ART BY ALEX

My name is Alexandrite. It wasn't always, I started out life as Double Diamond Dash 07. I was born on a Premarin farm in Canada and was considered a disposable by-product of the Premarin industry. Premarin is a hormone replacement therapy medication for woman that is made from the urine of pregnant horses. Due to the recent advancement in synthetic hormone replacements there is not as much need for Premarin and many of the farms shut down. I was on one of those farms.

In the spring of 2008 the rancher decided that he couldn't afford to feed so many horses and was going to send a bunch of us to a slaughter auction if he wasn't able to sell us by 2/26/08. Little did I know, a group of people around the world were trying to save all of us by raising the money for our adoption fees and finding us forever homes. This group is called The International Blessed Broodmare Project (TIBBP) and they have done some amazing things since they started in the spring of 2007.

I watched as one by one the horses around me found new homes but on the day of the deadline, even though my adoption fee was greatly reduced, nobody had come forward to adopt me. That's when my new mom stepped up and decided to bring me to Montana.

I was shipped from Canada on 3/26/08 and arrived in Shelby, MT the next day. I was unloaded off of the big rig that carried another 17 of my friends on to their new homes. Shortly after that I was loaded onto another smaller trailer and hauled to Brady, MT. I thought I was home then but after just a week I was again loaded onto a trailer and hauled clear across the Rocky Mountains to a place called Kalispell. There was a great group of humans there to meet me, actually it was only 5 but it sure seemed like more than that! They kept sticking funny black things called cameras in front of their faces and kept exclaiming how pretty I was. It all seemed like gibberish to me. That's when I got my new name. They said Dash didn't really fit me but since I am a roan and keep changing colors they said I reminded them of a stone called Alexandrite. That would be my new name they said but they would call me Alex since it was easier.

I settled right in to my new home, there's plenty to eat and drink and a shed for when I want to get out of the sun or rain, I think I like it here. On the second day one of the humans came back. She sure was pushy! When I walked away from her, my way of telling her I didn't want to be touched, she just followed me and insisted. But I found out that I actually LIKE being touched, those scratches she gives me sure feel good! She also kept running her hand down my leg and saying "Foot!" so I decided to humor her by picking up my hoof. That must have been the right thing to do because I got a lot of scratches after that! She keeps coming back every day and teaching me new things. I'm learning that she never hurts me so each day I'm letting her do a little bit more.

On my fourth day in my new home we discovered that I have a great artistic ability! My mom showed up with some bottles of funny colored liquid and some little white boards. She gave me some hay and lots of scratches so I let her clean my hoof with a little metal hook that she calls a hoof pick. She then squirted some of the funny liquid on the bottom of my hoof and set my foot down on one of the boards! She did this several times, each time with a different color, and the result was a painting!

Since I prefer the natural look and don't care to have paintings hung all over the walls mom said she would take these home, clean the dirt off of them, sign my name to them (I'm smart but not THAT smart!), and put them on the internet to raise money to help buy me more hay and to help save more of my friends from the slaughter auctions. 50% of the selling price from each painting will be donated to TIBBP and the remaining 50% will help feed me. Since food is my absolute favorite thing in the world I sure hope these paintings sell!

UPDATE! 11/16/08 - I've really settled into my new home now. I've made some wonderful friends too! Mom, Nana, and the big guy called Boppa all come to see me all the time and they usually have an apple or a bagel for me. I also get to play with a bunch of deer and several fox that come by every day. I do miss having other horse friends around but I keep wishing for one and mom has hinted that I might get my very own horse for Christmas. I sure hope so!! Maybe I can teach her how to paint when she gets here!

Remember that every one of these paintings is an original and is unique! No two will ever be the same and no duplicates will ever be made! And postage within the US is included in the purchase price!

#1
"Spring Meadow"
8x10 acrylic on canvas board
SOLD!

#2
"Indian Paintbrush"
8x10 acrylic on canvas board
SOLD!

#3
"Red Moon"
8x10 acrylic on canvas board
SOLD!

#4
"River's Run"
8x10 acrylic on canvas board
$25

Because I'm a horse and these are painted with my hooves, there will probably be little spots of dirt, hay (possibly new and used), and hair embedded in the paint of your picture. These are not flaws, they are part of what makes each picture unique!

CLICK HERE TO E-MAIL MY MOM ABOUT BUYING ONE OF MY PAINTINGS!