We’ve had the bling and we’ve seen some creative clipping, but could ‘tattooing’ your horse become the next equestrian trend?
New Zealand airbrush artist Benjamin Lloyd has had plenty of requests from horse owners after publishing a pic of a “tattooed” cremello on social media.
Ben, who is based in Auckland, is more usually known for creating dramatic airbrush tattoos for sick children.
The artist uses a custom, temporary, non-toxic ink for the creations, which he says help to “boost confidence”.
“I was teased every day at school and so I would draw over my hand and up my sleeve,” he previously told Stuff NZ.
“I just got better and better, eventually I had a line-up of people wanting me to draw on them. I was doing deals with kids, swapping cards and marbles.”
He posted the picture of the airbrushed horse — a large shoulder piece featuring a skull and scroll work — on Facebook, commenting:
“I love boosting a horse’s confidence with a custom tattoo. 50 likes and I’ll tat a lion up.”
The post received more than 32,000 likes and 4,500 comments, with most supportive of Ben’s endeavour.
“Oh, I want my horse done. Bloody amazing!” said one Facebook user, while another user posted a picture of her grey horse and commented: “I have a lovely blank canvas if you ever need another!”
A handful objected to the project, with one English rider saying:
“Nice art… so keep it to humans… I am well aware this isn’t a real tattoo, but have some respect for the animal… this is not appropriate.”
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Another added: “I do not understand why people feel they need to do this to an animal… go find a helmet or a wall or a car door and do your work on that… leave nature alone.”
As well as creating airbrush tattoos, Ben uses a variety of other canvases for his work including vehicles, guitars and buildings. View more examples of his work.
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