94 SIDELINES OCTOBER 2013
FOR HORSE PEOPLE • ABOUT HORSE PEOPLE
Continued on page 96
and landed on the brilliant
idea of creating Fergus in
2000. She didn’t want to
limit her character to one
breed or discipline, so she
created a horse not tied to
anything specific.
Of course, creating
Fergus was a process.
Jean explained that she
began with his skeleton,
which closely resembles
a real horse. Then, she
added the more fictional,
creative element Fergus is
famous for – his unhorse-
like, larger-than-life eyes.
“It’s amazing how just a
few lines can change the
expression in those big
eyes,” she said. “In the
evolution of that, I’ve got
an almost correct horse
Fergus’ creator Jean
Abernethy takes her big-
eyed cartoon creation for
a trail ride – and it looks
like he is about to teach
his fellow equines how to
spook, a very Fergus thing
to do!
Photo by Tammy
Donaldson
By Dani Moritz
He’s
a
long-faced,
googley-eyed, completely
goofy horse and that’s
exactly what people love
about him. If you’re not
familiar with this beloved
equine character, we would
like to introduce you to
Fergus – the horse who has
the whole world laughing.
Fergus can best be
described as your typical
strong-willed horse – in
comic form that is. He’s not
so interested in prettying
up and isn’t afraid to do
what he wants in any given
situation – whether that’s
eating through fences
or spooking at nothing.
Really, he’s great at doing
all those silly things that
make equestrians laugh
(and sometimes suffer!),
which is exactly why he is
such a great hit with his
fans.
But, Fergus doesn’t do it
all on his own. Behind this
class act is a great illustrator
– Jean Abernethy.
Jean has been creating
equine comics since 1981
e
Art
The Horse Who Has the
Whole World Laughing
