Adrian makes his own luck! He worked really hard to acquire that horse and knife and I was honored to spend some time with it at the Wonder Bar in Casper, Wyoming, when he and I and several other Brokies met in mid-October. We also attended the Casper literary event where we met Annie Proulx at a panel discussion on The Myth and Reality of the Cowboy. It is definitely made of pine, and, as AP said in the story, the lodgepole pine is the dominant tree species in that area. You'll notice an ax on a stump in the camp, and that is where Ennis undoubtedly obtained the block that became the Horse. Altho the Horse is primitive in style, you can see by the knife marks that it was carved by a skilled hand. It has sturdy tho graceful flanks and its legs and neck are in good proportion to the body.
The toy horse, on the other hand, is rather stilted and skinny. It has a stiff look about it. It appears to be made of metal. The rider has a top-heavy looking hat. When he picked up the toy horse, Ennis, if I read him correctly, would have thought of that other horse that he had whittled, how warm and full of life force it was, and how he had tossed it away just like he tossed away the log that last day on the mountain. And that is when you see the tears appear.
