Horses and my (copyrighted) logo

The horse silhouette logo is my own artwork. She is a stylized young Arabian mare, full of life and spirit. I first designed it for my training and lesson stable, way back in the early 1980s. I've used it ever since.

My inspiration was probably my favorite mare, Kristar (1980-2021). I have a couple photos of her at the bottom of this page. She was a purebred Arabian (NaHagar x Gaifria for those who care about pedigrees) and my equine companion for nearly 29 of her 31 years. Vintage 1980s photos do not do her justice, but she was an athlete with a level head and sound for a lifetime. The photo under saddle was taken in Bozeman, Montana, right after we won an open Hunter Hack class that had over 20 competitors, mostly Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses. I still have the silver plate and the blue ribbon.

I honestly don't know why I wanted to draw the logo in a fanciful partially-rearing position, as we don't actually want horses to do this when we ride them! That part came from the muse. I must have been subconsciously inspired by watching my horses at liberty, just feeling good, playing in the pasture on a cold early morning, bucking, jumping, snorting, and generally "full of it."

Why a silhouette? Because I am not an artist! I tweaked the image with whiteout and felt tips for a decade until I eventually scanned it and worked on details pixel by pixel, wrestling with trying to get the horse "right." (I still don't have the stifle/flank junction the way I want it and reserve the right to touch it up again in the future!)

Nonetheless, imperfect as it is, it is also copyrighted, all rights to all past and present versions are reserved. I wish I didn't have to say that out loud, because it sounds a bit harsh, and because creative works are copyrighted upon creation and don't require a notice. But, I have to remind people anyway. So far, I've only had to issue a couple takedown notices, but please, this is NOT public domain clip art and it is not released under a free license. You can't use it without my express written permission to you.

But back to art:

Realistic horses are VERY difficult for even good generalist artists to "get right." There are some amazing horse artists out there, and it's a gift. Even as I doodled horses on my notebooks as a child, I knew I would never be a George Stubbs or a Charlie Russell, whose horses breathe life from the canvas. Stylized art is a little simpler, but even then, to capture the right "feel" is a gift.

Perhaps this is a metaphor for my own life—a continual work of art, constantly adjusted and forever imperfect. My logo shows a happy horse, enjoying life and dancing like no one is watching! Perhaps that is the lesson the muse sent to me!

—Brenda Wahler
Last updated May 11, 2026