My boyfriend was shocked and more than a little overwhelmed. I have a modest few models on display, but he had no idea about my past with the plastic. The influx has dominated the living room and the dining room table, and we’ve been eating at the coffee table for a week. Something was going to have to give, and I had to face the fact that it was time to thin the herd down to the few, the proud (Arabian, anyone?).
Who’s missing from this picture? Guess we won’t be having a Black Beauty Family & Friends reunion special anytime soon.
Fortunately, I live in Lexington KY, home to BreyerFest. It’s the ultimate gathering of Breyer aficionados, and the perfect place to market my models. So, I snagged a spot at the swap meet and rolled up my sleeves to begin culling.
That’s where the hard work comes in. There are so many memories molded within that pile of cellulose acetate. I have a soft spot for Halla and Lady Phase. John Henry is definitely staying. And I do love my Lipizzans. Could I part with a few Arabians and Appaloosas? Maybe a stock horse or three? Surely a Clydesdale has some collectible charisma.
We are family! The classic Arabian Family set stayed together.
Since becoming an adult and leaving home, I’ve been able to spend most of my spare time with real horses. My devotion to plastic ponies gradually fell by the wayside. But opening those boxes reminded me of the horseless hours that Breyer models once filled for this horse-crazy girl and my dedication to caring for the herd. I made bandages to wrap those fragile legs, dressed them in felt blankets and exercised them with yarn halters and bits fashioned from paperclips. (My vintage Breyers lacked the advantages of today’s accoutrements, including trailers, tack trunks and snazzy stadium jumps.)
I used to think I could never part with any of my Breyers. But even if I had the room to warehouse my entire collection, there’s no point in keeping them locked in dark boxes in a basement—if I had a basement. Which I don’t. So it’s time to “rehome” them where they can see the light of day and be enjoyed, displayed and loved by someone else. My collection is pretty ordinary, so I’m not expecting to make a fortune—although a little extra cash never hurt the horse-poor.
In olden times, Stablemates had to live in a cardboard barn.
Collectors today seem more fanatical than ever about special run models and vintage rarities. But everything that glitters isn’t a gold charm decorator model. The models I cherish most are like the velveteen rabbit. Nothing special from a collectible standpoint, but because they have been well-loved, they sparkle and come alive to me.
Awww. His ‘n hers blankets for this pair of Proud Arabians. Proudly handcrafted “back in the day” by yours truly.
Who invited these guys? A few non-Breyers crash the party: I found a Marx Best of the West horse and a Hartland model in the mix.
I thought this model resembled my favorite lesson horse, so in tribute I added a forelock of his actual hair. (Creepy or cute? Discuss…) I have good taste in horses—that’s Olympic dressage superstar Keen from the USET Gift Set.
A tale of two Western Prancers: Condition is everything to collectors. I’m not sure where the specimen on the right came from, but my guess is that I took pity and rescued it from a garage sale.
And we have a Breyer down! Black Beauty was always a bit of a wobbler, but during his time in the basement he has gone completely recumbent and can no longer stand on his own. Sadness.
I didn’t collect Breyer but I still have all of My Little Ponies including Megan children have missed out on some really cool toys Good luck in rehoming your memories hopefully some lucky child will buy them and create new memories with them and won’t end up in a bow in the basement
I don’t like Breyer horses. Too expensive and half of them don’t seem that realistic.
This is sooo cool! I wish i could come and check out your collection!!
I so wish I was going to BreyerFest this year! I love Breyer horses, but I don’t have room for all of them anymore, so I’ll have to sell some 🙁
Omg, Liz. U r hilarious!! Loved the photo captions best. 🙂
I had only one name brand actual Breyer, so I was readng with envy about your vast colection. You makes want to go to Breyerfest!
I have Misty and Stormy, Secretariat, Chochise(John Wayne), Zenyatta, Smarty Jones, Seabiscuit, American Quarter Horses, and a foal. My Stormy and Misty came with a storybook.
Breyers which can not stand on their own, can still be “rescued”. Heat the leg, in boiling water, until bendable, and with “pot holders” put it in the right position.
I have over 3000 breyers, been collecting since I was about 10. I can’t go this year due to a divorce 🙁 first time in over 10 years I cannot attend
I never had breyers but I sure did love my cheap plastic ponies! This brings back lots of memories!
I LOVE my breyers!!! I currently have Misty and Stormy, Pokerjoe who I hunted down after seeing him perform, and Joey (warhorse!) But my birthday is in august and at the top of my wishlist is Charm and Aristocrate from the Canterwood Crest series!!!! I seriously freaked out an started screaming when I found out they were making them!!!!
I was thrilled to find the Breyer model (still in box w/tag) of my MFT gelding’s sire, Southern Sunrise, on eBay. Like the author, I grew up horse crazy but horseless and didn’t get my first horse until after age 40. Owning a real-life direct son of a Breyer model horse feels like owning a bit of history. 🙂
Awesome article!! I too am having to cull the herd but still have some old favorites like the grazing mare and charcoal fighting stallion. Breyerfest was awesome this year. I have made it 22 of the 25 years.
I don’t have the problem with Breyer’s, only the one from the Georgia International Horse Park during the ’96 Olympics, but I feel your pain. My overload is of all types of toys, Raggedy Ann, piggy banks, Coca-Cole, Olympic pins and other.
Wow! I’m seeing pictures of the old models I have: the Arabian mare and foal and the Black Beauty family set. And yes, the traditional sized Black Beauty does like to wobble, but mine is still proudly running upright.
I thought this was one of the “sweetest” articles I have read in a while. Childhood does form a person, doesn’t it? This had to be one of the first steps to having a love of horses later on in life. I really enjoyed looking at the pictures. Brought back a lot of nice memories.
OMG, in between “oooohing” and “aaaaawing” and laughing out loud (at work, no less) after reading this article, I can’t even bring myself to unpack all the boxes of my Breyers! I wish I had half the courage of the writer to sell mine off. Maybe it’s because I have a basement for storage of them all??? It’s a commendable action that my husband would LOOOOOOOVE me to perform, but, alas, I just can’t part with my childhood Breyers. Much to my husband’s dismay, I still buy them from time to time (sorry, honey). And I have my living, breathing, full-size “Breyers” out back in our barn – there’s something definitely wrong with me…..
I have been collecting since I was 9. Although I have lost my first collection when I left home, I have managed to replace a few of my favorites and add to them. I now have approximately 75 to 80 models or more. At 60 years of age, each model still makes me feel as good as I did as a young girl of 9. I have several multi shelf stands that my collection fills and other models scattered around the house. No, I will never get rid of them!
When I was little most of my friends had an array of dolls, baby, Barbie, Cabbage Patch. Not me. I had my “Plastic Horses” that I tended to and played with as if they were really. Forty-five years later they are in my garage but still cherished.
P.S. You think Black Beauty is wobbly, try the Pacer. He always had to lead against the barn.
I started collecting at the age of 7, that would be 1968, I still have some Breyers that are carefully stored on a closet, I spent my allowance, my babysitting money, working to to what I could do to by one, I had over 100
Love your collection. Mine is up to 312. And I’m just not sure I’m ready to start that culling process yet lol. The Arabian mare you have the blanket on was my mom’s first. I have her and com0leted the family. Thanks for sharing.