Meet Hercules: Ancient hero… blood donor… draft horse… impressionist?
Hercules lives right down the road from me, more or less, at the U of M’s College of Veterinary Medicine. About a month ago, Herc helped raise funds for the U’s new Equine Center in unique fashion — by creating hoofprint paintings as gifts to the (human) donors (of money).
The imposing palomino isn’t limited to prints, though–he’s been receiving instruction on his brush technique. This is a university, after all.
Here’s what I’d like to see, though: For your next fundraiser, tack a plain canvas dropcloth to the wall, line up a couple of paintbuckets in front of it on a sawhors… um, some kind of support… then have Hercules give ‘em each a nice solid kick. Et voila: Jackson Paddock.
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Must. Touch. Talented & VEEELLLLLVETY soft muzzle.
Herc-with-werc. Hahhahaha
Well, we’ve already seen paintings done by chimps, gorillas, elephants, and dogs… why not a horse? (And maybe miniature horses paint, um, miniatures…)
That’s one tall hoss! But he is totally working it like Fabio with the blond hair over one eye!
Whoa, Aunty-G, I’m impressed. That wasn’t a title tag you could just hover your pointer over to see; you actually had to dig into the photo properties to find it!
Cute Overload has some *dedicated* fans. (which I’ve known forever, being way up there myself… but it’s worth saying again)
I love this guy!!! What a sweetie!!
Any mom can recognize the looks on the 2 ladies faces – it’s the look I used to make when feeding my daughter – sort of invisible nomming….like they could convince the horsey to take the paint brush by pretending to do it themselves!! LOL!!!!
Mmmmm….nummy sweet potatoes….ummmmm
The pic he’s holding looks like Clifford the bug red dog
WANT!!!!!
Rorschach is pleased, BugMom.
(…and Freud)
Wow, how did he get so big?
Oh right, there ARE horses that aren’t miniature.
He is lovely.
Hmm Theo, I get the distinct feeling you might just be teasing me a little. But nah, I’m probably just being paranoid ;P
Dammit Teho now I am going to be looking at all the picture properties…..
Oh and bugmom (Headtilt) hmm it DOES kinda look like clifford
“aw shucks”, shuffles foot…Thanks Teho.
HEy Aunty-G.. how come your name links to the infamous hedgies and rack comment. I am just curious.
The more you know and all.
that’s not impressionism, it’s abstraction. And some nice work.
Where are the nuffers about breeding GIANT PON1Es!!!
Annie, I do not know!! I thought the name links always went to a blog…don’t have one…or email. I have no idea why it went anywhere else. I got no probs with Meg’s ’stuff ‘n racks’; weird.. Anyone??
I’m a vet student at the U of M and am an acquaintance of handsome Hercules. He truly is a gentle giant.
Could we have a special section for artistic animals?
I think we’ve had monkeys and pups, and now horses.
Do I ask too much?
Is it because i find this particular anerable? perhaps!
OMG!!! DraftHorses!1!!
I know Hercules (and CatDoc), too. He does so many cute things! If you aren’t paying attention to him, he will blow into this box fan that is strapped to the front of his stall. It makes that noise (you remember doing this when you were a kid) and everybody laughs and comes to see him and it makes him HaPpY!
I’m glad Hercules is raising money for a good cause, but I’m reminded of Red Green’s remark: “If I could do it, it ain’t art.”
Nice big horsie… deserves an apple.
What a giant, yet cute horsie!
OMGARTISTICPONIEZ!
(sorry)
*smooches fuzzle muzzle, then wipes paint off lips*
WANT!!!! Gonna get, too. I gots Tara de Ellypant art, now I’s gonna get me some Hercules de Horse art. Mabee do some good at the Vet Horspaddle, too, who knows?
The face is shetland; the body is Clydesdale; maybe all the little ladies is elfs?
Moneigh? Jackson Paddock? Bwah!
Aunty-G – it’s all right … some of us are so young, we don’t know our little claws can hurt the innocent.
Sorry – I know I should smile more – but I either laugh or growl.
Hm. I’m looking at my keyboard and I can’t see *how* you would make a wavy, happy/sad face.
what beautiful horse i love these guys more than guys they bring me peace. Now can I get a copy of his paintings
Hercules is some hores. besides beautiful he is amazing and awesome and an angel.
i agree leah…they are peaceful…
omg ponies!!1!
I haven’t been able to find this info anywhere. Since some of you know Hercules, just how tall is he?
He’s the biggest horse I’ve ever seen, but I don’t know his exact measurements. I’m 5′8″ and I come up to about his shoulder.
What, you peeps have never heard of a paint horse?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Paint_Horse
This is not only cute, it’s impressive! And impression-ive!
he looks so proud on the left pic .. any mare would melt just by the glimpse of such an artistic stud!!
So if Glow-Orb is 5′8″ and comes up to Herc’s shoulder, it makes Hercules about 17 hands high
(1 hand = 4 inches, measurement is taken at withers (the lump where the neck meets the back) – 5′8″=68″/4=17)
I<3 draft horses! And palomino, double love ^-^ Add to that he paints and that horse and I should be best friends. he he.
Am, you’re a mathematician. I can just about tickle his feetz (standing up) at that height then.
Anyone for a MPLS CO meet-up?
I LUFF HEEM!!!!
OMG, I LUFF HEEM!
Can I keep him in the bathtub, please?
PS to add to Theo’s links, here is Hercules’s OWN page, where you can order a painting:
http://www.cvm.umn.edu/umec/news/home.html
PPS Herc’s a Belgian, fo course. Why he’s such a beeg boy.
An elephant at the zoo does this. All the time.
*yawns*
Regarding BrianMPLS CO Meetup. some of us in california recently did one there were four of us we went to a botanical garden followed by lunch and then a famous wildlife museum with real live wild animals we had a blast despite only having met on line and it was the best.
IF I lived In MN I would definaltely love to do one over to see hercules.
Theresa — that’s the Equine Center link. I got it.
Maymee — kindergartners do this all the time too, but it was Herc that hoisted my Must Post flags.
BugMom — the “Freud” reference was due to a little typo you made. It was pretty subtle. Freudian slip, y’know.
BrianMPLS — hmm. I’ve thought about this before, but haven’t floated the idea because I try to keep my virtual & meatspace lives separate. We do have a bunch of CO folks up here, though, and there’s BirdChick & Cinnamon too (of Disapproving Rabbits fame).
Aunty-g regarding the hedgies and racks link. You had to put the link in yourself when you commented. maybe some time in the past, anyway it is no biggie I just thought perhaps you had made a comment on that one or it was a post you had submitted, or if there was some obscure joke there. I couldn’t tell from the post itself. That is why I asked . BTW CO is peopled by a lot of computer saavy folks, yourself included. Don’t underestimate them.
The angle of the picture on the right makes it look like he took the picture himself for his Myspace page.
Hair covering one eye: check
big, suggestive eye: check
perspective photo making head seem huge: check
yay for michigan!!
Horses have been making Moneighs for quite a while now. You can find them on Ebay every so often from famous racehorses (and some not so famous of course)
http://www.cerfhorses.org/Moneighs.html
http://www.fund4horses.org/info.php?id=297
Wait! Theo lives in MN? My mind is blown.
I volunteer at The Raptor Center, near the new Equine Center, I know Hercules and have seen him on campus. A few months ago, Herc got loose on campus and came to visit, some of my friends helped to get him back to his corral.
Sharon
i made a post earlier and it’s ::gone::
Theo, Bwahahahahahaha1!!!
Just noticed my mistake!
Clifford the bIg red dog!!
It’s that self-centered-ness I have….everything has to be about the bug.
Wish my brain didn’t go faster than my fingers!!!!!!!
I do believe Hercules is a Belgian:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belgian_horse
The pic in the article is of a darker horse than Hercules, but I’ve definitely seen them blonde like him…
And had I looked at Hercules’ own page posted above, I wouldn’t have had to speculate
He is beautiful. I loffs me big hosses. I’m not familiar with Belgians, but I will look out for them from now on.
Where is MN? I can only hazard Maine, not being American.
Yes, the Equine Center website says Hercules is a Belgian.
So then shouldn’t his name be “Hercule”?
Monstercats: MN is Minnesota
Theresa — LOL! Mais oui!
Sharon — yep, and there’s some OTHER regular CO commenter (Zelda?) who volunteers at the Wildlife Rehab Center. I think that’s closer to the Fairgrounds, though.
Amanda — U of M, yes, but in this case I meant the University of Minnesota. However, my sister, mom, dad, bro-in-law, and nephew all live in Ann Arbor. (Along with Slashdot and BBSpot.)
BookMonster — clicky:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=university+of+minnesota&ie=UTF8&ll=44.97931,-93.236418&spn=0.026289,0.058365&z=14&iwloc=addr&om=1
I guess it’s true what they say – blondes DO have more fun!
The Wildlife Rehab Center now has it’s own building over in Roseville, after their building on the U of MN campus got condemned.
I’m a vet student who gets to see Herc often, and it’s rumored that if you go visit him late at night before an exam, he’ll tell you the answers…
There’s a raven at Zoo Atlanta who paints as well. They sell the paintings to help fund the bird show.
There is also a macaw named Cortez who, when asked to do an impression of Elvis…plays dead. XD
BELGIAN DRAFT, folks. Not Palomino. Sheesh.
Blond or not: Herc is sporting the emo bangs.
L-A, the university’s online media calls him *both*, actually.
Check the links for “a month ago” and “Equine Center”.
(Then again, they seem to use “Maneigh” and “Moneigh” interchangeably, too.)
I always thought palominos were a bit lighter….
Oh well, still cute!
yup! Blonds do have more fun!
I want to see the Macaw named Cortez . xd
Belgian is a breed; palomino is a color.
SQUEEEEEEE!!! What a big, beautiful boy!!! And he PAINTS!!! I WANT HEEM! You are so lucky, Teho!!!
[SPLODEPOITSPLODEPOITASPLODE]
I haven’t actually *met* Hercules, but that does give me an idea… hmm
Thank you Liz, thank you Theo. So what is Maine in shorthand (massive Stephen King fan)? So I was born in LV and live in DB?
That’d be ME, BookMonster. MA is Massachusetts, MI is Michigan, MO is Missouri, and MARS needs women.
btw, do you mean Liverpool and Dublin?
I love the second photo, it looks like a myspace bangs shot! like, totally cute or whatever!
Yes, Belgian is a breed and palomino is a color – but this is not a palomino in color. This is a sorrel – reddish brown with blond mane and tail (if you use western terminology – if English, you’d call it chestnut with flaxen mane and tail). I don’t why a vet school would be calling this color palomino. Hell, I could be wrong (GASP!! NO!!! NEVER HAPPENED BEFORE!!!).
Been away for a few days, Theo.
50/100. LV is Liverpool, but DB is Derbyshire. OK, so LV is a city and DB is a county, so I confused ya. So perhaps I ought to give you 100%. Most places don’t have a shorthand here, but they are strange if we do – like Oxon for Oxfordshire.
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