leatheflea

I've been commissioned to make a Queen size quilt of a ladies horse, with two shams with the horses head on them. She would like for it to be as realistic as possible so I understand that there will be tons of applique. She wants only the horse, no pieced blocks on moss green background. The picture below isn't the picture I'll be using but it is the horse. We'll be setting up a day for better pictures in the near future. I suppose I could draw this out by hand if I had too. My questions would be..

1. what type of fabric for the horse?
2. where would I get the fabric?
3. is there a program to help with with the applique? I have EQ7 but find it very difficult to draw with.
4. Do you have picture of a horse quilt that you've made that looks realistic?
5. Is there a website or book with information on making a quilt from a photo?

Thanks for any help or advice you may have!
Lea