Memorable Horse Tattoo

[tbryder]

So my mustang is looking very tired and my mom and I are going to be putting her down if she doesn’t start to turn around soon. I am my mare’s little girl and I want to get her freeze brand on her neck put on me somewhere. The problem is, I am having a hard time nailing down a design for the tattoo. If you guys could help me come up with a design that transcends any of my ideas, that would be so awesome!
Size and price are not an issue, but location is, so I’m not looking to get it on forearms, hands, neck, feet, ect.

What I do think that I want is something that covers a lot of skin and goes with the curves with the body, but not dense. Sort of branching and elegant with a large black mare and her brand incorporated within it.

I really like color and anything of nature!

A little bit about my mare:
I started riding her when I was in kindergarten, and my mom was schooling dressage with her (She made it to third level before an injury that made us retire her!)a few years before that. She was captured Idaho in '84 and was a grungy pasture pet before my mom’s trainer found her and started her as a dressage princess. She absolutely hates pigs, coffee cups, jumping fences and lawn mowers. She ADORES peppermint candies and carrots and to have her ears gently brushed. She also is the barn princess wherever she goes and has a sparkly beaded brow band to match her bright saddle pads. I’ve only seen her pin her ears once at another horse and she is loved by most in every barn we have boarded at. This mare is by far the most loyal, sassy and motherly mare that doesn’t act like a mare I’ve ever encountered. It will be very tough to find a horse with a more fun canter than her and her intelligence.

Here are some photos of her:

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Starfish Pifer

[Bluey]

Tattoos are very permanent.

Number tattoos were used to brand jewish people going to concentration camps.
Not sure it is a good idea to use that kind of imagery.

How about some horse themed little tattoo where it won’t show if you don’t want it to, like a horse shoe, maybe with her initial inside, or other such?

You may want to give this a bit more thought, whatever you decide in the end.

[DancingArabian]

Find a picture of her you love or try to have one taken of the mare in a pose you love that shows her brand and just make it a part of her portrait.

[tbryder]

[QUOTE=Bluey;8199707]
Tattoos are very permanent.

Number tattoos were used to brand jewish people going to concentration camps.
Not sure it is a good idea to use that kind of imagery.

How about some horse themed little tattoo where it won’t show if you don’t want it to, like a horse shoe, maybe with her initial inside, or other such?

You may want to give this a bit more thought, whatever you decide in the end.[/QUOTE]

Have you ever seen a BLM brand? It’s not numbers… I also live in a place that it is acceptable to have tattoos, but just not on an always-visible spot.

[Lilykoi]

I have my TB mare’s lip tattoo on the back of my neck. Right now I wear my hair short and it is visible. She had a distinct lightning bolt blaze and that is below the number. We had to put her down at 32. Its been a few years and I still miss her.
I get asked about the meaning of the tattoo all the time. I feel that as long as people ask, she will never be forgotten. I have never regretted getting it.

[cayuse]

I have nothing against tattoos. Like them actually,but for some reason I thought the same thing as Bluey regarding the imagery. I know what BLM brands look like and realize that they are not “numbers” but I see what Bluey is getting at.
How about a tattoo of her “halting at x” nice and square? Or one of her head with her (or your) favorite blingy browband adorning her?

She is a pretty thing, I hope she makes a turn around for you.

[JackandMo]

I have zero creative ability, but as someone who has many tattoos, my advice is to find a really, really good artist and sit down with them.
Explain what this horse means to you and give them creative license to design a unique, one-of-a-kind tribute.
I think you will find in doing this, something you may have never imagined, and something you will absolutely love.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=tbryder;8199735]
Have you ever seen a BLM brand? It’s not numbers… I also live in a place that it is acceptable to have tattoos, but just not on an always-visible spot.[/QUOTE]

Yes, everyone still recognizes those as representing numbers.

That was just a suggestion, since you asked for ideas.

I like the idea of having an artist give some advice on artistic impressions of your mare, that would be one more idea, maybe even around using the number itself, but not the bare number, something more illustrated than that.

[Beckham03]

She sounds like a cool horse. I’m still trying to come up with the tattoo I want for my heart horse I lost two years ago.

[microbovine]

I am very sorry you are going through this. It’s hard to face the loss of a beloved horse. She sounds like a very special mare and an amazing mustang. Your horse reminds me of a beautiful black mare that did dressage at the Colorado Horse Expo years ago. It was the first time I realized how versatile mustangs are. Hugs to you and your family.

I am no help with tattoos. I know nothing about them. There are also things you can do with her mane and tail hair, such as jewelry and decorative pottery.

[jetsmom]

How about a rectangle with the brand numbers at points like on a dressage arena, with a picture of her head in the center?

Or the shape of her head and neck on your waist slightly towards your back so the arch of her neck corresponds to your waist…would make it curvy/sexy. Run the brand numbers in an arc above horse’s neck.

Your mare is lovely. She’s so lucky to have had her “own girl” to love her.

[beowulf]

@Bluey;8199707

Number tattoos were used to brand jewish people going to concentration camps.
Not sure it is a good idea to use that kind of imagery.

Oh Bluey, what a very strange thought. BLM symbols are symbols, not numbers… kind of a far cry to associate a memoir of a beloved pony with the horrific genocide of millions… but carry on.

OP, good luck. I have seen many girls who have gotten their OTTB numbers on them and they do not remind anyone of the holocaust that I know of.

[Kels]

Obviously this is in a very visible spot (and, hey, believe it or not, I am educated and I AM able to have a “real” job (and do have one!), despite what many members of our culture might believe but here is one of mine…

https://instagram.com/p/pHnLWVkWSo/?taken-by=shestipsy

I incorporated a little bird in it because my mare’s name is Wren.

[shiloh]

Oh, she is so beautiful - look at the shine on her coat!

I like the idea of the freeze brand and it is very unique. The idea of the dressage court and her brand insignia is very creative.

However - as a person who sees SO many horrendous tattoos (seriously, one more 6 fingered Jesus or cross-eyed Virgen de Guadalupe…:mad:) be prepared to spend some serious bucks on an excellent tattoo. Check the artist’s other work. Maybe go to a tattoo fair (we have one that comes to San Jose every year) and find a person that specializes in animals. I’m telling you one little thing done wrong and your beloved animal looks like it’s possessed by Satan or yikes - the endless atrocities (and I have seen some real dillies!).

I suggest something small to medium size, just the insignia, on the back of the neck.

[Daisyesq]

[QUOTE=beowulf;8199930]
kind of a far cry to associate a memoir of a beloved pony with the horrific genocide of thousands… .[/QUOTE]

Genocide of many millions.

[Bluey]

[QUOTE=beowulf;8199930]
Oh Bluey, what a very strange thought. BLM symbols are symbols, not numbers… kind of a far cry to associate a memoir of a beloved pony with the horrific genocide of thousands… but carry on.

OP, good luck. I have seen many girls who have gotten their OTTB numbers on them and they do not remind anyone of the holocaust that I know of.[/QUOTE]

It may seem strange to you that I mentioned that to “brand” someone, even yourself, with numbers or symbols representing numbers just seems strange to me, having been born right after WWII and lived with those that such happened to.

Then, it seems that others don’t think much about it, as several mentioned their horse’s racing tattoos being also used by them.

Anyway, the OP asked for opinions, that was mine.
I am sure she will find what she is looking for with all the good suggestions.

For those that wonder, mustangs are real, regular horses, wonderful horses.
One of our best ranch horses bar none was a feral horse from a herd in Nevada, captured as a five year old.

OP, sorry that you lost your mare, she looks beautiful.

[Kwill]

I have to agree that just a string of numbers tattooed somewhere is not very aesthetic, or interesting. And does look weird, in my mind, anyway (not only the Holocaust reference, but I tend to think of people in some weird dystopian future with numbers on the back of their necks to identify them…but that’s me). Few people will associate a string of numbers with a horse, anyway.

The other suggestions given here were very good – including the ones to spend the extra $$ to find a good tattoo artist!

[hoopoe]

how about

take the brand symbols and bend them to a circle
center that in an celtic knot

[arapaloosa_lady]

[QUOTE=beowulf;8199930]
Oh Bluey, what a very strange thought. BLM symbols are symbols, not numbers… kind of a far cry to associate a memoir of a beloved pony with the horrific genocide of thousands… but carry on.

OP, good luck. I have seen many girls who have gotten their OTTB numbers on them and they do not remind anyone of the holocaust that I know of.[/QUOTE]

No… I’m going to bet you were born long after WWII? So, you think of WWII as just another part of history. There are other people who lived through the war, who have family members tattooed by Nazis, and who find the idea of tattooing yourself in a similar way appalling.

Of course, that’s just me. There are plenty of ways to commemorate a horse that don’t involve a string of tattooed numbers (or symbols that look very similar).

IF it were me in the OP’s sitaution, I’d consider getting a portrait done in watercolor-style. Your horse is beautiful, and the way she moves is perfect for a talented tattoo artist to capture. I love tattoos that are art - something nice enough that you’d want the picture hanging on your living room wall.

[Kwill]

The young lady who posted a picture of her watercolor-type tattoo has given some good inspiration, I think. That’s a beautiful one.