Antique Farmhouse Inspired Horse Head Mount

Several years ago, I brought home a pitiful little antique rocking horse from an auction.

 My plan was to try to replace his missing and broken legs, strip off what was left of the loose veneer on the sides and repaint him, but I never got around to doing it.  Eventually, I did remove the rocking base, and used it to make an Apothecary Bottle Display, but the rest of it has just been hanging on a wall in my workshop, waiting for the inspiration to do something with it.

That inspiration came when I saw this Horse Head Mount, offered by Antique Farmhouse.  There was suddenly hope for my little horse, and even though it was the wee hours of the morning, I got him out of the workshop, cleaned off the dirt that had accumulated, and started working on him.

It’s a good thing I live in the country and don’t have nearby neighbors, because I used our circular saw in the driveway, to cut the remainder of the base off, then drew a line and cut behind the “mane”.  Thankfully, my family slept through the noise.

I used a sample pot of Valspar paint from Lowes, mixed with some Vintage Storehouse Restoration Co. Chalky Paint Powder (formerly Blue Minerals), and painted the head.  I left a little of the wood peeking through in a few areas.

I used my palm sander with course grit sandpaper to scuff up the paint in a few areas, to accent the scuffs and chips the wood had.

I love the folk art feel it has now, and am so glad to finally have found a way to use at least the front half of my little horse.  Who knows…I may do something with the tail end too!

Blessings,