Purdy Awesome

       Have you ever gotten something incredibly awesome in the mail, something that you had been waiting for for a while with excitement, and you were so busy you didn't really have any time to enjoy it? That happened to me. I have been waiting for a custom horse from Tiffany Purdy, with interchangeable manes and tails, and when he arrived I barely had time to open the box. But you better believe I was going to open this box!

      I love getting packages from Tiffany. How could I not? They are pink, and full of pink peanuts. Most people who have received packages from me understand my love of pink packaging. Though lately I have been using some really cool marbled tissue paper for dolls. With pink ribbon of course. 

     When you open up the box there is more pink to be found. I still vividly remember reading a discussion about the extras in packaging. I was surprised at the amount of people who were irate that artists add these extra touches, personalized for their studio. They felt that it just adds to the cost of the piece. For my part, when I put custom touches that make me happy, I don't add anything to the cost of my dolls or miniatures. The touches make ME happy. And the idea that someone opening a package feels like they are getting a gift is fun. Though I am sure those same people would argue that it's not a gift if you purchased it. I disagree with that too. Buying yourself a gift is completely acceptable. I think I saw that argument on MA on Facebook, so it doesn't really mean anything. And if you have never been to modolholics anonymous on Facebook... just don't. It's better for your mental health. 

         Continuing on into the Purdy packaging for my horse I found some more pink, touches that are exclusively Tiffany. I do love her logo. I have never really gotten serious about a Field of Dolls logo. Most people seem to use letters from the name and FOD sounds, and looks, sort of weird. Though I do love Tiffany's logo. Anyway, more pink, more feeling of opening a present, and more fun to come!

     Once into the package I unwrapped multiple manes and tails. This was really exciting to see! I did not get a photo of the horse without any hair, but he is really nicely done. I could even almost get away with showing him maneless, but not quite. 

     I had time to get one mane and tail on him and get a quick and awful kitchen table photo. And then that was it for about 2 weeks. I have been really busy, and I have been feeling really behind on so many things. 

    Then, finally, this past Tuesday I decided I was making time to play with my new horse! It was the rescheduled day of our anniversary (being that our anniversary was on Monday and Ethan has Tuesdays off it made sense to spend time together on Tuesday when I got home from school). I had fun playing dress up with my new, nameless horse, on the picnic table. It was a little bit chilly so Ethan made a fire. Almost all of my dolls are currently in storage so I only managed to get a tacked photo of this guy in western gear. 

     I think he looks pretty spectacular! Even without a doll. This turquoise color looks pretty nice on him as well. 

     I had asked Tiffany for a slower, western pleasure type mane, and a "fast" mane. This mane doesn't fit well with a saddle, at least not when I tried it (I may need to revisit that) but it looks excellent for halter (wait... I don't do that) and for display. I really love this horse!

 

     I had a tricky time getting him into English gear. The saddles fit, I could have used the smaller youth saddle most likely, especially if I switched out the girth, but getting a bridle to fit on him was so hard! And I know I have shown a horse of this mold before. I don't remember selling any tack, but maybe I did. Anyway, I finally found a bridle that fit him, adjusted it properly, got him all dressed, and pulled out my small Yvonne doll (the 6" one) because she is what is in my tack room at the moment. She also fits nicely on this horse. Not so nicely on the saddle, but one thing at a time. I fiddled and played around a bit more and got the doll seated fairly well, holding the reins fairly well. I still don't think I am mentally ready for live showing, but I did have fun playing dress up with this new horse!

I also had to make sure to get some headshots. Just look at his face!

    This horse has an amazingly beautiful face and I love him so much! Definitely worth the wait! I likely need to find some time to play around with tack some more and see if I can get a somewhat better fit in English. I may even have to get him some tack of his own. Though I do have a lot of tack and I really should have something that fits. 

     When I first opened up this Purdy horse I had him displayed with his western tail and the short mane. But the tail rests on his hock for support and I completely forgot that a painted piece touching... anything, long term can cause paint issues. So he now has a small boo-boo, which I should be able to easily touch up, but I am annoyed with myself for forgetting that. He is now displayed with his fast (long) mane and no tail. 

      I love my new Purdy horse and I had a lot of fun playing dress up with him. He is beautiful to look at and should be very versatile for the show ring. But my friend came up with a really good question. I know that horses with changeable manes and tails are totally acceptable in live shows, but what about photo shows (mail in or online)? Do you need to include some sort of documentation proving that the horse has different hair-do options and is in fact the same horse? I would hate to take a bunch of show photos and have them disqualified because someone felt I was breaking the rules. I know that these horses are not completely uncommon these days and I am curious if anyone has run into this before.

      Thank you Tiffany for making me this beautiful horse. He was definitely worth the wait!