A Queen, instead of a King

His Highness arrived today, but he shall be residing in his uncomfortably small box until Wednesday - his opening, my reward for what is looking to be a very long day at work on Tuesday.

I’m a little short on time again today; the weather’s been rather pleasant, so I’ve spent most of my free time over the weekend trying to get the garden back in shape. In spite of the relatively mild winter, many of the perennials were decimated - new and old plantings, alike. (All my lovely Sweet Williams, gone! Sniff.)

After the clean up, I might just take the lazy way out this year and (gasp!) buy a couple annual flats to fill in the empty spaces, and give myself time to peruse the nursery catalogs for replacements.

Following up on the well-received post about the Classic Quarter Horse Family, here’s a picture of another interesting variation on the old Love Classics - this time, the Arabian Family Mare, with two stockings instead of the standard four:


This was another one of those "early in the run" variations that disappeared within months of the original release, ca. 1973. It’s the way she appeared in the 1973 and 1974 Collector’s Manuals. Here she is on the cover the of the 1974 catalog, with the rest of her family:


She’s shown with four stockings in the 1975 catalog onward.

This was not the only notable variation within the Classic Arabian Family. After the Mare gained a couple extra stockings, the Stallion lost his star a few years later, and then the both of them had their tan hooves replaced with gray ones some time after that. (The Foal, oddly, didn’t change that much over the years.)

The Two-stocking Arabian Mare is about as uncommon as the Star-faced Classic Quarter Horses, but probably slightly more sought after. Although the Stallion himself is looking a wee bit "dated" to pass as a pure Arabian these days, the Classic Arabians overall seem to have retained their showability better than the Quarter Horses have.

(Not passing judgment here - just noting the change in tastes. Personally, I prefer my Quarter Horses on the beefy and compact side - and my Arabians more in the mold of Ferseyn, too.)

Plus, there’s the fact that she looks so different - showing yet again, just how much a difference a bit of paint can make. Even though I’ve long since upgraded mine, I still pause every time I see one for sale.