Two Julip Originals

Not one but two Julip horses to introduce today!

This lovely pair came from a friend of mine who was thinning down her herd. At first, I was struck by the tall red thoroughbred with long white socks, and knew I'd have to ask about him, but over the next few hours the roan kept on coming to mind as well, and in the end I decided that meant I should bring him into my herd, too, or I'd always regret it.

Let's meet them properly...

This handsome thoroughbred was one of the final batch of spares made when Annabel owned Julip. He'd been rehaired with soft natural mohair by his previous owner, and I gave him a little bit of muzzle shading and a pink nose when he got here.

He's not officially named yet, but I've been thinking of him with a nickname born from a discussion I had with his old owner about the high white markings : they reminded me of a now-retired racehorse I liked called Top Notch Tonto, they reminded her of one she knew called Pancake, so for now, just temporarily*, the poor boy's known as Top Notch Pancakes!

*This is exactly the sort of name which is going to stick and be on his show record forever, isn't it!

As well as the unusual markings, he has a totally adorable face - doesn't he just look like the softest, sweetest horse on the yard, the one who greets every passing human and horse and dog with a friendly face, and everybody says 'Aww, hello you'.

He may not have all the shading and dapples of newer Julips, but chestnut is one of those colours which suits being solid as well as it suits being detailed, and his flashy markings more than make up for an everyday kind of coat colour. I had a couple of chestnut hunters already, but no TB, so my herd easily has room for more big orange horses!

And here's his travelling companion, Robin. He came with this name, chosen by his previous owner as robins were nesting in her garden at the time he arrived. I only tend to rename Julips if I have one of the same name already (or if they've been given something truly obnoxious*, I'd consider it!), and technically I do have a new forest Robin Hood but he's after the folk hero rather than the bird, so they're different enough, I think!

*Something like, I don't know, 'Top Notch Pancakes', perhaps?!

Robin is a beautiful colour delicately painted, a very dark bay roan with a lovely varied and speckled effect on his pale parts, capturing the mixed dark-and-white hairs of a roany pony. I have got a couple of bay roans already, but very different to him - one's a reddish toned cob, the other a very smoothly shaded TB, so he fits in very nicely in between.

I had briefly considered redoing his mane in braids and tail plaited, to transform him into a properly turned out show pony, but once he got here I couldn't bring myself to do anything to his lovely hair aside from a parting and trim to give him a forelock, and combing a little bit of mousse through both mane and tail to calm and smooth it.

Whenever two Julips arrive together, whether new orders or second hand, I can't help thinking of them as field mates and friends forever after that, even making sure they get a spot to stand together on my shelf.
I think it's because Julips have that one-off nature which gives them more personality and individuality than mass produced models - it's more like adopting real little characters into the herd than simply ticking something off a wishlist or buying the latest release. They may be made of painted rubber, but somehow they're almost real!

Welcome to Harecroft Farm, dear Robin and...Top Notch Pancakes.