm
unnamed Collier, first firing "smooth body" Collier
photo by editor

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