The bay ?lly Molly Longlegs was retired from racing in 1762, the year Stubbs exhibited this painting in London. In this early work, Stubbs animates the conventional thoroughbred portrait by vividly capturing the horse’s individual character and circumstances.
Stubbs was preparing his publication The Anatomy of the Horse (1766) when he painted Molly Longlegs, and he emphasizes his anatomical mastery through attention to every detail of the ?lly’s skeletal structure and sinewy musculature.