Last year, I wrote a post of why I chose the finish work that I did for my last years NaMoPaiMo model. It was a trip down memory lane and it was a little bittersweet to write about the good old days. Later that year, that mare was euthanized and buried on the farm. This years finish work post isn't nearly as sad but also not nearly as special, sorry Taiga.
The finish work I chose for 2019 is a portrait of one of my 2018 foals, Taiga. I was on foal watch last year and went to check on her mother in the middle of the night. I came back an hour later and there was a very very very long legged plain chestnut filly lying in the straw, still wet. Her legs were so long that it took her 2 hours to stand up! I named her Taiga, partially after an anime heroine from a show called Toradora! and partially because the name translates to Little Tiger (or a type of boreal forest, whichever you prefer).
Unlike her name sake, Taiga was not fiery nor fierce. Instead she was exceptionally shy. Her mother, Millie, guarded her and would attack anyone who dared enter the stall. Many signs of the cross were made before entering.
It did take her a while to come around. She was already about 3 months old before she became comfortable around people. The reason probably was because she got very sick. When Ichiban contracted a severe pneumonia, which eventually killed him, we tested the other foals as well. Taiga tested positive and we began to aggressively treat her with a variety of drugs. It wrecked havoc on her system and she lost all of her good gut flora. With lots and lots of probiotics and TLC, Taiga made a full recovery.
For a little while after, Taiga was accident prone; trying to jump the fence, cutting her legs, and frequently getting bouts of diarrhea. It was no easy task keeping her bubble wrapped! She did eventually grow out of this phase, but the constant handling to change bandages turned her into a very cuddly and loving filly.
We took her to the Keeneland Winter Mix sale in November 2018 where she fell just shy of her reserve. We decided to keep her and try again as a yearling. She was a model citizen through the entire sale that I couldn't help but fall in love. She's my favourite of the 2018 foal crop.
Now Taiga loafs around the farm with her best friends Iero and Salem, preparing herself for the September Keeneland yearling sale. She might even visit the CTHS yearling sale in Toronto before that! Whoever buys Taiga, is probably going to have a lot of fun racing her, breeding her, and maybe even riding her!
I bought a Sandman stablemate scale resin from Horsing Around UK. Originally I was going to make it as a cremello foal, but Taiga spoke to me for this model, so I decided to go with her! I chose instead of my usual oils to instead go with pigments! Big leap but so far its been very very fun!
I wont have Taiga much longer, since she isn't a pet but an athlete prospect, so I'm glad I get to immortalize her as a model. NaMoPaiMo has given me the kick in the pants that I need to have her painted!
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