Doing some deep spring cleaning came across this vintage Breyer I bought awhile back at a flea market. After doing some digging today this particular model was made in 1961 (these were produced between 1961-1986) pretty cool! Nearly mint too just a few scratches
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OH my goodness, I remember the box when I got mine but it’s long gone… heaven only knows where I got this one but he’s been my sidekick for at least 30 years. Sitting on my window sill now, right beside me with another one I picked up along the line.
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One on the left is Rearing Stallion. Mine is bay. I have to find a home for all my old Breyers.
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Do you have the appaloosa? Dark bay with a blanket, just walking pose? That was my first one and I lost it along the way, miss it all the time.
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I had been thinking the same thing… and then my sister decided to have a baby late in life. Now I have a brand new niece who is going to be inundated with all my old horsey stuff. 
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I don’t. It’s not a big collection — maybe eight horses.
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Aw why do you have to get rid of them? I’ve carted a bunch around over the years. Someone stole a box of mine years ago and my appy went with them. I only had a few that we kept b/c I had some in my daughter’s stuff at the time.
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I had a palomino foal, all of mine except the last one I bought had the high-shine coat instead of the later matte finish. I also had 2 of the wood grain foals.
I miss them all.
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We have one special Breyer. A local Breyer artist who uses Breyers to fashion models of known horses made one on Socrates after she heard of his untimely death. She like the horse so she made a Breyer model of him for my daughter.
this was the photo she used to create the model
and this one as an additional guide
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By the time the kiddos/grandkid moved out, there were 50 Breyer horses in our herd --all loved, all with names. The kids each took one, and I started gradually finding homes for the others --the 4-H Tack Sale was an annual selling place --finally when there were just 4 of the favorites left (two were mine from my childhood), I put them on the fence posts of the horse graveyard which is in the middle of the pasture. It is fenced off so the memorial tree (weeping willow) isn’t eaten by the living horses. Outdoors, the Breyers don’t weather well --I may repaint them this year. I like to see them there with the horses who are resting under the grass.
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Back in the early 1990s when I was on an advisory board for 4H that set up the guidelines for 4H model horse showing using Breyer type models, This was being done to increase inner city activity in 4H programs which was nearly nonexistent.
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I used to follow photo showing back in the day when shows were advertised in Young Rider and similar --one sent in an actual photo of the model horse --and in the mail, came an actual ribbon along with pictures of the “winners” pictured in the magazine. It was such fun!
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Aww that’s very special it’s beautiful
Breyer collecting is huge and you don’t have to be a kid to do it. The newest models are just really nice, sculpted by 2nd generation kids who grew up collecting and customizing the old Breyers, who wanted horses that were more realistic with more action, and the paintwork on them is so good too.
Breyerfest in July at the Kentucky Horse Park draws tens of thousands of people.
There are quite a few facebook groups devoted to collecting, showing, making, and accessorizing scale model horses, as well as some groups around monthly challenges. February has NaMoPaiMo - a model painting challenge month for beginners to experts, and coming up in April is International Model Tack Month, with tutorials and challenges for making scale tack items.
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Saw the Breyer I posted about in a full house episode today, that was pretty cool!
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I know nothing about Breyers. My old ones are at the top of a closet shelf. Not worth anything because they were played with (and loved). Out of curiosity, does anyone know the difference between the ones with a dull finish versus a shiny finish? Are the shiny ones older?
The finish doesn’t mean they are older. The glossy finish makes some of them more special and more expensive but not always. On the older models if you have any with a blue or gold finish they are worth some money
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The glossy vs. matte is mostly a matter of preference. Some of the oldest ones were more likely to be glossy and in the 70s they were more likely to be matte, but today Breyer is producing both. They even make Team Glossy and Team Matte stickers knowing that some people prefer one to the other.
Some of the special models they make for Breyerfest will be split 50-50 matte and glossy, and the one you get will be random, as their way to make it more interesting. They also will sometimes gloss just a few to make them extra special.
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I found this modeled one in a yard sale box of ‘stuff’ probably pd a couple $ … for all in box.
It’s a gorgeous paint job but it’s odd.
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@pony_grandma is there a signature on it? There are two artists that come to mind that might have done it. Lovely piece, worth a little money as a vintage custom, if you decide to sell it. Search for vintage custom model horse groups on facebook.
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