No horse? No problem! What do you do when you’re a horse crazy kid without a horse? Or even worse, an adult whose horse is currently in recovery and not rideable? Dive into plastic ponies of course!
Over the last year one of my horses was plagued with serious health issues that made him unrideable. Not wanting to burden my older gelding with too many extra saddle hours I was left stumped. What could I do with my now free barn time? I puttered around for a bit before remembering back to my 4-H years before I owned a horse and one word stuck out in my head BREYER.
When I was a kid, I LOVED Breyer model horses and gained quite a collection of them. I even showed them at the model show in 4-H. I still have quite a few sitting on shelves, collecting dust.
Those dusty horses have turned into a renewed hobby for me. For those of you shaking your head at the thought of an adult playing with toy horses think again! There are tons of different model hobbies out there from trains and tractors to planes and more! Model enthusiasts come in all shapes and sizes not to mention age. I have had a ton of fun getting back into showing my models. There are many brands of model horses, Breyer, Peter Stone, Hartlands, Copperfox and the list continues. Breyer and Stones are the most common and popular, however.
After a bit of fumbling around I have managed to learn a lot and have fun doing it. I have now jumped fully into model horse shows. There are photo shows and live in person shows both stemming from how realistic/close the models are to real horse breeds. Does that model actually look like a Quarter Horse, or perhaps it fits better with some other breed. You want to have great breed documentation and a model that is clean without scuffs or scratches.
It’s a bit like detective work to find the right breed match for your models but you learn a lot in the process. I love all things horses so I find it quite enjoyable to discover cool facts about different and rare horses around the world. Then there’s learning about color genetics! How do you possibly get a horse that looks like it’s blue? Why with white ticking in black hair which is called roaning to get a blue roan. The names are great too! Ever heard of a dunalino? That would be a palomino horse with dun markings. The deeper you go the crazier and more amazing colors you get.
Then there are the people. Model hobbyists are a fun bunch! Like any group you have a few nasties but for the most part model collectors are friendly and love horses just as much as I do. Anytime you have a chance to make new friends I recommend going for it!
Am I crazy for playing with plastic ponies? Maybe, but at the end of the day I’m learning about the animals I love and having fun so I think I’m going to enjoy hanging out with the crazies!
