Value of backstitch and a finished horse

I have a few memories of embroidering as a child, but I really don't remember much of what I did until I started doing reproduction samplers about 25 years ago. When you stitch samplers, back stitch is usually for letters but usually there isn't much. Occasionally I'd do some cross-stitch pictures as gifts and there the value of back-stitch really shows. I've been working on a couple of baby-bibs and as you can see from this photo, a blob of brown is transformed into a bear with some back-stitch.

I've finally finished the horse for the center of a CQ pillow that needs to be done next Tuesday night for my EGA meeting where we need to present our president's challenge CQ items. The front half of this horse seemed to take forever. I never felt like I was getting anywhere. All the gray, gray and more gray! But then suddenly, it was done. I'm quite pleased with the result as is DD the older who did the initial drawing, and DD the younger who asked that the horse look like her favourite from the barn - she will be getting the pillow. I have a CQ landscape sort of idea and I will be painting the fabric around the horse - hopefully without staining the horse! But you never know with me and paint. Maybe I'll stick with the watercolour pencils?
Here are the two newest members of our family, Chocolate and Dude. You can't really see it in this photo, but Dude has a forehead cowlick which gives him this funny little bit of hair sticking forward. They can both climb out of the pen they get to play in, so they must be watched constantly
The girls did the photo session and had trouble keeping the boys in line. I find this photo very funny.