Breyer Horse: A Collector’s
Item
Some of the best
collectible toys are the Breyer horse which is made by Breyer
Animal Creations. The Breyer Molding Company began in the 1950s and
started to produce plastic molded horses to adorn mantle clocks and
lamps. When they discovered that youngsters began to take the horse
model off the functional pieces to play with them, it opened a new
avenue for the plastic company.
Those Breyer
horses were made of hard and long lasting plastic and were able to
hold up to very hard playing and became a big hit because they
lasted and were very affordable. As demand for more colors and more
distinct breeds of horses grew, Breyer artists had to make better
figures and this led to more collectible models.
The Breyer horse
is solid and has a small breathing hole that is usually found in
one or both nostrils and almost every model has the Breyer Molding
Company’s logo on the inside of one of the hind legs. Of late, a
new sphere in collecting horses has emerged and the Breyer horse is
being customized and their appearance changing by adding real hair
to the tail and mane.
Variety of Sizes
For the lover and
collector of the Breyer horse, there is a main event in the form of
the BreyerFest that takes place in the summer and is usually
located in the heart of horse country, Kentucky. This weeklong
event promotes Breyer horses, clubs, shows and live horses. The
Breyer horse comes in four different sizes which are the largest
one called the Traditional, followed by the Classic and then the
Paddock Pals and finally, the Stablemates, which is the smallest.
The most popular size of the Breyer horse is the Traditional and so
there are many different models available that fits every taste and
most models can be tailored to one specific breed.
In addition, the
Breyer horse model comes in different colors and the Breyer artist
can make on an average, three to five brand new models every year
and the Traditional model retails at around $25-$30 at toy stores
and so requires a fair bit of monetary outlay on the part of an
avid hobbyist. Besides the cost, the hobbyist will also need to
carefully choose which model is best for them as the Breyer horse
model also comes in limited quantities of special run horses for
various events, and these may be limited to about a 1000-1500,
which is quite a small number, when considering the fact that the
Breyer horse is sold worldwide.
|