For me, this marks the beginning of my most productive time of all.  I am a highly-energetic person, and love the ability to cram in tons of fun things.  Now that the cold is (hopefully) gone, I can already feel my creative juices starting to flow.

“Grandpa & Andy” as well as “Dancing Cranes” are the two pieces that I have already created for the month of March.  (I will be showing these two pieces off quite soon). 

I am so excited to get started on my next piece of artwork, which is a commission.  It has the earmarks of being a challenge for me, because it is a picture taken from an Equitation competition.

Also buzzing around in my head are ideas involving a fundraiser for a local Equestrian Therapeutic Clinic, that helps children and adults through equine oriented activities. 

Map near Four Corners & Canyon de Chelly

And lastly, my husband and I are planning  a trip in May to the four corners of the U.S., as well as exploring the Canyon de Chelly area.  If you have not heard of this area, it is rich with Navajo and Anasazi history.  I hope to be able to take plenty of pictures for future drawings.

If you have been to this area, and know of other fantastic sights to be seen, please leave a comment, and let me know!

Baby Jennie

You might be wondering why a history lesson of Oatman, Arizona could possibly be relevant in this newsletter.  Several months ago, my husband and I happened upon Oatman.  It’s a cute little ghost town, but the burros really make the town something special. Apparently they meander down from the mountains in the morning, eat all day in town.  Late afternoon, the burros start their trek back into the mountains.  

Oatman Hotel

OATMAN, ARIZONA

ELEVATION 2700 FEET

Reportedly named after a woman who was captured and later released by the Mohave Indians, Oatman is still alive today. Strike after strike kept Oatman alive, the biggest seems to be the 1915 strike, worth $14 million. The population of Oatman went from a few hundred to over 3500 within a year which lead to long waits at the restaurants. In 1921, a fire burned much of Oatman, but the town was rebuilt.

Oatman was originally named Vivian, after Vivian Mining Company. A gentleman by the name of Ben Taddock  found gold in 1902 while he was walking. Taddock sold his loot the following year to a judge, who turned around and sold the gold in 1905 to Vivian Mining Company who started mining in that area. In 1906, Vivian was a big tent town, flourishing as a miner community. In 3 years, the mine produced more than $3 million in gold. The second goldmine was discovered in 1908, and the town of Vivian became a huge boomtown. In 1908 the town was renamed to Oatman.

By 1931 the area’s mines had produced 1.8 million ounces of gold. By the mid 1930′s, the boom was over and in 1942 the last remaining mines were closed.  After the mines closed, the town survived for several years due in part to the old Rte 66.  Travelers stopped in Oatman as a last stop before they crossed a long and dangerous Mohave desert. Oatman, once a town with 10.000 citizens was in 1950 reduced to 60, when the town was passed by the new US 66.

Burros first came to Oatman with early day prospectors. The animals were also used inside the mines for hauling rock and ore. Outside the mines, burros were used for hauling water and supplies. As the mines closed and people moved away, the burros were released into the surrounding hills. The burros you meet today in Oatman, while descendants of domestic work animals are themselves wild– they will bite and kick. 

“Tumbleweeds ~Ideas from the artist”  is a blog I recently started.  So often, I am asked where I got the idea for this or that drawing.  “Tumbleweeds” came from the idea to create an outlet where I can present  my drawings along with the stories behind the drawing.

So far, I have been able to provide stories for “Making Tracks” which was released in my last newsletter, Winter 2008 as well as   “Running Wild and Free” which is about a white Arabian running wild and free through the wild fields on a ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley.

My site, Tumbleweeds, is still relatively new, but I promise to update my blog at least once a week.  Before too long, I should have several stories behind the drawing.  I hope this alternative to my website  (http://geridunn.com)  will be much more fun and interactive.

Please leave your comments ~ I would love to hear what you think!!! To visit my blog “Tumbleweeds” follow the link below.

http://geridunn.wordpress.com

War horses making history?   Everyone has heard of the Arabian.   Most people have heard of the Thoroughbred.  But a horse just as magnificent as these two breeds with physical traits so magnificent as both of these other breeds? Surprisingly, yes! One breed has been the foundation for many superior breeds in today’s society.  That breed is the Barb horse.        

      The Barb horse traces back through antiquity to the time of the Persians and Scythians, between the Tigris and Euphrates River, then SE to the Persian Gulf. In time, the Ishmaelites tamed the horse, moving throughout many areas over the years with the horse, significantly, in Africa and Spain.  During this time, the marauding Ishmaelites utilized the horse to conquer almost all of Africa, Spain, Portugal, and parts of France.

      The Barb, having served as a superlative warhorse, remained in the conquered area.  Some of the horses remained in Africa, where for many years the people of Morocco placed great value in them. With the advent of oil and wealth, most have been lost or mixed with other breeds. The Barb that still exists in Morocco, Algeria, and Libya, however, are not the same horse as the Barb was at the time of the Spanish conquest of the “New World,” but has become more of a show horse, due to the lack of needing a “war horse.” The Barb horsess stayed in Spain for many years through Spain’s defeat and finally, some 400 years later, through her victory over the Moors. As Spain’s power grew, explorers were sent to the New World, among these the Conquistadors, taking the Barb horses with them to America. The horses that had been brought to the “New World”, the Barb, stayed and thrived.

     During the early years in the “New World”, the Barb horse went various routes. Some became feral, others were used by ranchers, and still others were possessed by Indians. Of these groups, very few remained pure. Research and evidence indicate that the original Nez Perce horse was the spotted Barb, but once the cavalry took custody of the Indians, the stallions were destroyed or castrated and the mares bred to draft breeds. A few Indian tribes were able to break away from the cavalry chase, fleeing to the Kiamichi mountain area of Oklahoma taking some of their original horses with them, where some of those horses have remained pure. Some of the feral bands stayed pure also, having existed in some virtually inaccessible areas.  In the 1950′s a few of these that could still be found and taken were gathered and built into a nucleus stock. Some of that nucleus, (called by some of the old timers “the originals”), was mixed with other breeds and this mix was labeled “wild mustangs”.

Even in the countries that originally made up its homeland, a true Barb horse is hard to find.  Despite this fact, the horse traits of the Barb horse  are found in many breeds today.   Many of the traits that made the Barb horse superior are: 

*robust; spirited, alert and curious in demeanor

*hot blooded (that is, it has a red blood corpuscle count of 35% more than the cold-bloods, such as the draft horse; this allows them to tire more slowly and  recuperate quickly)

*eyes perceptive, set low and wide

*nostrils elastic, crescent-shaped, with large nasal cavity allowing for large extension and ample air intake

*ears small to medium

*back short, with just 5 lumbar vertebrae rather than 5 and a fused piece; 16 or 17 ribs, rather than 18 pairs of ribs

*legs well-boned with large, strong joints, tendons, and ligaments; feet compact

*variety of colors including duns, blacks,  chestnuts, bays, palominos, etc.

     Originally the Barb was a war horse and as such needed stamina, endurance, and hardiness. These traits make it an excellent mountain and endurance horse. Its narrow body and short back enable it to turn quickly and maneuver narrow trails. These traits make up many breeds today, including the Paso Fino,  Appaloosa, Cleveland Bay, Clydesdale, American Paint Horse, and the wild Mustangs that still run free in many areas today. The Barb horse later joined with the Arabian and the Thoroughbred to form the trilogy of breeds which gave rise to the different characteristics of the present-day riding horse. It is interesting to consider… If the Conquistadores had brought over a larger but less courageous horse instead of the Barb, perhaps the conquest of the continent would have gone differently or there would have been a delay in growth and progress that followed the arrival of Columbus.