Do the names Breyer, Stone, Hartland and Hagen-Renaker mean nothing to you? Then you may not be aware of the large industry and hobby of model horse collecting. It is not just for little girls who want a horse. The hobby is filled with serious equestrians, enthusiasts and artists.
What are model horses
Model horses are just that, models of horses usually cast in plastic, porcelain, pottery or resin. There are many different manufacturers of model horses, the most popular and most easily available to consumers being those models manufactured by Breyer, a division of Reeves International. Model horses are not "models" in the sense that you purchase a kit (like car models) and build one; they come already assembled and ready for you to engage.
Model horse customizing
Although mass manufactured model horses are ready to go right out of the box, you can customize your models by heating them and rebending them into different positions, adding hair and giving them a new coat of paint. In the early days of the hobby this was called r/r/h’ing or repainting, remaking and hairing. Now people abbreviate it to CM, or customized. This description is very basic and simple.
The actual art of customizing is painstaking and produces a very high quality of artwork, worthy of many galleries. The prices for customized models varies from artist to artist, but expect to be in the ballpark of $150- $500 for show-quality work. At auctions the prices for well-known artists' works can skyrocket to over $1,000 per model.
Model horse manufacturers
As was mentioned, there are several model manufacturers that produce models. Breyer is most likely the largest and most well known plastic maker. Their models comes in several sizes; Traditional, Classic, Little Bit and Stablemate (largest to smallest respectively). The well known former figurehead of Breyer, Peter Stone, started his own company, Stone Horses, several years ago. Another well known plastic maker is Hartland, who has produced everything from dogs to baseball figures and statues of the Virgin Mary.
Model horse materials
Is the hobby limited to plastic models? Absolutely not! Hagen-Renaker is a manufacturer of pottery models, and many of their beautiful pieces were the inspiration (and molds) for Breyer pieces. A great many of the Stablemates by Breyer had their start in pottery at the Hagen Renaker factory. Of course if you have the money, Royal Worchester, Goebel, Beswick, Cybis, and other fine porcelain models are more than acceptable in the hobby.
Model horse sculptures in resin
The other large facet of the hobby is in original sculptures and resins. DaBar is the model industry's leading company for resin castings of artists' works. With resins you usually get a very limited production run and a higher quality product than you do with the mass manufactured plastic models. For example, a limited edition for Breyer may be a run of 20,000 models, while a resin may be produced in a run of only 50 models.
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