I would put extra batting under the horses to make them pop and dense quilting for the background.. you can still do quilting of mane and feet etc

I have extra batting under the panel. The quilt has a cushy polyester - Hobbs Tuscany Collection - and the panel has a soft cotton on top of that. The sewing machine isn't impressed. I went to the laundry room to get some garden gloves because my old yellow ones aren't grabby enough to move the fabric smoothly. Problem #2 up close it's hard to tell where the horses and background come together so I'm going to have to plan my path carefully. Found a green/gold variegated thread in my stash - seems to be okay for the background so far. #3 The first machine's tension was off and looking bad on curves, so I had to switch machines. Odd because the first one sews a perfect straight stitch. #4 I want to work on the quilt, but I need to do some housework and bathe the dog.

red-warrior, those pictures were helpful.