Final steel horse nearly done

The last steel horse of the Plains greenway will be going up in a matter of weeks, according to its creator, Kenton Pies, who sprayed on a coat of special concrete stain last week and it is nearly ready to be transported.

Plains Mayor Dan Rowan said he's waiting for Mountain Range Materials for a small batch of concrete that will be connected to the horse's steel pedestal. Rowan and Pies both hope to get the steel horse installed before winter. Pies has already flagged a spot for the Plains Public Works Department staff to dig a hole for the cement block. However, the sudden cold spell has slowed Pies' efforts to complete the staining and painting jobs.

This is the third and final horse for the Plains "Wild Horse Herd," said Pies, who had planned to have eight horses in the herd, then reduced it to five, but based on the amount of donations he received and the lack of volunteer help, he's only doing three. He had planned to make a colt for the fourth horse. 

Each horse cost just over $2,000, much of which came from private and business donations, including some of the materials. He received some help on all three from three local men, but he did much of the metal welding and cutting, concrete and staining application himself, particularly on the third one, which had almost 376 hours of labor in it, according to Pies.

It took the 88-year-old nearly three weeks to brush the concrete onto the sheet metal of horse number three, which is a rearing equine. He was alarmed when he did a test of the mahogany stain on a small piece of metal and it came out a "pea green." It was the same brand of stain he used on the first two horses. His fears were alleviated after about 10 minutes when it turned brown. It took him just over an hour and about a gallon of stain to give the steel giant a first coat. The horse will be pinto of brown and white.

One of the big differences in his third horse because it is a rearing horse with a height of almost nine feet tall, it couldn't fit inside his workshop he had done the first two horses and although the space was covered, it was open in the front and couldn't be heated. It's now surrounded by mounds of snow. He also had to have a 73-inch pedestal for the rearing horse, 11 inches longer than the other two. He has applied a clear sealer, but needs to put on a second coat and paint on the white to make it a pinto. He also needs to paint the eyes and hoofs black.

The horse project is nonprofit for Pies, who spent 73 years as a professional commercial artist. He figures his time at around $60 an hour and believes that if he had done this as a commercial job, the horses would have sold for about $22,000 per horse, not counting the cost of the materials. A business owner in Missoula is interested in Pies constructing a metal horse for his store for $19,000, although Pies hasn't made any decision yet. Fellow metal horse artist Jim Dryden of Belgrade gets about $40,000 for each of his horse sculptures he's done, which are far more rustic than Pies' horses. Pies believes his horses are under valued. "I'm doing them for the city and the community and I'm not getting paid. I hope they appreciate it," said Pies.

Pies started the third sculpture in August and worked on it until October. He suspended work until March and started up again. He started on the overall project in September 2017. His horses are made with heavy sheet metal and rebar with a concrete coating.

He knew it was going to be a monumental task, but wanted to do something to help bring more tourists to Plains. However, he thought he'd get more volunteer assistance and more monetary donations. Pies has lived just outside of Plains since 2005 after retiring as a commercial artist in Washington.

Pies is pleased with his with his work and relieved to be finished. He is especially pleased with his rearing horse. "I just feel like he's more of a wild horse," said Pies. "I'd like to make all of them, but I'm not getting enough help and no more money, and I'm getting worn out," said Pies, who still wants to have a contest to name the horses and would like to have some sort of dedication ceremony.