From toys to exquisite works of art, model horses are miniature horse figurines that represent many different things to the people who collect them.  For most, it starts out as a horse mad kid getting a model horse for Christmas or a birthday.  For others it's having a life long love of horses and stumbling across the hobby mostly by accident.  No matter your age when you find model horses, it is a life long hobby which has many ways to stay involved.

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Some collectors simply acquire models for their beauty, perhaps choosing breeds or colours which interest them the most.  Model horses give collectors the chance to enjoy many breeds we may not have any contact with in life.  Model horses give people unable to own real horses a chance to learn about horses and indulge their passion in a hobby as close to real horses as it can get.  Others enjoy creating miniature saddles, bridles, dioramas and more, and recreating the entire horse world in miniature.  Competitions, known in the hobby as shows, are available for those with a competitive streak, or collectors can simply create a wonderful collection by acquiring only one colour, one breed, one make or model, or perhaps all the colors that were released by a particular company in a particular make and model that you fancy.  Whatever your choice, once bitten by the model horse bug, it's hard to give up the hobby!

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A  VERY Brief History of the Model Horse

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In the 1950's, the Breyer Company, a USA plastics manufacturer, created an eight inch tall standing horse cast in acetate plastic to use as lamp and clock bases.  The company they were making the bases for went out of business before the order was completed and Breyer was stuck with hundreds of those plastic horses.  The company decided to repackage them and sell them through Woolworth's as toys.  They were a runway best seller, and the model horse as we know it was born.  A division called Breyer Animal Creations was thus created.  The company began creating highly realistic horse and animal figures in plastic, painted in natural colors.  

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Throughout the 1960's, 1970's, and 1980's Breyer was the only kid on the block with this type of plastic horse, selling hundreds and hundreds of beautifully manufactured and painted plastic horses.  These horses were mostly sculpted by Christian Hess, although Breyer purchased the rights to cast in plastic several Hagen-Renaker porcelain horses sculpted by Maureen Love.  Each horse was painted in realistic colors.  Many a child was delighted to find a Breyer horse model under the Christmas tree!  Even today the models Chris and Maureen created for Breyer are highly collectable and avidly sought after on the 2nd hand market.  Breyer models came to Australia briefly during the 1970's and then seemed to disappear until making  a comeback very recently with an Australian Breyer distributor. 

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During those early years, Hartland plastic horses and the Marx toy company also released horse models.  Hartland models often came with rider dolls and had themes, such as the Lone Ranger and Silver, Tonto and Scout, or famous soldiers and their mounts.  Marx had the Johnny West series of horses, dolls, accessories, vehicles, and more, to recreate entire wild west scenes.  The Marx toys were not as realistic as the other companies' models, but were a lot of fun to play with and included jointed dolls for imaginative play.

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Other Model Horses

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While the majority of people start by collecting Breyer models, many other brands now exist.  There are too many to list here but here are a few:

 

• Copperfox Model Horses: Plastic, UK business specialising in British Isle breeds

• Breyer (plastic): made from the 1950's to the present day

• Peter Stone model horses:  plastic models made from the 1990's to today

• Hartland: plastic models

• Creata: Micro mini (1" or smaller) plastic models, made in the 1990's then molds sold to Breyer

• Julip, Grand Champion, Blue Ribbon: plastic horse toys

• Marx: plastic models, action figures, playsets, Western themed

• Hagen-Renaker: china/porcelain

• Beswick: china/porcelain

• Lakeshore Collection:  fine porcelain,  newer company

• Black Horse Ranch:  resin models, first produced in the early 1990's to present day 

• Schleich (plastic): models, figures, sets

• collectA (plastic): models, sets  

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Model Horse Sizes (known as 'scales')

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Collectors use common terms, most coined from the Breyer company, to describe sizes of model horses.  Traditional is the largest size and typically measures 8-10 inches tall.  Classic (known as Pebbles for the Stone models) is the next size down, and measures around 6 to 8 inches tall.  Little Bits/Paddock Pals are roughly the same scale as Schleich, Safari and Papo and they fit in between the classic/pebbles and Breyer Stablemate.  Stone Chips size is the smallest Stone and typically measures 4 inches tall or so.  Stablemate size comes from the Breyer company and is used to describe horse models at 3 inches tall.  Last of all are the Breyer Micro Minis, models standing just one inch tall.    While some horse models are larger than Traditional size, so far there's nothing smaller than micro mini!

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The Model Horse Collecting Hobby

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The model horse collecting hobby as we know it started with Breyer.  Although many people collected fine porcelain horse statues by Beswick, Hagen-Renaker, Josef, and other Japanese-made ceramics, many children who received Breyers as presents grew into adults and refused to give up their Breyer collections.   Repainting and remaking Breyer plastic horses by changing the leg positions, repainting into other colours, and even adding hair manes and tails became an art form.   Nowadays these horses are called "customs" and are fun and artistic both to create and collect.

In the 1970's and 1980's, live and photo showing of model horses became popular.  What is live showing?  Live shows are gatherings of model horse collectors who bring their models, rider dolls, miniature saddles and bridles, and props to a central location and compete against one another in classes that mimic for the most part the real horse show world.  Horses are entered into "halter" and "performance" classes.  

Photo showing is nearly the same, except for people who cannot travel to a central location, photographs may be taken of the horse models and entered into various classes.  Photographs are then mailed to a judge for a show being held on a specific date, along with sufficient postage to return the photos.  The use of digital photography today has revolutionised photo showing, and now pictures can be emailed or posted for a show.  Photo showing enables those with limited budgets to enjoy the fun of competition too.

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The model horse hobby is an educational hobby and great for children and adults.  Hobbyists study horse breeds, colours, genetics, conformation, history of riding or driving and every other activity where horses are used (for authentic tack and dioramas), equine anatomy, art (to improve sculpting, painting, and customising skills), saddles, bridles and authentic tack for recreation in miniature, and even business if they want to buy, trade and/or sell as an individual or even as a business.  The possibilities with model horses are endless.   You can collect miniature plastic model horses that sell for $10 or less or Artists Resins, limited edition, gorgeously sculpted models that sell when painted for hundreds and up to thousands of dollars.  Most collectors settle in the middle, and collect either the original Breyer Model Horses, now manufactured by Reeves International Company (but still sold under the Breyer name), Peter Stone Plastic model horses, or china models such as the Lakeshore Collection.  Resin companies are new, but you can find Artist Resins through the EquinArt Creations Model Horse Company, Resins by Randy, and Horsing Around in the United Kingdom.  

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Where to Find Model Horses

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Where can you buy model horses?  Local toy stores, tack stores, Ebay AU, UK & the most popular USA sites, and the number of online retailers and buying/selling/trading  websites dedicated to model horses is growing as are dedicated FaceBook groups.  Hundreds of companies sell online in Australia, the USA and the UK.  The hobby is popular worldwide, and most companies will mail worldwide too. 

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A few places to find model horses in Australia are:

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Horseland stores nationwide  www.horseland.com.au

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Dee-Amber Rural Supplies   https://www.facebook.com/Dee-Amber-Rural-Supplies-147693906548/?hc_ref=SEARCH

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Model Horses Australia   http://www.modelhorses.com.au/

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Model Horse $ales Pages   http://www.modelhorsesalespages.com/searchlist.asp?adtype=New250

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https://www.facebook.com/groups/emodelhorseharmony/

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Breyer Model Horses Australia   https://www.facebook.com/groups/222212461484823/

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Copperfox Model Horses   http://www.copperfoxmodelhorses.com/

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Copperfox Model Horses on Facebook   https://www.facebook.com/copperfoxmodelhorses/?ref=br_tf&qsefr=1

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Today's Model Horse Manufacturers and Companies

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The hobby has expanded greatly since the original plastic Breyer Horses.  Now you can choose from either Breyer or Peter Stone plastic horses, Schleich of Germany, or other plastic models; Lakeshore Collection limited edition china; and many, many other manufactured brands.  The Stone Company is worth noting.  There are 2 divisions of the company:  The Peter Stone Model Horse company, and recently, Stone Ponies.  Peter Stone is the son of the founder of Breyer and branched off to start his own company after Breyer was sold to Reeves.  Stone plastic model horses are slightly more expensive than Breyer plastics, but the colors are fantastic.  These are hand-painted in the United States at the stone factory in Indiana, and are often released in highly limited edition quantities.  The Lakeshore Collection model horse company was started by long-time collector Cindy Neuhaus.  Each limited edition sculpture is cast in fine bisque porcelain, but is actually quite sturdy.  They are offered as original finish (OF) Lakeshore horses as well as highly limited edition colors, glazes, and now Raku, a ceramic technique that is highly artistic.   EquinArt Creations, founded in 2004, offers Artist Resins as well as pewter micro minis.  Micro minis are highly affordable original artist works, standing only one inch tall, and fun for adults to collect.  They can either be left in their natural pewter color or painted into realistic colors by the hobbyist.  Horsing Around in the UK and Resins By Randy in the US are also casters and sellers of resin models.

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Artist Resins

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The latest expansion in the hobby has been in the field of Artist Resin model horses.   Artists sculpt an original, then cast a limited amount, typically 50-100 pieces into urethane resin, a white compound that picks up the details of the original sculpture.  These models are highly detailed works of art and highly prized.  The models are prepped by sanding off seams, rough edges, and repairing any defects from the molding process, primed with primer then painted into gorgeous colors using airbrush painting techniques (the most popular) or hand-painted in acrylics or oils.  Artist quality colored pencils and pastels can also be used to great effect.   Artist Resin model horses by great artists such as Carol Williams, Billie Campbell, Sarah Rose, Kathi Bogucki, Sherry Clayton and others can fetch hundreds if not thousands of dollars when painted.  They are collected like works of art and truly prized for their extreme realism.   Sometimes when you view a photograph of a really well-painted Artist Resin model horse, you cannot tell it is an eight inch tall painted statue rather than a full-sized, living, breathing horse!

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(Josine Vingerling's photo above proves the point of realism: This photo of Stephanie Michaud's Cobra Mares painted and photographed by Josine has been viewed online around the world thousands of times.  When first viewing the photo many people believe they are seeing a group of living horses on a beach.)

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The world of model horses is fascinating, educational, and fun!  If you love horses, it's a great hobby for people of all ages.  It is even expanding now into collecting cattle, dog, cat and wild life figurines.   Children can collect inexpensive plastic horses, and adults who enjoy fine art can collect limited edition Breyers, Stones, Lakeshore Collection, or Artists Resins.   Whatever you explore, the world of model horses is delightful and fun for the whole family.

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Below is the one and only Shah Azim Arabian resin sculpted by Maggie Bennett.  Shah is a 'grail' for many resin collectors.  He is a sold out resin from his sculptor and the only way to acquire one is to hope one becomes available on the 2nd hand market.  This Shah below has been painted by the well known hobby artist Billie Campbell.

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Copperfox Model Horses are the newest model manufacturer to enter the market.  The owners of Copperfox have been active in the hobby for many years and are now producing high quality plastic models focusing on the British Isle breeds. Each Copperfox model is presented in a unique Union Jack collectors box which includes a hand signed certificate confirming the models details, a copy of our current catalogue and a leaflet detailing the profile or story behind that particular model. Some models also include other extras, like a book with Trifle for example.

 

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The Schleich toy company of Germany makes wonderful, realistic action playsets of horses, knights, cowboys, show jumping and dressage riders and all sorts of props and accessories.  The horses are made of plastic and hand-painted.   They stand about four inches tall.  Below  is a stock photo of what will be released by Schleich in 2017.

 

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CollectA's are a very detailed and realistic model known for their quality both in molding and in painting realistic and detailed models.  They come in a variety of sizes ranging from 1:16 to 1:12 scale.  Similar to Breyer Little Bits and Classics.  Both beautiful and durable they are great for both the collector and for play.   Schleich, CollectA and Breyer Stablemates, being relatively inexpensive to purchase, make a good starting point for people wanting to explore their artistic talent with repainting, repositioning, hairing etc.

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A selection of CollectA model horses.

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This has been a very brief overview of the wonderful model horse hobby.  Hopefully what you have read here has piqued your interest and you'd like to get more information or get involved with West Coast Live Model Horses.  WCLMH can be contacted here  

 

There are loads more online references and blogs that go into more detail, especially the early days of the hobby.  There is also an online "museum" of model horses called the Model Horse Gallery http://www.modelhorsegallery.info/

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