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View Full Version : Now Here's Some Real Ponies . . .



Spike
April 14th, 2009, 11:28 AM
An English photographer thougth it would be great fun to take pictures of horses with manes in big human hairdos. :p

According to the article, it took about four hours to put in the extensions, style, and make up the horses for the shoot.

Remembering the great shots of fantasy hair woven/sculpted into animals on the models' heads, I offer this link for perusal and amusement:

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/30191445/?GT1=43001

LutraLutra
April 14th, 2009, 11:34 AM
I think these are really wonderful, they're the Cindy Sherman of the horse world. :D The way the images are lit is great, part pin-up girl and part horse calendar. Slightly disturbing and slightly funny too. Thanks for posting.

Fee
April 14th, 2009, 01:24 PM
They look cute, but I'm strongly against practicing such things on animals, it's just not natural.

Oberon88
April 14th, 2009, 01:33 PM
Hah, my horses would not stand for that.
While I like the end result, I agree with Fee.

Peter
April 14th, 2009, 01:43 PM
... Can't say I find it amusing or enjoyable in the slightest. I don't think the horses would disagree.

Roseate
April 14th, 2009, 02:00 PM
Striking images, amusing and disturbing at the same time.

I doubt it was a problem for the horses; I'm sure these are show horses very used to being groomed and handled. It's not as if they roped a mustang and wrangled extensions on the poor creature!

KajiKodomo
April 14th, 2009, 02:32 PM
Striking images, amusing and disturbing at the same time.

I agree. It's oddly fascinating. I don't think I understand the purpose. I read the story, and the way it is written, it sounds like it was just a random idea he had.

manderly
April 14th, 2009, 02:38 PM
I thought the redhead was adorable! :D

Very cute, and the horses didn't look too bothered.

Darkhorse1
April 14th, 2009, 04:46 PM
Those are photo shopped. Horse's manes don't look that shiny. Plus, they wouldn't tolerate that kind of work. Also, the horses look different, meaning they've used different photos for before and after. The gray horse's breed has suddenly changed--you can tell by the neck muscles ;)

I find this really bothersome and annoying. Don't people have something better to do with their time?

I do appreciate the OP for posting this though--my anger/lack of amusement has nothing to do with her. :)

GlassEyes
April 14th, 2009, 04:49 PM
I don't see how this is -bad-. Horses are often styled and groomed, and somehow, I doubt they'd mind.

Getting them to stand there and let people flock around their faces for hours, on the other hand, I can't see going over well. Curious.

manderly
April 14th, 2009, 04:52 PM
Those are photo shopped. Horse's manes don't look that shiny. Plus, they wouldn't tolerate that kind of work. Also, the horses look different, meaning they've used different photos for before and after. The gray horse's breed has suddenly changed--you can tell by the neck muscles ;)

I find this really bothersome and annoying. Don't people have something better to do with their time?

I do appreciate the OP for posting this though--my anger/lack of amusement has nothing to do with her. :)

Watch the video, the hair is not photoshopped :) I'm sure they used it to "airbrush" the horses after, as the white horse is much whiter in the photos, but the hair is real.




I don't understand why people are getting upset by this? Horses are groomed all the time. They stood there and got treats while people gave them attention :shrug: I watched the video, and none of the horses seemed perturbed.

Rosepatrice
April 14th, 2009, 05:19 PM
My horse would not sit still for that for one minute....The horses look strange that way, though.

Ponytale
April 14th, 2009, 05:49 PM
Heavens, my two horses would have loved the attention! They *are* unusually big hams though..that is why we picked these two. I taught them to pick up buckets for us, give you a front hoof (forward) and give "hugs" with very little difficulty since they just want us to be spending our attentions on them and we needed to be creative in the cold weather (no riding). So no--I don't see a problem with this.

LittleOrca
April 14th, 2009, 05:56 PM
I can think of worse things to do to horses, rodeos for one.

Here, while the horses seem a little stranger (and cute) with the hair, in the end I do not see that they were poorly treated. It also probably depends on the horse! I knew a Palomino named Angel (and she wasn't) who wouldn't stand for any treatment like this and would make it known, where as other horses like the Arabian in the facility (LaReba) and the quarter horse (Bud) would stand perfectly still and love the attention, especially Bud.

As long as the horse isn't bothered or harmed, I think a few hours of a horsey make over are the last thing that should be whined about when there are horses tortured in rodeos, pony rides, and the vast amount of other things they are made to deal with for our amusement.

Ponytale
April 14th, 2009, 06:25 PM
I agree LittleOrca, depends on the horse. Some would rather be left in the field. Maybe there is an element of "ruining the mighty beast" by being silly with hairdos--I would agree there. But my big trickster puts his head in my hands when I groom him (even if he is busy eating) like "OK, she wants to groom the forelock--I know my role". With some (like our trickster) if you *don't* spend the time, they *look* for things to get attention--so I would not worry too much about abuse here, these horses were probably chosen for their demeanor.

BlndeInDisguise
April 14th, 2009, 07:08 PM
I know some horses who would LOVE something like this. My sister had a mare who loved, loved, LOVED to be groomed and fussed over. She would stand there all day, and would get extremely jealous if you groomed another horse.

My mare, on the other hand, would think this was absolute torture. :p It all depends on the horse.

It never hurt a horse to stand still for a while. ;)

Anje
April 14th, 2009, 07:19 PM
Those are photo shopped. Horse's manes don't look that shiny. Plus, they wouldn't tolerate that kind of work. Also, the horses look different, meaning they've used different photos for before and after. The gray horse's breed has suddenly changed--you can tell by the neck muscles ;)

I find this really bothersome and annoying. Don't people have something better to do with their time?

I do appreciate the OP for posting this though--my anger/lack of amusement has nothing to do with her. :)

They said they used extensions -- clearly it's not standard mane hair. Also, I'm pretty sure it's the same gray -- airbrushed half to death, but the white/gray pattern of the blaze on the nose is the same.

Honestly, I'm more bothered by the apparent tradition of painting and generally graffiti-ing horses for trail class shows that I see at the 4H fair. It seems extraordinarily disrespectful to the animal to paint a bay with blue zebra stripes.

ratgirldjh
April 14th, 2009, 07:51 PM
I think they look cute - But I can't understand anyone wanting to do that.

Our horses used to love to get brushed and have their manes and tails messed with. We used to spend hours braiding them. They did probably enjoy the attention if they are used to being around people a lot.

Pegasus Marsters
April 14th, 2009, 08:15 PM
Erm... you guys do realise that they regularly paint and 'make-up' horses for movies, right? Anyone seen Hidalgo? Four horses played Hidalgo, and they picked the one with the markings they liked most then (LITERALLY!) painted the others to match him. I think they used airbrushes to do it.

Riding a horse is hardly a natural thing to do either. Do you regularly jump onto the back of other animals? Or have them jump on your back and expect you to run them round a field and leap over fences? I think not.

Pegasus Marsters
April 14th, 2009, 08:24 PM
Oh and by the way... the photographer is Australian, not English.

Tresses
April 14th, 2009, 08:32 PM
The Rick James horse cracks me up. :rollin:

My daughter's been riding for 5+ years. Some horses love to be groomed; some don't. I wouldn't be upset about that. My friend has a horse that's part Friesian, but looks full Friesian. He has the most amazing mane and tail. (No need for extensions for that one!) I get hair envy every time I see him. :p

Brat
April 14th, 2009, 08:49 PM
I saw that article earlier, and let me tell you, if the horses had objected, there would be no photos of that particular horse. They chose those horses because they loved to be groomed and fawned over, they'd have to. Some do, some don't. I'm sure they used some sort of powdery make-up to even out and smooth some colors, and I don't believe they'd leave them on afterwards. Just like models, I'm sure the make-up was removed after the shoot.

I think they're adorable!

Pegasus Marsters
April 14th, 2009, 08:50 PM
I'm sure they used some sort of powdery make-up to even out and smooth some colors, and I don't believe they'd leave them on afterwards. Just like models, I'm sure the make-up was removed after the shoot.

I think they're adorable!

Bet you anything they airbrushed them. It's how they do horses for movies.

ilovelonghair
April 14th, 2009, 10:33 PM
Those are photo shopped. Horse's manes don't look that shiny. Plus, they wouldn't tolerate that kind of work. Also, the horses look different, meaning they've used different photos for before and after. The gray horse's breed has suddenly changed--you can tell by the neck muscles ;)



The difference in shine was the first I noticed! I thought the white and the brown horse both had a wig on. And the white horses mane changed from yellow to pure white.

manderly
April 14th, 2009, 10:41 PM
The difference in shine was the first I noticed! I thought the white and the brown horse both had a wig on. And the white horses mane changed from yellow to pure white.

They are wigs/extensions. The article and the video say that. They didn't do that with real manes :)

vindo
April 14th, 2009, 10:55 PM
Hm..I have braided my ponys mane...but thats too much = not my taste of style.. It should still look like a horse..:lol:

Darkhorse1
April 14th, 2009, 11:31 PM
The gray horse doesn't look the same in the photos--his whole body has changed/neck thickness and that can't be done thanks to extensions ;)

Max time to do hunter braids on a horse is 2 hrs and trust me, they get figity after awhile. Also, putting in extentions takes wayy more time. Now, some horses love the attention and don't care, but the ones I work with would.

I guess I'm trying to figure out why someone would do this? I mean, it just seems to un-natural. What is done in regards to 4H or horse shows is done in the spirit of competition, not for just....glamour, you know?

They paint horses for shows too--covering up blemishes, making the white parts whiter, but it takes merely seconds to do so. I would venture to guess those horses are tranqued for these videos. Very often, horses in public are tranqued for photos etc. I know this first hand.

Trust me, there is darkness in the horse world that none of you can imagine. Worse than hair extentions on horses. It makes me livid that people put money before animals/their well being. It's horrific and I've work with many who had been mis-treated. :( Sad thing is, these horses ended up being the most amazing, talented creatures I've ever met. :)

manderly
April 15th, 2009, 12:22 AM
Honestly, it's just a bit of silliness.......like this:

http://kittywigs.com/

KiwiLiz
April 15th, 2009, 01:40 AM
I find this really bothersome and annoying. Don't people have something better to do with their time?


He's a photographer, he takes photos. It's what he does, it's his job.

I agree that the images are definitely photoshopped, he probably used wigs as well. The horse I had would have kicked up a massive fuss about it (because of the camera flash/lighting rather than wigs that may have been used), but some wouldn't mind it at all.

I agree with other posters in that it's a wee disturbing... but could it be that it's meant to be a bit disturbing? Perhaps he's trying to say something about the fashion and beauty industry through it, like how it's kind of absurd. It's not like art hasn't controversial in the past...

learnthenLive!
April 15th, 2009, 07:59 AM
awww haha That's funny!