Page 8 - CFANnov13

e q u i n e
FEATURE | MAKING SURE
YOUR HORSE

GETS ALL HIS
CAPTURING
NUTRIENTS,
PART II

LAST MONTH we addressed protein and the Equine Spirit

carbohydrates as important factors in equine
nutrition. In this month’s column, I’m going

to discuss two more elements that play a role
in your horses’ health. Let’s talk about vita- Central Florida Equine Artist

mins and minerals:
Mindy Z. Colton Merges
Her Love of Horses and Sculpture
W
Into an Artistic Blend of Expression
VITAMINS

Vitamin deficiencies or excess vitamins can
lead to several health problems. There are by BLAIR TOWNLEY
TO SEE WHERE
COLTON’S HORSE two categories of vitamins: water soluble and
fat soluble. Water soluble vitamins (Vitamin
SCULPTURES will be fea-
tured next, visit her website C, riboflavin, folic acid, niacin, B12, B6, WHEN MINDY Z. COLTON watches horses roam
pantothenic acid) pass through the horse’s near her horse farm in Orlando, she doesn’t just see ani-
at http://mindycolton.
fineartstudioonline.com.
body and excess amounts are excreted in the mals— she sees living artwork bursting through life. “I al-

urine. Fat soluble vitamins (vitamins A, D, E ways thought horses were beautiful and had great spirits.
and K) are absorbed and stored in the horse’s They are so expressive and are one of the most amazing

fat tissue, so when there are excess amounts creatures on earth,” she explains.
it can lead to toxicity. As a general rule of Since the age of five, the artist has had a love of horses, color), and is positioned in Winter Haven’s Central Park

thumb, if you have a balance of high quality whether riding them recreationally or competitively, or at the Chamber of Commerce. “Some people have said
roughage (hay and grass) combined with a through her horse-inspired sculptures. Central Floridians that Renewal looks as though it is emerging upwards and

manufactured grain (Ex: Purina, Nutrena...), may recognize her sculptures as they have appeared in gives them hope,” Colton shares.
then your horse should be getting the statewide exhibits and galleries, such as Tresor Gallery A friend’s suggestion to create a larger scale of the

appropriate balance of vitamins in their diet.
in Winter Park, Disney’s Epcot gardens, and the Polk sculpture’s smaller original, along with a United Arts of

Museum of Art Outdoor Sculpture national exhibit and Florida grant, led to Renewal’s popularity and acclaim.
MINERALS
competition.
The smaller original piece is comprised of recycled,

Minerals make up a very small portion of Generating the most art buzz for this New York-bred misspelled cemetery plaques. The material gave Colton
your horses diet, compared to carbohydrates, artist is her piece titled Renewal; a towering sculpture inspiration for the name of her creation. “We melted

protein and vitamins, but they play a critical made of marine grade aluminum (finished with a copper
the plaques down [to make liquid bronze], so I felt I was
role in keeping your horse healthy. They play a renewing those pieces from cemeteries, to be reused again

role in everything from digestion, muscle use “Some people have in another form,” she recalls.
and contraction, blood clotting, to nerves. that Renewal Art was always at the forefront of Colton’s mind,
said
Minerals can be broken down into two looks along with horses, and she excelled artistically in school,
categories called macrominerals and as though it is graduating with a fine art degree from Washington

microminerals.
emergingupwards University School of Fine Art in St. Louis. She later

hope,” pursued a Master’s degree and graduated with honors
and gives them from the University of Central Florida.
continued on
PAGE 32
Colton shares.
Colton continued to find success in art as a graphic
designer and photographer for 30 years, while painting,

drawing, and illustrating. Feeling the urge to physically
create with her hands, she took up sculpting again in

the late ’90s and soon noticed many clamoring for her
sculptures. “I quit the graphic design world and knew that
by DR. KATIE HENNESSY
fine art was where I belonged,” Colton says. “I thought by

now that I would be tired of doing artwork, primarily of
horses, but I’m not running out of ideas.”

continued on PAGE 32

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