Breyer Horse Collecting: Meeting Friends In The Hobby

One thing you might not realize about collecting Breyer horses, is that there is a whole world of friends that can come along with it. Connecting with collectors may seem like a big task, but it can be done and can create some of the most amazing friendships!

Collecting is always fun, and throughout your journey collecting, you’ll probably meet other collectors in one way or another. Online groups are very popular, and it seems like wherever you look, there’s other collectors talking about model horses online! From Facebook to forums, there’s a myriad of places online that you can meet other collectors, and there’s tons of activities that can be done online too. Photo shows have come back to popularity with the ease of digital cameras and online, and through those its easy to meet other collectors that share your same interests!

In person there are tons of opportunities to meet other collectors too. If you ride, chances are someone else at your barn has a few Breyer horses, and probably even more! You never know unless you ask. If you attend a model horse event you’ll be front and center to tons of collectors, just waiting to meet one another! Live shows, model horse events and expos are all great places that collectors congregate.

No matter where you meet, always be kind to your new friends and remember the golden rule, treat them as you want to be treated. You never know who might end up a life long friend from a shared interest in Breyer horses. Golden Oak Stables has seen it happen time and time again!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Collecting: What Goes Into a Breyer Horse

When you look at a Breyer horse, it’s obvious that a lot of time goes into them. From the detailed sculptures to the intricate paint jobs, they are so realistic that its hard to believe they are models sometimes! Do you know what the process is like to make a Breyer model?

When a Breyer is created, real horses are the first place that artists look. Both sculptors and painters for Breyer look at real horses intently when choosing what the next Breyer model will be. If the model is going to be the portrait of a real horse, the real horse is studied in exacting detail so that no detail is spared.

From there, prototypes are made, so that the new Breyer horse can be seen in person, before it goes out to the factory to be recreated and mass produced. These prototypes are sometimes called Test Runs, and can be done on different models, with different colors or details, all to pick what looks best on the model, and what best depicts the horse they were hoping to create.

Once the prototype is chosen, the horse will go into production, where it is created out of injected molded plastic. The horse is then sanded, primed and painted by hand to exacting specifications. Each Breyer is a little different, because it is painted by hand, but all of the details are as exact as possible. This incredible level of skill comes only with the oldest model horse company, and can’t be recreated!

So the next time you get a model from Golden Oak Stables, take a moment to see just how many artisans went into creating your new horse. It’s awe inspiring to say the least.

 

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Classics: The Perfect Pony

Ponies have a reputation for being full of attitude with cuteness to spare. These perky, but tiny, members of the equine family are beloved by so many and unique as any other type of horse. Golden Oak Stables has a plethora of ponies, and a new sweet one that is irresistibly cute!

The Classic line is the second largest line in the Breyer stable and known for it’s horses that showcase many special breeds and types of horses and ponies. One of the newest sculptures, sculpted by the beloved artist Brigitte Eberl, is new for 2017 in a color that is unique and beautiful all in one.

Bay Pinto Pony may sound a little generic for a name, but she certainly is nothing but. This sweet girl walks calmly with a delicate expression to her that will make any heart flutter. Her long mane and tail are details that help give this marvelous mare a personality unique to only her. Her coat is a deep and delicately shaded bay with bright red highlights that shimmer as she moves. Large white patches, or pinto markings, make her one of a kind, and even more eye catching!

Every stable need a few ponies in it, and Golden Oak Stables has found the perfect one to fill any vacancy that might lay within your stable walls.

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Collecting: Caring For Your Collection

Something all collectors think about from time to time is how we are taking care of our collections that we have spent so much time and energy to collect. Caring for them is important and can help preserve your collection for many years to come. Taking care of them might be the last thing on your mind, but if you take the time to do it, your collection will surely shine!

If you have your models displayed, you’ve probably encountered the most common things most collections see, dust! Dust is inevitable, and there is really no way to prevent it if you want your models to see the light of day. Of course you want to enjoy your collection by displaying it, so cleaning is your next best option. Dusting once every few weeks is a great way to keep it under control, but most original finish models will need a cleaning once in awhile. A warm bath with a little dish soap is a wonderful way to get any dirt off of them. If you have customs its best to avoid direct contact with water, especially for models that haven’t been sealed. A very lightly damp rag can generally be used for sealed customs to take any dirt off of it that may have accumulated from being displayed.

If you choose to take your models out of the house, to a show, to a friends, or anywhere else, packing them safely is as important as it is for long term storage. Clean, light colored cloth is generally safe, as is clean bubblewrap. You’ll want to be sure to wrap them loosely, but cover them completely to make sure that they are protected and not damaged.

Your collection is important and special, and making sure its kept that way is something all collectors want! How do you care for you collection?

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse New Releases: Bandera

The Quarter Horse is one of America’s most iconic breeds and also one of the most popular. The are countless Quarter Horses and Quarter Horse lovers all over the world, and just as many Breyer collectors that love the breed. New for 2017, Golden Oak Stables brings you a new mold and a new release that is all Quarter Horse!

Bandera is a new type of decorator, and one that we’ve never seen anything like before! This beautiful rust colored metallic decorator is the first release of a new Quarter Horse mold from Breyer, and a stunning one at that! He stands calmly with a docile and placid personality, a trait the breed is well known for.

His bright metallic coat has been covered with symbols of the west, ranch brands that so many Quarter Horses proudly wear. These symbols are a history of the breed and the work that they do every day on ranches, farms and all over. The Quarter Horse is a true working breed, not just a show horse, and Bandera is a reminder of that long history!

Are you a Quarter Horse lover? Maybe you have a dozen Quarter Horses already in your collection, or maybe this will be your first one, either way, Bandera is a perfect symbol of all things Quarter Horse.

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Collecting: How Do You Enjoy Your Hobby?

Collecting Breyer horses is just the tip of the iceberg for many collectors, or at least, the start of a journey into a whole new hobby they never knew existed. These beautiful horses have inspired generations of collectors to form a community unlike no other that celebrates the beauty and love of the horse!

From the very outset of the creation of Breyers, collectors started to seek out other collectors, and many found they were doing similar things with their models. Many of them were customizing them to look like the the horses of their dreams and the horses that filled their lives. They were also making miniatures for their horses, anything from barns to bridles!

From there, collectors took their collecting to the next logical step, showing. Showing evolved out of a desire to replicate the real horse showing experience in miniature form, and from that thought, halter and performance divisions were born. Showing has evolved a bit in that time, things have changed a little, but the root of it is in replicating the real horse showing experience.

Live showing encompasses a large part of the hobby for many collectors, but not all. Many more find their time is spent customizing, tack making, pedigree researching and imagining with their collection. In recent years, hobbyists have taken to YouTube and Instagram to tell the stories of their collections and models, using a whole new type of creativity that has evolved right along side technology.

Collecting is ever changing, and the hobby is too. What does collecting mean to you? How do you enjoy your hobby? Golden Oak Stables is here to help you in every way to make your collection everything it can be and more!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Classics: Starry Night

When you hear Starry Night, the reminder of a famous painting probably comes to mind for many people. Vincent Van Gogh’s master work is recognized by so many, and captures the heart of so many more! Now, Golden Oak Stables brings you a special classic that has a special magic all its own and is unlike any other that has come before it!

Starry Night is the fourth in a series of decorator Classic scale models and is unique as ever. As many collectors know, decorators have become some of the most collectible and beloved models in any collection, and it’s easy to see why! The first decorators were made over fifty years ago, in shades of blue, gold and even painted like wood! Since then, they’ve evolved to be any number of non realistic horse colors and designs!

Using the beloved blue decorator color, Starry Night takes a darker tone to the midnight sky with deep blue shadings that lighten subtlety as it paints across it’s body. Bright stars give a shine throughout, and glitter and star dust make way for details that are beyond compare, and as magical as the milky way galaxy itself!

Do you have room in your collection for something a little fanciful? Starry Night is the perfect way to bring that special decorator into any collection!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Events: What Is Live Showing?

You might have heard the term “Live Showing” around the model horse corral once or twice. It’s a big part of the model horse community, but sounds pretty confusing when you think about the word “Live” and model horses.

Live Showing is simply an in person event that Breyer collectors hold and attend, where their models are brought to be judged. Because the event takes place in person, these events have been dubbed “Live Shows”. The idea of competition for Breyer horses is just about as old as collecting itself. The first live shows began in the 1960’s and 1970’s and were much less formal from the ones we know today. Most of these shows were held in people’s homes or back yards and were advertised in hobby publications and through word of mouth.

In the decades to come, live showing grew as did the hobby itself. In the 1980’s shows became more formalized, and small clubs began to form and shows became established.  In the 1990’s Breyerfest began and brought a large show along with it. In the mid 1990’s a group of hobbyists came together to form The North American Model Horse Showers Association, or NAMHSA as its better known and began holding a yearly national show each year.

Now, live shows can be found all over the country, and all over the world! But things are always changing, with the arrival of the internet, online events like photo shows and videos are taking the model horse world by storm.

If there’s anything for certain at Golden Oak Stables, it’s that things are always changing, but the love of collecting never will!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Real Life Breyer Horses: The Next Generation Of Horse Racing

Two years ago, the seemingly impossible happened, a horse won the Triple Crown for the first time in nearly forty years. American Pharoah wowed the world and amazed even the most devoted horse racing fans with his incredible win of the Triple Crown and then again to win the first Grand Slam of horse racing!

The next step for this champion was retirement, or at least a type of retirement saved for the most promising of horses, breeding. American Pharoah retired after the 2015 Breeders Cup Classic to Coolmore Stud in Kentucky. At Coolmore he has greeted thousands of visitors and, more importantly, has met with around 80 mares.

Now, eleven months later, the mares are starting to have the first American Pharoah foals! They’ve been arriving for weeks now, and the nation is sitting by as these foals grow in hopes that they will show the same potential their father proved to the world. It will be a little while before we know for sure, most horses don’t start training until they are two, and racing when they are three, so we will have to wait. But until then, we can watch these adorable little foals grow up, and await many more to follow.

Are you an American Pharoah fan? Golden Oak Stables surely is, and can’t wait to watch the next generation grow right along with you!

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com

Breyer Horse Activities: Fantasy Horse Painting Kit

An exciting part of the Breyer hobby is the ability to get creative and do activities with your models. Since the very beginnings of the collecting hobby, hobbyists have been customizing their models and letting their imaginations run wild!

Customizing is the terms for when a horse has been changed from the way it came from the factory. This can be done in many different ways, the most common is through painting a horse, but can be as elaborate as resculpting major parts of the horse. Customizing is very popular in the model horse hobby and nearly every collector has given repainting and resculpting a try at least once!

Golden Oak Stables has the perfect set for the new or experienced customizer, and it’s certain to spark the most fanciful of your creativity. The Fantasy Horse Painting Kit is a set of five horses that is ready and waiting for your creative touch. Four adults and one spunky foal await your fanciful plan along with six paints, a paint brush and accessories. It’s all you need to get started, or continue on your customizing journey.

With bright colors, firey horses and everything you need to complete all five horses in one kit, the Fantasy Horse Painting Kit is sure to be a hit for any collector. What do your horse fantasies look like?

~Stacy

Email Stacy: Stacy@GoldenOakStables.com