# Here's another one for Myrna



## MiLo Minis (Mar 10, 2010)

I have just recently purchased a lovely russet harness (thanks Kim!




) that looks absolutely stunning on our leopard app, Polk. It has brass trimmings. The cart I am planning on using for him to show is currently a creamy yellow with black striping and black upholstery. It is quite nice but looks like crap with him. It is very similiar in style to your blue cart except the shafts bend and run along to become part of the basket. The hardware on it is currently silver. My plans were to paint the cart a dark or midnight blue and change the hardware to brass to go with a black and brass harness. Now of course with the russet harness I need to have some natural or stained wood on the cart. I will have to strip whatever parts I decide to stain and varnish so I want to keep it simple



My brother in law will be painting the cart for me as that is what he does for a living - he is an auto painter - and can give me that pro finish. I was thinking of either doing the wooden basket slats OR the shafts themselves in a cherry stain OR both. Polk-a-dot is a bay app and is that reddish brown as is the harness. What would be your opinion? Also what colour striping would look good? Upholstery? My apron is dark navy and gray.


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## RhineStone (Mar 10, 2010)

This is from the ADS rulebook:

Black harness is considered appropriate with painted vehicles, with shaft and pole trimmings done in black. It is also considered appropriate with a natural wood vehicle with iron parts painted any color except brown. Shaft and pole trimmings, dash and fenders are done in black.

Russet harness is considered appropriate with:

a) Natural wood vehicle with brown or black iron,

b) Painted vehicle with natural wood panels with any color iron or

c) Vehicle that is painted brown with brown iron. Shaft and pole trimmings should match the harness.

I'm not sure how that fits in with your vehicle. Does your vehicle have "panels"? Cherry stain sounds cool with your bay app. Your striping should match your upholstery. I think a nice tan would be "warm" with your cherry stain, but that probably wouldn't go at all with your apron. You probably need to get "samples" of all these finishes and hold them up to your horse.

I would love to see a photo, that would help, too.

Myrna


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## MiLo Minis (Mar 10, 2010)

Yeah I know the rule book



I can't imagine a Mini vehicle painted completely brown UGHHHH!!! so ruled that out right from square one. The vehicle is already painted so I am assuming that it would not look fantastic completely stripped and I don't really want to go that route anyway (stripping wheels is a royal pain in the butt!) I am sanding the entire thing to be repainted. I was working on the "painted vehicle with natural panels and any colour iron" No my vehicle doesn't have "panels" but I am thinking that as long as there is some natural wood on the vehicle it would work/be accepted with the russet and the brass appointments on both harness and vehicle would at least match. The harness was just too good a deal to pass up and fits him like it was made for him.



Mini vehicles are not exactly "traditional" anyway!



I went with the cherry stain because it matches Polk the nicest. I would stain my dash basket and my spares basket in the cherry too (they are wicker) The grey in my apron is also to match him - he is not a warm tan colour but a cool grey/white. I have my hat which is navy but not a jacket and blouse yet - I was looking at a gray blouse and navy jacket with perhaps a little burgundy/red somewhere for colour - scarf and hat decoration. I will get you some photos of the cart tomorrow in the daylight and will harness Polk so you can see what I am talking about. Of course Polk is all fat and fluffy right now but he looks cute!


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## RhineStone (Mar 23, 2010)

Lori, did you get a chance to get photos of your appy? I would love to see the vehicle, too!

Myrna


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## MiLo Minis (Mar 23, 2010)

They're coming!



I went out the next day with my camera only to discover that my camera was not working - had to take it in to be fixed. I have the camera back now but we have had nothing but rain and high winds for the past few days. They say tomorrow is going to be nice and sunny so I will get both of them out and get photos for you. I can show you Polk right now.......I have posted this one before, he rolled just before we took the pictures so he is actually a little whiter than he appears here.



I LOVE this horse! He has the best walk of any horse I have had the pleasure to sit behind.


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## BannerBrat (Mar 23, 2010)

I was just thinking as I was opening this post that I haven't seen a horse recently that could look really good in a russet harness, but I think Polk will look awesome in it!

I think that whatever you decide will be very different than anything I've see with the mini's, but in a very good and classy way.

What a handsome boy he is.



How tall is he?


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## MiLo Minis (Mar 23, 2010)

Thanks Bannerbrat! Polk just barely makes it as a Mini but I don't care either way as he won't be showing as a Mini but a VSE and he makes it there no problem. He is my carriage horse, taking over from Willie who is retired from showing now. I never thought I would find another horse that I could love as much as Willie and then Polk fell into my lap. They look absolutely NOTHING alike but they could be twins as far as personality goes. I feel quite privileged to be able to drive him. Tomorrow I will put the harness on him so you can see how he looks.


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## RhineStone (Mar 23, 2010)

He looks pretty cool! I like his angles and those dark legs!


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## MiLo Minis (Mar 25, 2010)

Here is Polk in his new russet harness. I need to get a noseband made for it and it needs a good polish but I love the colour on him. I think he would look handsome in black as well but this harness was such a good deal I couldn't pass it up!






This is what he thought of me sticking him on the trailer and wasting our driving time taking photos










As Polk was rather impatient to get on with a drive and this cart was almost in the very front of the trailer I store them in over the winter in front of 5 other carts, I just threw the cover back and snapped a photo of it in the trailer. Sorry you can't see it all that well and it is kinda dusty



I am searching for a photo I know I have of it from last year when we took it to a clinic and will post it when I find it. It is a creamy yellow colour with black pinstriping and black upholstery.


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## MiLo Minis (Mar 25, 2010)

Here is the photo I was searching for, Kim found it for me



Thanks Kim! It is really a bit too big for Peek but it fits Polk nicely.


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## RhineStone (Mar 25, 2010)

I DO like that russet harness on Polk! It looks great!

This is quite a challenging situation, however. Logically if you are going to mix finishes, the seat box is painted and the undercarriage is stained, but I know what you are saying about stripping wheels. Did it once. It is a WHOLE lot easier and worth it to get new wheels than to remove paint for staining, especially if there is primer under the paint!

I guess I am leaning towards painting the entire thing except for the seat panels and backrest. If you do that, paint the seat board, too, including the routered reveal "under" the seat panels. You also have your wicker that would tie in nicely as well. Unless there is a way to take those seat panels off, ALWAYS stain and varnish first! Then tape and mask it off and paint the rest.

Or paint the wheels and shafts, and stain the entire box, including floor boards and dash. We do have a client that used her existing wheels that were painted. We made a new box and she stained the box ebony and painted the wheels/metal black for her grulla POA. She has a black harness and black trim. It looks pretty good, but it hasn't been out yet for the judges to see. She eventually wants to get new wheels, and have the whole thing be stained.

Check your cherry stain on a scrap with the blue paint to see that it doesn't "fight". One sounds "warm" and the other "cold". I have to redo the upholstery on my pony cart because it is too cold, and my stain is a beautiful warm chestnut. It fights each other. Blech! I am going with a warm tan (if I ever show the pony again....)

Really, what I would do is take this photo and "color" it, either with your computer, or colored pencils. Make a number of copies so that you can change the look.

Routering the top edges of the floor boards would "soften" the look a little. Don't router the bottom edges next to the iron. The dash could use some shaping and a brass rein rail, too. Remember, your shaft trim should be russet as well with that harness. That will also tie in your stain.

Even though Greenall says that upholstery should be gray or tan, I think I would go with a blue to match your paint. You will add too many "colors" otherwise especially with your "colorful" horse. (Actually, I think the gray or tan part refers to Bedford Cord, so if you use something else, it shouldn't matter.) Try to get your upholstery first. It is easier to "match" paint and stain than find the right upholstery! And I would get your striping similar to your stain. Stick to the two "colors". However, the outer band of the hubs on the wheels should be black.

Caveat, this is only my semi-educated opinion. If you really want a good OFFICIAL opinion, I would contact John Greenall and ask if you can send him photos. I would hate for you to put all that work into the vehicle just to find out at a show that I was way off base!



If you ever get him as a judge, he is a stickler! We have a friend that has a wonderful russet turnout with her buckskin Morgan. John wouldn't use her at all in Turnout because her lamps were painted brown instead of black, and lamps historically were never painted brown. (He told her this.)





Myrna


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## MiLo Minis (Mar 27, 2010)

I think I am leaning towards painting the whole thing russet brown. When I think of brown I think of mud which doesn't appeal to me but I think if it was a reddish brown to kind of match the harness I would be okay with that. I have to figure out what colour to do the upholstery. My sister made me an apron for Christmas that is dark blue/navy and grey and I want to match up to that to be able to use it. I have a jacket, hat and shirt that works with it so will perhaps use a colour from them for the seat and backrest.


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