Carving A Horses Head – Part 2

First off…….Believe it or not, putting together these photographic posts takes about 10 times longer than doing a video. So, I have a favor to ask.  Could you pass my Out West Blog on to your friends or any other Face Book groups or sites you might think would be interested?  There’s a lot of woodcarving sites that might be but I just don’t have the time to address each one.  Thanks!

In this last group of photos I’ve addressed several steps I took that I think important to create a good caricature but also cover important anatomically features.  I hope you agree.

I think it’s very important to study the photos of the horses skull.  Knowing how the outer skin covers the various parts can really help you with your carving.

After cutting out the center of the ears make sure you soak them with Super Glue. They are fragile. 

On a horses head the most striking feature is the Zygomatic, or cheek, bone.  We have one too, on the horse it’s the bone that starts just below the eye and then follows the down the lower jaw. If you plan your knife cuts as I show it should be no problem. 

Another is the divot just above the eye. Just use a small rounded gouge to create that one.  The save for the nostrils, made with a larger rounded gouge.

  Make sure you get the mouth lines cut to where they match up on each side.  Remember, a bit will go into the mouths corners.

  Lastly, note how the muscles create a divide underneath the horses cheeks.  You might not think that is an important detail but a prospective buyer who knows horses definitely will. 

Lastly, you should thank me for  laying out the mane to where it covers the right eye. I saved you a lot of grief there.

That’s Judy and her first horse Sugar in the photo.  Sugar was an Appaloosa and a real treasure.  You can really see that zygomatic structure on her head. 

So, that’s how you carve a horses head!  If I can find the rest of the body we’ll do the same for it as we did here.  Can’t promise it but I’ll try. 

As always, I REALLY appreciate your comments.  Knowing how much you get out of these posts is important to us.  Thanks.