After leg repairs and replacement of ears and forelock, wood replacements are clamped on the cantle area.

Here the horse is seen with the final body paint completed before the final trapping colors, selected by the customer, are applied.

Finally, the horse is ready to paint. This is the part I enjoy the most. A paint job enhances the individual characteristics of a carving and brings the figure to life. This both challenging and rewarding. I discuss the color scheme with the owner to get a general idea of what they would like. Two or three coats of primer are sprayed and sanded to get the horse ready for the base body coat. Acrylic lacquer works will due to its fast drying time and ability to be blended. After the body color dries, an airbrush is used to do all the body details, shading and dappling. The trappings are painted using water based acrylics, and two or three coats are applied to each area. To get the appearance of leather on the saddle and bridle, these areas are masked and airbrushed. Lastly, I finish using sign painters' oils for the pinstriping and gold and silver details.

It goes without saying that the whole restoration process takes many painstaking hours. The final result, however, makes all the hard work worthwhile.
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