Why do I have rider dolls

I got this idea to my head when I read the Braymere Custom Saddlery blog just to use some time. I have read those same posts so many times before, but it didn't matter, they are too good to skip. This time the thing were dolls and how to use them, and why they make everything better.

Offhand, one of my best dolls, on Lacey.

It is very true: dolls make everything better, and everyone needs some. Most people who talk about dolls in the hobby are those who also do performance showing, which kind of explains most of it. It also is why so many dolls there are customized to ride better and have more fitting clothes. The Breyer factory dolls are a bit weird and don't really complement those top level art horses. 

While I read those posts and agreed to what was said, I remembered what happened when I got my first Breyer dolls: the whole modelverse scene thing exploded, it came to life! I remember the feeling when I had none and felt like I needed at least something that could use the tack I had just started to make for my horses. I could even call it desperation. So, when the two guys came, I didn't bother to even resculpt their heads before I tested how they could ride. I removed their clothes and tested how far all the joints bent, put them on everything's back. I (and my brother) bent them to stupid poses just for the amusement of it. Then I put their clothes back on and took some scene photos. It was the magic. 

These photos also show some of my oldest traditional tack. It was made from jewellery materials.

I want to mention one thing. Since I never thought I could have more dolls than those two rat guys, I wanted them to have moving eyes. That meant I painted some oversized beads and never glued them to place. The pupils got painted around the hole in the bead, so I was able to move them easily by tucking a wire or a pin into it.

Asko on the left, Omar on the right. These guys got new versions around 2019.

So, to deliver the message and main point of this post, I can just say I couldn't enjoy my horses as much if I did't have dolls. Those first ones were only customized from their heads, and otherwise they were those cringey factory dolls, but that didn't matter. I still enjoyed the fact that I now had something to use as horseowners and riders. 

That was it until late 2016. I had considered about buying more dolls for customizing, but unfortunately they could cost a lot and I couldn't be sure what I wanted the most and if I even could succeed with the resculptings and hairings, let alone give them tails (I prefer animal dolls over humans). That is why I tested if I can make a doll entirely by myself, using wire and clay. I hated the fact that I had to use wire and leave it visible for joints (and necks), but compromises are like that. It's a bit similar to how I designed the "mouthpieced" functioning bits I now can't live without (unless it's a hackamore, haha). It may not look the best but the function is what matters the most, so it will stay.

This was the second homemade doll. The first one didn't get many progress photos, I think.

I was surprised by how easy it actually was, or at least felt. But first attempts are often like that... The next ones weren't so good, though some were nicer than others. I used silk clay and foam clay, and then leather or some fabric for paws and tails (depending from the animal species). Eyes were beads which I glued to place and painted. 

My dolls are still ugly and anatomically stupid, but they can ride. 

Little Damage the domestic rat dude, and Maksi.

And I never wanted them to ride naked! I want clothes for them, and I wonder if there could be a technique to craft them boots without gluing them permamently on... But because I am incredibly dumb with especially textiles and can't sew, I haven't tried after a few fails (the first dolls got some really poor garments on, then I gave up). I tried to design trousers very recently, using a Breyer doll as a victim, and eventually came to the conclusion that I just can't process how that is done. Cloth designers are wizards, I guess. So Kave is a wizard then, since she sewed up some pants for one of my dolls and they seem perfect and comfy. 

One thing I need dolls for are definitely scenes. I like to study balance points and dynamics with them, as absurd as it may sound. (I have also studied bit functions with my moving bits; not that they could be totally accurate.) And, I can think about scenes and photos which could make zero sense if there was no doll, like those where the rider falls off. Their hands and legs play a big role for sure. So do their facial expressions.

Offhand and his twin sister Grievous.

I also like to cook up horse and rider pairs especially because of the variety in (my) dolls. Is the rider anatomically able to ride well? What sized horses do they require? Is that one an adult pony rider? Weirdly enough, I've found out that especially one of my dolls is a total western rider. I just can't make him look believable if he tries to do English, even if everything was as good as required. He just doesn't look natural if he doesn't hold reins in just one hand, for example. 

Anelma is way too small for her horse... But I bought the horse because he matched to one I saw in a dream, and Anelma should represent his owner who also appeared in it. I never wanted to make her so short, but things happen.

Sometimes I sculpt a doll with the idea that it does not NEED to be a good rider, or anatomically as symmetric as possible. It may sound dumb, but sometimes I need to allow that kind of mess for myself. I'm not able to make them symmetric enough anyway even if I tried my best, so most of my dolls don't know how to ride in full balance (if that makes any sense). And of course it goes so that when I don't care to make the doll perfectly, it rides better than I wanted it to. Meanwhile I made one as a dressage rider, and he is anatomically so bad that he should rather THINK he knows how to ride, since he is physically so bad. 

Kammo, the "professional" dressage rider in question. His facial expression is just as toxic as his personality.

I haven't made new dolls in a couple years now. That is because I want to stop using the wire only, and could test some ball joints and related, to see if it could work and possibly give them a longer life. They could also make it easier to change clothes between dolls, or dress and undress them in general. Ball joints I have thought to make by gluing a bead to a wire. Clay could do the rest, and some plastic film. I have yet to test that, of course, and I do not expect it to go well, honestly. 

I do not show, so that is not my motive for anything. I just happen to be obsessed with many things seen in this hobby, and that includes the fact that I like to cook up scenes and moments in time. These scenes then form stories. Of course, if I only wanted stories, I could just write and maybe draw. That just is not enough to me, so I use miniatures to get a step closer to knowing how things could and should really be. (As I said, I have studied tack functions and balance and all with these things. I could know nothing about saddle anatomy and fitting neither if I didn't start to make some.) 

Valtti the housecat and Roope.

I simply want to have dolls for the sake of them being dolls. They are characters, and they do so much.