Tack Entry

(From Breyer History Diva, December, 2010)

Although Breyers came with molded-on tack and accessories from the very beginning, it wasn’t until the early 1970s that they started selling tack and accessories independent from the models themselves. I’ll only have about 40 years worth of research to do, instead of 60+, and I’m not going to bother trying to track down every color or design change. I don’t think most people are interested in Breyer tack and accessories to that level of detail, yet.

I’m only doing it for my own peace of mind: if it’s a Breyer product, I have to keep track of it. Heck, I keep track of dealer assortment numbers, store assortment numbers, and mold numbers, so why not obsess over tack a while? Someone’s gotta do it, right?

Since I don’t have any great insights into the world of Breyer tack right now, I’ll just share a photograph of a model whose rarity is solely defined by its tack:


It’s the #P45 White Fury/Prancer, with the incredibly scarce English Saddle option: the Racehorse’s saddle, with the Canadian Mountie’s saddle blanket in red.


When the Fury/Prancer was originally released in 1956, it could be ordered with either a Western or an English saddle. The fine print on the original dealer sheet explains why more dealers didn’t go with the English Saddle option: they had to ask for it!


All mention of the English Saddle option is gone by 1958; considering its rarity, I wouldn’t be surprised if it was discontinued by 1957. If you’re lucky, you’ll see maybe one of these turn up in any given year, where they’re sometimes mistaken as a variation of the Canadian Mountie’s horse.

That’s what I assumed when I found mine at the local flea market, until I showed a picture of mine to Marney, and she set me straight. That 1956 dealer sheet - something I didn't have access to, then - is the only paper evidence we have of what it really was.

Molded On Tack

(From Breyer History Diva, January 2011)

I never did get around to talking about the Quarter Horse Gelding, did I?

I was never much of a Bonanza fan - I have nothing anything Westerns per se, it just never clicked with me - so I have no idea how appropriate a mold the Quarter Horse Gelding is for Chub. I certainly don’t object to the selection: the more Quarter Horse Geldings, the better, as far as I’m concerned.

It does seem a little odd to me that we’re seeing him in Bay, again: he's now up to four Bay production runs:

• 99 Gloss Bay (ca. 1960-1966)
• SR Matte Bay (ca. mid-1980s)
• 410401 Riding Academy Set (2001 J.C. Penney’s XMAS SR)
• 1453 Chub

Dude's getting almost as bad as the Hanoverian or the Trakehner! To make matters worse, he’s even been used to test other shades of bay, including this one for the Dan Patch release of the Pacer:


(He doesn't seem like an obvious choice to test a Pacer's paint job, does he? It took me a couple of months to realize duh, it was the halter.)

Fortunately, each of these Bays is different enough in markings, shading or finish for misidentification to be fairly minimal. The only issue some collectors might have is with the Matte Bay SR, who is so rare that many are either completely unaware of his existence, or mistake him for something else entirely. (Something I discussed in greater detail back inMay 2009.)

It’s funny that until recently, I never gave much thought to the Gelding’s molded-on halter, until the whining from hobby’s peanut gallery made it an issue again.

A not-insignificant number of the earlier Breyer molds came with molded-on tack and accessories: the Western Horse and Pony, the Fury/Prancer, the Racehorse, the Walking Angus Bull, both versions of the Poodle, and the Western Prancing Horse. What’s interesting is that most of these molded-on tack molds were derived from - or at the very least, were inspired by - molds from other manufacturers.

(FYI: The "most" part of the previous sentence will be addressed in my next post.)

It makes me wonder if the Quarter Horse Gelding was derived from a still-unidentified secondary source. It wouldn’t surprise me at all, if it did. Grand Wood Carving - the Chicago-based company that inspired Breyer’s Woodgrain finish, and at least three other Breyer molds - is the most likely suspect. My reference materials are a little thin in that department, though, so it’s going to have to remain a hunch for now.