No!  I have been drawing horses (unicorns, animal, and dragons-among other mythical beasties) for as long as I can remember.  I remember the first inspiration I had.  I must have been only a few years old when a friend of our family showed me a beautiful painting of a unicorn she had.  (I believe it was one by Sue Dawe, who was one of my favorite artists in childhood).  The very moment I laid eyes on the piece, I knew I wanted to 'be an artist'.  I began drawing right away, and have not stopped since.  I am still unsure as to whether I am 'an artist' yet, but I'll play the part, for now! 
I had always admired realistic paintings of horses, where the artist remembered to put in the gloss of the coat, the muscle tone, and the personality in the eye.  I never thought I could get even close to such devotion, but in December of 2007, I was given my first real set of watercolor paints, (full pan-size), and sat down with an image of a horse (the Haflinger image above, to be exact).  I first drew the horse onto the watercolor paper, then began to lay paint to it.  I could not put the paints down until I finished the painting.  It was my very first attempt at watercolor painting in my adult life!  I had never touched watercolors before, having believed the myth that they are difficult and messy (not to mention the amount of white paper most watercolorists leave showing!).  My, what fun was I missing out on!