Table portraits 1.

Here comes the second bunch in the photo bunch/table portrait series... I wish I could just call all of these "table portraits", but how could I when they aren't always taken on a table? Yea. I will split some bigger photo piles into a couple posts. 

So this bunch was taken somewhere in the late October 2019.  I of course can no longer remember what I was trying to achieve with this situation, but at least I had a gorgeous Breyer horse on the table and he had an overly complex bridle on his head. I wanted to photograph it just because. 

I kind of think a Valegro model doesn't deserve any negativity, but then again, no horse does. I happen to be a pessimist and I know way too much about the rotten eggs which are going on in the equestrian world, and that is what I often draw and miniaturize. And the Valegro mold simply has a fitting expression for scenes which include weird tack or poor riding. Enough said? 

The bridle seen in these photos is a mess which I have decided to name "fightmore", because to me it looks like something an impatient, abusive and selfish rider could want to put on their horse, instead of taking their time and effort to get along with the horse and to become a better rider... And in fact, unfortunately, we have seen photo evidence of these bridles existing, and often the rider has wanted to take a shortcut... I definitely call it a fightmore, but some call it hackabit. Maybe there are even more names for this monstrosity?

Though, in theory it is possible for a fightmore to be humane. It's just a normal bridle with a bit, a hackamore, and two pairs of reins. It can't do harm just sitting on the horse and nobody yanking from the reins, could it? I am sure, in theory it is technically possible that a good rider knows how to use one gently.

Well, even a properly adjusted noseband can cause harm. So can any bit. And so can any hackamore. I think this is a dilemma which can't be solved with just decisions like "this tool is yes" and "this tool is nope". I do not have a real horse life and I lack the experience to really know how to comment on these things, but I try to use my common sense and empathy. Horses can smell your feelings, and I'm sure they also smell if a rider doesn't care about their wellbeing. Pfff. 

I sometimes feel like I don't know what I should think or how should I explain it when I publish these horror bridles. Why do I make them? I couldn't like to cram that much stuff on any animal just to give it some exercise. (A harness, a reflective vest, a collar and a LED collar seemed too much at some point when we had our dog... I can't even imagine how some horse people can cope with all the strap adjusting every time they exercise their horses, since especially trotters often have very complex tack.) 

I also don't think it looks good if a horse is totally covered in tack... But for some reason I like to draw and miniaturize exactly that. Maybe it's the detailing which the model horse hobby is so crazy about? It must be that. I also simply like to design the complex mechanisms of hackamore shanks and related, and then try to make them in miniature. It must be that! Some people in this world make scary horror bits which, I have understood, are just pure art and not meant for actual use. And what else is the model horse crafting about than art? In the hobby we see a lot of tack which nobody uses with real horses.

What a rant. But that is what my rotten egg stories and drawings and - seemingly - mini crafts often are about. Plus, I want to say, I think it is important for people to add some explanation to why their photos or crafts look like what they look like. To add a backstory for it. The saying "let the viewer interpret it how they want" does not apply to my works, because I often want to say something specific with these. I do NOT want to take the risk that someone could severely misinterpret especially these rotten egg works. 

The second bunch will also be about a fightmore!