Whoever did the Lascaux cave paintings tops my list. Sort of a weird choice, but the first that came to mind.
C. W. Anderson, Sam Savitt and Stubbs are right up there, too.
Stone, Anderson, Savitt for sure. Western artist named, I think, Bev Doolittle.
Sarah Richardson, Marcia Baldwin, Sam Savitt,
The first artist that I loved was C. W. Anderson, followed of course by Wesley Dennis. Since then, I have come to appreciate Sir Alfred Munnings and this is because a good friend of mine, also an artist, is his great niece. Beth Munnings-Winter does amazing portraits in all mediums! We met because our daughters were in Pony Club together. I hope one day to be able to commission a portrait of my horse from her. In the meantime, I enjoy following her website and Facebook page, to keep up with what she is doing.
Here is her website: www.munningsart.com
SCM1959
supershorty628:
That portrait of your mare is stunning. She is absolutely glowing with health and you can see the individual hairs of her mane and that soft place on her muzzle. Your mare’s good heart shines out of her eyes.
I am curious. Is that a gag bit? What happened to her forelock? Thank you for sharing this gorgeous portrait.
Frank Voss. American artist 1920s to 1950s.
Gladys Brown Edwards who was best known as an Arabian Horse artist although she also did dogs and a few other animals.
C.W. Anderson
Paul Brown
Currier & Ives
Wesley Dennis
Angie Draper
Sir Alfred Munnings*
Sam Savitt
George Stubbs
*I had not heard of Munnings before this thread but I just Googled him so I’m adding him to my list.
PMing you! 
I still can’t quote (an am jealous of those of you who can!) … but
atr – here is some more information about the Munnings chalk drawings on roller blinds from my friend, Beth Munnings-Winter. She tried to log on and post but has forgotten her sign-in information.
“The person who posted this is partly right. I’m not sure if the pictures were ever for sale (cheap!) in an antique shop in Norwich, but they ended up under the hammer at Christie’s in the 70s, and are in an American collection now, to the best of my knowledge. What happened was this: Munnings belonged to a private club, the Norwich City Club (not a local billiard hall, although there was - and is - a billiard table at the Club). He was there one night and got into a violent argument with another member who insisted that an artist required all the right equipment and the atmosphere of a proper studio in order to create works of art. In a rage (and with a pint or two under his belt, no doubt), Munnings tore the blinds off the windows and, weilding billiard chalk, created a clever picture of a steeplechaser and another of a clown and Pierette. In a final flourish, he scrawled his name and the date “2 am, Nov 29th 1907” across the tops of them, quite demonstratively winning the argument!”
Sam Savitt and Wesley Dennis are old favorites from childhood. I like the horses in Charlie Russell and Fredric Remington works. Bev Doolittle’s hiding pinto horses always fascinated me, as well as all her other critters. There are a lot of talented local artists (Warrenton/Middleburg) whose work is always showcased in area gallery windows I admire, especially some of the bronzes. There was also a sculptor in Montana whose work I always liked, not just horses but all sorts of wildlife too.
When I saw the thread title, the first name that came to mind was Sam Savitt -followed closely by C.W. Anderson and Wesley Dennis. Based on childhood exposure and spending hours and hours with their books and illustrations, they created my mental images of what horses and ponies are “supposed” to look like.
I just finished reading Fox Tracks by Rita Mae Brown, and the illustrations in that book reminded me of some of the work of the artists I listed - that artist’s name is Lee Gildea.
I can’t possibly name a favorite but since Thelwell hasn’t been mentioned yet:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/564x/c3/5b/c8/c35bc841d76d58778aacdf59d27f2381.jpg
I’ve always loved the cover of this edition of Flambards:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/b/bb/KmPeyton_Flambards_US.jpg
Adding a local since my favourites have already been listed. Shannon Ford does large paintngs in stunning colours, a little bit impressionist but quite life-like. http://shannonford.ca/paintings/horses/http://http://shannonford.ca/paintings/horses/
I like Canadian artist Joe Fafard. He’s able to abstract the horse shape but keep the proportions right. His website doesn’t focus enough on horses, but if you Google “Joe Fafard horses” and then “images,” you will see his work.
Munnings for older artists (I actually have one of his, very small of a pony).
For modern, I like Carol Ratafia.
