Llego ~ Protection

One of the best parts about having more income and more time has been that I can design and make special things just for Mike or myself. For Christmas last year, I designed a sterling silver shield to go on his horse's breast collar. This was important for me because Mike's horse, Cuervo, died very suddenly in 2005. I wanted to create something that would symbolize protection and a long future for him and his new horse, Llego, who came from Cuervo's same herd area in Colorado.

Now that Llego has been started under saddle and their real partnership has begun, this seemed like an especially important time to create a gift that would say how much I wish them a long and wonderful life together. Mike even had an opportunity to see the final art before Christmas and make some decisions about it before I sent it to be cast, so he also had a part in the creation of this shield of protection.

I thought about this piece for quite a while before I began to put the art together, and each part of the design has special meaning. The raven in the center represents Mike's horse who died, Cuervo Humoso, which in Spanish means 'Smokey Raven'. The five dark stars represent our five living horses...Corazon, Griton, Llego, Besol and Valeroso. The Morning Star represents our black horse, Star, who started it all. The hand supporting them is for safety, protection, and the human members of their herd. The symbol at the wrist is for the brotherhood we share with our horses. And finally, the hoof prints on the right are the many journeys Mike and Llego will take together.

I received the rough casting in sterling silver in time to wrap it for Christmas; but we were slow in finishing this piece because Mike needed to solder screws on the back of it. Then yesterday I completed the polish work and we mounted it on Llego's breast collar. There is so much of my heart and my hope in this piece that it was an emotional moment to finally see it finished. In the next day or so, we will get Llego all dressed up in his new finery and I'll take more photos.