Breyer Horses: Toy Horses

I love Breyer horses. As a child, I collected Breyer horses of every sort. I never did have the Breyer barns or stables, but I made my own out of cardboard. This hobby continued through early adulthood. As an adult, I bred, raised, and trained horses on a small scale, mostly Appaloosas and Quarter Horses. This was my dream come true! I really loved the excitement and anticipation waiting for an Appy foal to be born because we never had a clue what the baby might look like. Breeding Appaloosas for color is often a crapshoot. For example, we bred our leopard stud to our blanket mare, and their first offspring was a solid bay colt – not a single spot. Over the years, these two parents also produced some very colorful foals. We bred the same stud to a solid bay mare and got a bay filly, but after a few months, she developed a snowflake coat. What does all this have to do with Breyer horses?

My Experience with Breyer Horses

When I was raising horses, I wanted one of the Breyer horses that resembled every horse I had. Sometimes this was easy, but sometimes it wasn’t. This was especially true with the Appaloosas. Appaloosas are so unique in their coat patterns that it’s often difficult to find a model horse to match exactly. I finally solved this problem on my own.

I had a wonderful Appaloosa mare named “Regal Rain.” She was a reining and barrel champion – the fastest horse I’ve ever ridden. She also had a sweet disposition, and she was beautiful. I desperately wanted a Breyer horse to represent her, but I couldn’t find one. Although Regal was a registered Appaloosa, she had the head and conformation of an Arabian. She was white with gray spots over her rump. I found a white Arabian mare in the Breyers collection that looked very much like Regal, but it didn’t have any spots. My solution was to buy the Breyers model and add my own spots! I used gray acrylic paint to add the spots, using Regal as my model. It turned out beautiful, and it looked just like my mare.

After the successful experience with that Breyers horse model, I was unstoppable. I created horse models to represent many of the horses I’d owned. I eventually acquired quite a collection of Breyer horses! Sometimes I’d just have to add spots, a star, a blaze, or socks. Sometimes I’d have to paint the entire horse model and add other markings like spots.

About Breyer Horses

Breyer Horses have been around for a long time, since 1950. Breyer Animal Creations made their first horse model for Woolworth’s, the famous five-and-dime stores. Once folks saw the beautiful creations, they wanted one, too. Breyer model horses are quality products. The horses aren’t mass produced by machines. Each one is crafted by hand, then it’s hand painted with brushes and airbrushes. One of the most amazing things about Breyers horses is that no two horse models are exactly alike, which makes them very collectable.

Breyer Horses as Gifts

Breyer horses make great gifts. If you know a little girl who’s horse crazy, she’ll love receiving a Breyers horse as a birthday or Christmas present. If she has her own horse or pony, find a horse model to match. Breyer horses also make good gifts for adults. These beautiful horses can be displayed on shelves or in curio cabinets and will compliment a variety of decors. If your adult gift recipient is a horse owner, why not present him or her with a Breyer’s horse that looks just like his flesh-and-blood equine? Such a thoughtful gift would be greatly appreciated!

Breyer Horses as Horse Toys

Breyer models can also function as horse toys. When I was a kid, I could spend the entire day playing with my Breyer horses. I’d make stables for them by standing books on end or by using cardboard boxes, and I’d have my Barbie dolls ride them. This was back in the sixties, before Barbie had bendable legs, so getting Barb to sit a horse wasn’t an easy task.

Today’s kids are lucky! You can buy all sorts of stuff to go with Breyer horses now. Some of these include stables, barns, horse trailers, saddles, bridles, corrals, veterinary hospitals, and more. Oh, and you can buy riders, too, so you won't have to torture poor Barbie. Check out the Breyer horses below, and see more Breyer accessories by clicking on any of the displayed items.