Name: Cottontail

Nicknames: Cotton, Rabbit, Dotty

Age: 5 years old

Breed: Appaloosa x Mustang

Gender: Mare

Height: 14.3 hh

Colour

Pelt: black dun leopard spotted

Eyes: jade green

Markings: black dorsal stripe, black nose, ears and patches around both eyes

Mane/tail: white mane, white tail with small black patch at the root/top

Relatives

Sire: Never

Dam: Flopsy

Siblings: Therefore (half brother)

Relation to Spirit: Her father was a herd mate of Strider, Spirit’s father, when they were foals

Family & Friends

Stallion: Hotspur © Feathervenom

Foals: Rhineland © Feathervenom

Herd: Spring Valley Herd

Friends: Cinnamon, All That Jazz, Savanna, Euphorie, Lilith, Pistol Annie, Open

Enemies: The stallion who forced her into his herd

Personality:

Cottontail is a positive, warm hearted mare with a love for exploring. She’s outgoing and cheerful, with a witty sense of humour and a passion for the natural world around her. Cottontail is never happier than when she’s out for a long walk, preferably discovering something new, or sneaking up on other horses and surprising them in blizzards, when he coat is almost invisible.

 Likes:

Rabbits, wandering, adventure, blizzards, meadow grass

Dislikes:

Danger, the advances of other stallions, being confined/stuck at home, when it’s too dangerous to leave the valley

History:

Cottontail was born in Never’s herd. She inherited her spotted coat from her father, her dun genes from her mother. Her parents decided to name her Cottontail because her frolicking and skipping reminded them of the wild rabbits of the field. What’s more, her white tail resembled a rabbit’s scut.

Little Cottontail was always a playful creature, even as a foal. Unfortunately, she was also very adventurous, and would often wander off, making her parents very worried for her safety. Despite this, she never came to harm as a foal, and soon enough her mother and father grew used to her wanderlust. By the time she was 2 years old she was ready to explore the world on her own, and let her father’s herd.

Many stallions tried to persuade her to join their herds, but her desire to wander was always stronger than her desire for safety and security. Then, one day when she’d turned 4, a muscular brute of a stallion forced her into his herd. Every time she tried to wander off he’d force her to stay within the confines of the herd. She retaliated by refusing to breed with him. This only made the stallion angrier. He was determined to make her pregnant, as he believed this would force the pretty mare to stay in his herd. But by now Cottontail hated him. She hatched a plan to escape, and before long her opportunity arrived.

A fierce blizzard struck the land one day, and in the swirling snow Cottontail’s coat was virtually invisible. Seizing her opportunity, she slipped away from the herd and vanished in the blizzard. Anxious to put as much space between herself and the brutish stallion, she sprang into a gallop, not caring where she was going as long as it was away from him. By the time she grew tired and slowed to a trot the blizzard had eased to light snowfall, and Cottontail found herself in a beautiful valley. A beautiful chocolate-gold stallion lived there, and he was so kindly and sweet that the spotted mare fell instantly in love with him. She willingly joined his herd, her wanderlust soothed at last. Cottontail had found her home. Although she still likes to go exploring, she never strays very far from home now, and especially not since her filly was born.

Trivia: Cottontail’s design is based on the English Spot rabbit

Head image lineart (c) Dakotah

Body image lineart (c) Dakotah