Saturday, July 21, 2018

Our Favorite Art: Horses Part 2

At long last, here is the final installment of our favorite HI2 profile artwork! Julie already tackled the first 10 of our favorite non-draft horses, so I get to start mid-M. 

Morgan
Oh, the Morgan: compact and sturdy yet fancy at the same time, thanks to their luxurious manes and tails and that pretty head carriage. We are so glad HI2 portrays them like this rather than in that often awkward high-stepping horse stance. (Many Morgans aren't gaited, after all.)  I think these horses have some of the nicest faces of all the breeds represented on HI2. <3

Nez Perce
This Felicity's favorite breed on the game with good reason - their artwork is gorgeous! With the Nez, you get an overwhelming variety of meticulously colored (and often spotted) coats on an alert, athletic, beautifully proportioned horse. If that isn't cool enough, they can also have blue eyes and varying degrees of hoof striping.

Peruvian Paso

These horses seem pleasantly rounded and especially muscular on their front half, just like real Peruvian Pasos. We love how their manes and tails are long, full, and just a little messy. Their arched necks and expressive eyes give them a noble look. My one minor complaint is that I'm not wild about the resting position of their ears being so far back - hopefully they're listening to something behind them or are a bit sleepy, not annoyed. XD

Plateau Persian
It's been over two years since this breed joined the game, and we still don't have one of these classy desert horses in our herd. *Sighs* They look friendly, happy, and confident, and they have endearingly messy, windswept-looking manes that are actually longer on stallions than mares. As an added bonus, they come not just in solid colors but also in cool rabicano and sabino spotting patterns.

Rocky Mountain Horse
So much awesome hair! (And yay, no awkward back legs despite being gaited!) These horses look curious, thanks to their raised heads and pricked ears, yet also pretty chill. Both mares and stallions have manes lying on the right side of their necks, going against HI2's norm and therefore making them extra unique. Alas, we still don't have one of these horses in our herd yet either.

Salernitano

Sals have been on the game ever since we started playing HI2, and despite all the newer breeds added since then, they remain one of the most highly sought-after breeds. It's easy to see why - their artwork kicks booty, plus it comes in a wide range of colors with or without sabino. These horses look well-put-together, but in a quiet, unpretentious way. Maybe it's the mildly messy manes and thick, wavy tails, their relaxed, natural posture, or their soft, trusting eyes - whatever it is, Sals ooze appeal. 

Shagya Arabian
Like Julie said about the Morab, it's also a shame that HI2's Arabians don't look more like the Shagya Arabian! The Shagya has the unique, beautiful conformation of the Arabian and rocks the Arabian-esque dished face, silky hair, and high tail carriage. As an added bonus, these shiny-coated, spirited-looking horses come in sabino as well as solid colors.

Standardbred
I love the picture-perfect pose that HI2's Standardbreds are in. There's nothing particularly exotic about them, but their proportions seem exceptionally well-balanced and eye-pleasing. They strike me as happy, athletic, and serene. All of their coat colors are beautifully detailed, plus they come in roan and tobiano in addition to solid colors.

Warlander
The artist did a fantastic job of creating a horse that looks like a cross between a furry, light draft Friesian and a noble Iberian horse (Andalusian, Lusitano, Alter Real, etc.) HI2's Warlanders look hardy, yet still nimble and elegant. We love their upright, arched necks, their bright eyes, their light feathering, and their wonderfully full manes of tails. Our favorites are the tobianos, but they are stunning no matter their color.

Westphalian

HI2's Westphalian rounds out our top 20. They have a different look than HI2's other warmbloods, though I couldn't tell you what exactly it is that makes them stand out. Whatever it is, their well-groomed, silky manes and tails are perfection, and their various coat colors are all beautifully detailed, and their faces are refined and expressive.

There, I hope you enjoyed our little speeches about our favorite HI2 artwork! Well done, whoever the artists are! I can't imagine having the skill to create any of it, even our least favorites, on a computer. So far we haven't even dared buy the art kit on HI2, for fear of the monstrosities that may result...

Our most noteworthy horse from this past week was not any of our top 40 artwork breeds, but another +5/6 Bashkir Curly. Cheeto and Felicity fluted him on Thursday night.
Felicity got pretty excited at first glance, but those stats only add up to +44. So, off to the auctions he went. It's a shame - Curlies are so cool. 

Things are not looking good for us finding a new 80+ stat mare in July. It's already the 21st, and we know we aren't going to have much time to play again until two weekends from now. (My mom and her family are going on a much-needed 5 1/2-day vacation starting next Friday afternoon; my sisters and I will spend that stretch camping in the backyard also taking a break from technology.)

So, what to do? Lily, of course, is strongly advocating doing nothing. She says that some month in the future, we're bound to find more than one horse we want to keep and will be happy to have an extra slot saved. That's smart, I guess, but it's so hard being patient!

Felicity, Julie, and I are more inclined to think, Yay, this means we can keep one of the nice mares that wouldn't otherwise quite make the cut!

To recap, the ones in contention would be:
(Would make Quincy really, really happy)

(We don't have any of these in the herd yet)

(Highest stats, unique avatar, and pretty cute)

(Great stats for only being +4/6, my favorite color of the 4)

This would be a really tough choice. Maybe Lily is right and we shouldn't go there? *Sighs* Oh, Coquina, this would be the perfect time for you to make your miraculous appearance!

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