ATLAS!

A special Saturday sneak peak... this is "Atlas"! This handsome hunk is about 75% finished in these pics. He still needs detailing, especially on his feet, and a bit of tweaking here and there.

A bit about him...
"Atlas" started out as a Miss America. My vision for him was to capture the saddlebred "essence", while keeping him natural and elegant. I also wanted to push him into a gait that isn't often seen in the model horse world: the Rack. Also known as the running walk, single-footing, or tolt (in Icelandics) all gaited horses have this movement. Saddlebreds probably have the most exaggerated gait due to all the crap they put on them to make them pick their feet up higher (not a fan). Here are some pics:



I didn't want him to look all jacked up like some of those show ASBs, so kept his overall look rather relaxed and fairly easy-going.

Although all very subtle, he has had a TON of work done on him... straightened neck, larger belly, reworked throat, crest, and face, reworked legs into a rack, larger (but natural) front feet, stallion parts... and of course a new mane/tail. Never one to re-invent the wheel, I had this lovely Cadence tail here from a former project... and it just worked perfectly for him. He came out exactly how I pictured him.

More pics will be coming soon; I just need to get him finished before I offer him on Monday to my group.