Restoration help/tips needed

[Magda]

I have this oldie who needs some help.

He's completely hard and stiff. and since his legs are crooked, he won't stand unless it's a perfectly flat and horizontal surface - even then the tiniest vibration causes him to fall over.

His left hear also could use some fixing, as well as big scratch on the other side.

Is there anyone who'd be willing to help this old man get back to his former glory? Or at least help me do this?

[Manda]

Hello, Julip Vet Here! What do you have in mind for him?

[sarahb7538]

He is lovely. I love the Fell Mould.

I would be tempted to leave his ear and just touch it up with a bit of matching paint if it's not gummy, the same for the scratch on his side. Could maybe rub a tiny bit of paint into the scratch to disguise it as wipe off the excess.

His front legs look like they are tucked under him quite a bit so will need quite a bit of re-adjustment. His back legs don't look to bad position wise though?

Do you just want him to be able to stand a little more sturdily?

I recently restored my Arab Pony and a heavy hunter (the post is below) and his legs needed some adjustment in order for him stand. But not quite as major adjustments as your fella will need.

I am in the process off restoring an old shire who's legs are set solid and all over the place. He won't stand at all. I will be doing a post in a few weeks about him when I'm further along - that might help you? Or at least give you an idea where to start.

Otherwise I know some people, especially Amanda do restorations for others in her Julip hospital ☺️.

I'm no expert but happy to try and help you if I can.

Good luck.

[sarahb7538]

Apr 8, 2020 20:52:48 GMT Manda said:

Hello, Julip Vet Here! What do you have in mind for him?

There you go! Beat me too it 😂

[astudyinscarlet]

I would probably try to straighten his forelegs just by force and if they crack in the process then fill in the gaps with milliput and then repaint the legs (you could add white socks if that's easier but a solid colour like that wouldn't be as difficult to colour match as the more shaded/speckled colours). Sometimes putting the legs in hot water before you try bending them seems to help a bit with forcing the solid ones into a better position but I don't think there's any guarantee that will work every time. It might be necessary to cut tiny pieces out of the latex to get them to straighten if they're really impossible to move but personally I'd try without doing that first. I agree his hindlegs don't look too bad so I would do just the forelegs first and only do the hindlegs if he's still unsteady after straightening the forelegs.
If the ear isn't really gummy/sticky I'd just repaint it. If it is squishy or oozy though I'd probably cut it off and sculpt a new one with milliput or try sealing it with superglue maybe if it's just the tip that's damaged and then repaint it. 
How deep is the scratch on his other side? It might need filling first with milliput or similar if it's very deep but if it's quite shallow just acrylic paint would do.

[Magda]

I wanted to straighten his legs just enough for him to stand securely on his own. He's an oldie, and old horses often have crooked legs, so it wouldn't bother me
His hear isn't oozing nor it feels gummy, but he's been wrapped in a white felt recently, and I think it stuck a tiny bit to the ear (either that or it just caught on roughness that's there).
The scracth on the other side doesn't bother me that much, but if there's a way to make it less visible, I'd like to try and fix it.

Generally, he's hard and stiff, I don't think there's any gummy thing going on in his case.

His hair looks a bit rough, but I like it the way it is

I'll try taking some more pictures of him soon to show better his state.