Black Horse Ranch (BHR)

I have a question concerning the origin of the BHR molds.
Hope someone may help me:)

AFAIK some of these horses were customized from Breyer molds, others- original.

Could you tell me about the following molds- were the original,or customized before casting?
Looks similar to the Arabian from PS.
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
ASB (original?)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Peruvian Paso (custom?)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
QH (original?)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Persheron (custom?)
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Western Pleasure- heard it was original?
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I never heard about that brand before, - theu are gorgeous

i'm pretty sure all the sculpts used for the mass produced BHR resins are original. I know Sue Sifton did some of them. i'll ask some of my friends who will know.

When she was still in California, Karen did some resins cast from customized Breyers. Karen painted most of these resins herself, but some were sold in "bisque." This was the mid or late 1980s, so they were among the very first artists resins ever. "Artist resin" wasn't in the vocabulary yet.
There was a running foal derived from the Action Stock Horse Foal, a hunter with a braided mane and tail from a customized Trakehner, and an Arab mare -- hmmm, the mare might have been original. She was exquisite. I can't remember any more.... was there a PRE or the like....?
The Hunter was molded on a base and unfortunately, between the weight of the base and the weight of the body, you had to be extremely careful or he would break off at the legs. This was well before hollow-body casting and reinforcing with metal. I had a lovely palomino hunter, but he broke off his base in the 1994 quake. i finally gave up on ever finding someone who could fix him and threw him away.
The Mare might also have been on a base, i don't recall.
Not a terribly helpful photo of him, but i have the foal in black:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]


Karen's early foray into resins was ultimately an experiment that didn't pan out.

Gosh, Carolynn, you know SO much

SUSANNE wrote:

Gosh, Carolynn, you know SO much

i was very very lucky to live close to Karen and be able to be part of the model horse gang that she was at the center of. she was such a force, collecting, creating, selling, that it was an inside view to a lot of model horse history. Karen was the leader of the gang and her house was the hang out. She always had something exciting going on, whether models or real horses and dogs. and it was always a laugh. Karen had the greatest laugh.
i miss her.

I saw that Percheron on eBay the other week, it was unpainted. I think it was bidding and £30, nobody else bid and I think he relisted it again but I can't find it!!!

I talked to my friend Cece who was close to Karen and she confirmed my recollection that the mass produced BHR resins are all original sculpts, by Sue Sifton and Kitty Cantrell.
Of the earliest resins, from the 80s, the prancing Arab was a stallion (not a mare) and was very fragile so few were made, but Cece couldn't remember where he came from either. We both thought the early resins were remade Breyers, but we can't remember what the Arab was. Cece has one so she'll dig him out and try to figure it out. The PRE i'm remembering is not a BHR.

HKHollinstone wrote:

I saw that Percheron on eBay the other week, it was unpainted. I think it was bidding and £30, nobody else bid and I think he relisted it again but I can't find it!!!

word to the wise, before bidding on a BHR resin out of your country, find out what shipping will be. BHR resins are heavy and i could see international shipping costing as much as the model.

Oh my... That percheron is amazing!!!!!

Mastiffcat wrote:

I talked to my friend Cece who was close to Karen and she confirmed my recollection that the mass produced BHR resins are all original sculpts, by Sue Sifton and Kitty Cantrell.
Of the earliest resins, from the 80s, the prancing Arab was a stallion (not a mare) and was very fragile so few were made, but Cece couldn't remember where he came from either. We both thought the early resins were remade Breyers, but we can't remember what the Arab was. Cece has one so she'll dig him out and try to figure it out. The PRE i'm remembering is not a BHR.

You mean Cecilia that sold me ISHs by Peter Stone once?:)

I see, thank you. I was asking about the origin of these molds because different articles on model horse collecting say BHR was the first one to cast resins, but these resins were customized Breyers. So I was wondering if that's true. Some molds do look very much like CM'd Breyer molds.

Carolynn, and what's with Karen's collection now? Is it going to be displayed somehow, or sold away?

Cyhyraeth wrote:

You mean Cecilia that sold me ISHs by Peter Stone once?:)

That's her! She's been one of my best friends since i was in middle school. We met through model horses. Here's a bit of her collection:
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Quote :

I see, thank you. I was asking about the origin of these molds because different articles on model horse collecting say BHR was the first one to cast resins, but these resins were customized Breyers. So I was wondering if that's true. Some molds do look very much like CM'd Breyer molds.

Carolynn, and what's with Karen's collection now? Is it going to be displayed somehow, or sold away?

True statement that the first BHR resins - in the 1980s - were customized Breyers. Karen produced each of those with her own hands. (I don't think she cast them, but i'm 99% sure she prepped them all, and i don't know of any that were not painted by her.
But none of the horses you posted photos of is early. They are all the mass produced from the 1990s or later. All those outside photos were taken at Karen's ranch in Nevada.
I haven't heard anything about her collection lately. Last I heard, her husband was in no hurry to do anything about it. He doesn't need to, so no harm letting it be for now.

that's an amazing collection

Fantastic collection:)
I like the way it's displayed.The only question I always have while looking at such displays is how to deal with the dust. There's no window so all the dust, smell and air comes to the models:(

As for BHR- I see, thank you for the info.
Those were- and still are- amazing horses (esp Western Pleasure, Hunter and those Foals/Weanings). And it's really sad Karen's gone. All I heard about her makes me think she used to be a really nice person.

Mastiffcat wrote:

HKHollinstone wrote:

I saw that Percheron on eBay the other week, it was unpainted. I think it was bidding and £30, nobody else bid and I think he relisted it again but I can't find it!!!

word to the wise, before bidding on a BHR resin out of your country, find out what shipping will be. BHR resins are heavy and i could see international shipping costing as much as the model.

Thanks Carolyn, this one was in England actually and you'll never guess...! the chap relisted it again and I just bought it

HKHollinstone wrote:

the chap relisted it again and I just bought it

As long as we're talking Maureen Love sculpts (your Breyer thread): Karen Grimm had this fellow sculpted to be a mate to HR Crusader by Maureen. Karen called him "Companion".
Karen had molds made to cast Companion in ceramic, but only cast a few. However, she gave the molds to a friend, who will some day start producing him in ceramic- fingers crossed!

Mastiffcat wrote:

HKHollinstone wrote:

the chap relisted it again and I just bought it

As long as we're talking Maureen Love sculpts (your Breyer thread): Karen Grimm had this fellow sculpted to be a mate to HR Crusader by Maureen. Karen called him "Companion".
Karen had molds made to cast Companion in ceramic, but only cast a few. However, she gave the molds to a friend, who will some day start producing him in ceramic- fingers crossed!

Neat! I just searched for 'Crusader' as I hadn't heard of it, Companion was some what smaller than Crusader? [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

HKHollinstone wrote:

Neat! I just searched for 'Crusader' as I hadn't heard of it, Companion was some what smaller than Crusader? [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Cool! i'd never seen that page! The picture of Karen... but that crazy big smile of hers.

Crusader and Sespe Violette are among the holiest of Grails for HR collectors. They're not outrageously rare, but they're certainly not common and so popular they go for hefty prices. Pictures of Crusader and Sespe Violette at the HR Museum.

Mastiffcat wrote:

Crusader and Sespe Violette are among the holiest of Grails for HR collectors. They're not outrageously rare, but they're certainly not common and so popular they go for hefty prices. Pictures of Crusader and Sespe Violette at the HR Museum.

Gosh, there are so many gorgeous models on there thanks for that link Carolyn, I've added it to my favourites.

Really wonderful horses!!!

This horse is wow
[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]