I am not sure why you think you have a lot more work. Very nicely done. The anatomy is beautiful and the face has a sentience to it that I love to see in art like this. Well done.

-Balto Wolf

very beautifully done :claps:

I cans ee the changes you made from the first, though I enjoy both of them this one shows the improvments. Back right leg the prospective looks slightly off as if its turned slightly not sure if that was ment to look like that.^^;

As an anatomy point; I'm not sure you can plait a tail like that, or start that close to the rump. Much of it is hair, but for the first few inches there is also bone and skin there.

Truth. That is something I myself was thinking, also.

Actually, that is how you braid a tail on a horse for shows. You do a french braid, taking pieces of hair from each side of the dock (bone and muscle part).

Here are some photos:

http://www.newhorsetails.com/sitebu.....id-118x282.jpg
http://static.flickr.com/23/2831129.....daa3dcb7_s.jpg
http://www.vothphoto.com/gallery/Ou.....ded%20Tail.jpg
http://www.yankeehitch.com/images/Shoeing1.jpg
http://library.thinkquest.org/J002693/4.GIF

I don't live under a rock. I am familiar with show horses. My comment was mainly on the thickness of the base of the tail, and how slightly inaccurate the top of the brading is. Instead of looking like a thick extension of flesh and bone with *some* hair (like the very base of a horses tail) the braid looks exactly like someone's pony tail.In the pictures you site, that show the very base, you can see the difference of the braid thread in the top and the bottom.On the tip, there is more base and a wee but less hair, and by just an inch or so lower, a full braid begins, unobstructed by the thickness of the base of the tail, which is mostly flesh on the underside, and therefore has less hair to begin with.

:nods: looking at the images again, and at my drawing here, I see what you mean about the thickness..

Thanks for pointing that out - I will remember to pay attention to that the next time I attempt a tail braid drawing =).

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply that you didn't know what you were talking about, the first poster just seemed to think you couldn't braid starting at the top at all.

SO muchly improved. :D

Lots of improvements here! I'm not sure how I feel about the shoulder as a whole, but I really like the changes you made.

The shoulder is much better but still a bit steep for a saddle horse. It is about right for a draft horse. The whithers are a little low but within normal range. You saved the sickle hock nicely, and have a hind leg much like an Arabian horse. Horses with hind legs that are to straight or to curved tend to have problems with the stifle joint [knee]. Yours is near the straight end of what is sound. If you lengthened the femur 5 - 10% the leg would look more sound to a horse person. I would not change the head at all it hits your stile well and with in your stile is very correct. The french braid on the tail is just fine. People who ride hunt seat do this braid often. You have dun well to have the hoof pastern and shoulder all at the same angle.

This is so much improved from the last horse picture I saw from you! WOW!

I feel kind of bad giving feedback even though you ask for it, because I can't DRAW horses, I can only look from the perspective of someone who works with horses.

The tail-braid is awesome, maybe a little thin proportionately (horses have big thick docks, I'll have to have you feel one next time you come out to the barn) but looks really accurate!

The legs are great, the way they're under the horse. You did awesome on the hooves too (that really is the hardest part of drawing horses).

The neck is accurate, and many horses have a neck like that.

However, if it were a REAL horse, I wouldn't suggest buying a horse with a neck like that, unless you really planned to put some hard work into it. That's a conformation fault, or simply a horse that's been worked improperly, and is called a ewe neck. (The muscle on the bottom is bigger than the muscle on top [the top-line] and the top muscle is short and atrophied.)

The neck and the body each look fairly accurate on their own. However, if a horse had a neck like that it would likely also have a swayed back, which would make the withers more prominent, and a bit more of a dish between the withers and hindquarters. The body looks like a well-muscled horse that has used its back properly, while the neck looks like a horse that ran around with its back hollowed and nose in the air.

There's a bit here on ewe necks, with a picture of what the back looks like when they develop muscles like that:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equine_conformation

I wish I could explain better.

The face is beautiful. XD

Honestly, I appreciate your critique very much! ^.^ - I don't believe someone needs to know exactly how to recreate something to know exactly how it should look. It is the experience in dealing with horses and being able to see them and remember what they look like that I am lacking =).

I see what you mean about the neck - looking through that wikipedia page, its amazing how varied horses can be, completely apart from breed... It makes sense, of course, as there are such differences between people, but one doesn't always think of things that way.

I want to draw and paint more horses, so I become more naturally familiar with their bodies. They are beautiful creatures that are surprisingly difficult to recreate visually ^.^. And visiting the barn for some first hand experience would be awesome, too =D.

I greatly prefer drawing non-anthro horses over anthro horses, though I am better at the anthros. (more life drawing experience with people).. It will just take practice, like everything else. And it helps to have good friends to gently point out my shortcomings to help me on my way. Thanks =)

Oh yeah, exactly! There are fit horses and out-of-shape horses, and skinny horses and chubby horses. XD I'm trained to see it in horses, so they're the ones I notice most. I see it in dogs and other animals too, but not to the same extent. Horse physique really shows any muscle development (or lack thereof) off. I'm sure a professional musher would be able to see a fit husky apart from a couch potato husky but unless the dog is overweight I can't.

Let me know if you ever want to arrange a visit at the barn, either to just wander around on your own and take pictures, or if you want me to point some anatomy things out. I can show you the difference between some really out of shape horses at the barn and some fit ones. We've got them all! We also have some very distinct breeds that you could compare, like Arabs, warmbloods, Norwegian Fjords and drafts.

Of course, it's pretty darn cold out right now. Many of our horses are pretty shaggy.

Honah said she'd draw or paint one of our horses for one of our benefit auctions for our disabled riding program, which is just really fun. I think she's going to Butterscotch, our most famous pony.

I dont know why I haven't replied to this yet! <=)

I would love to come visit the barn and if you're willing, to walk me through some of the horse anatomy, and I will bring my camera of course =D

We'd have to do it sometime after FC, but I would love to do that - and then I can start drawing more accurate horses and centaurs =D