My Breyer Stablemates: G1 Drafter and another Appaloosa

Several really great models here! I love draft horses so those are all my favorites... but each one is very lovely. Congratulations!

Getting a lot like you did is surely a great surprise.
I know the star is that pony but my favorite is the Andalusitano.
Your Belgian is so proud that it is looking arrogant as a giraffe. Hahah!

rogerpgvg wrote:

I was lucky to find the “Kittens and Foals” set (2008-2009) containing all the Stablemate companion cats. The outer box was missing, but the inner box was in a good condition:
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Three foals too. I already had a trotting and a standing foal, but the lying foal is new:
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I really like these cute little foals! so adorable!
especially the gorgeous black and speckle one on the right!
I did read all the information about colourings, however it went in one ear and out the next (in one eye and out the next;) There is just so much to take in! it's easier to write 'speckle'

I will add them to my wish list, they will go great in my collection

rogerpgvg wrote:

This one is incredible!
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what a Beauty!

has this snowflake pattern ever been painted on a model ?

George: Thanks for the information again. The Belgian is chestnut, but is it sorrel too?

Paige: I like draft horses too, but it has taken me a while to get any Breyer heavy horses. I like them for their robustness, which makes them stand out from my other horses.

Rogério: I definitely like the Andalusian too. It's a sculpt that I am getting more and more fond of.

Annette: I got a Breyer that looks a bit like the snowflake dapple grey horse in the photo. It's in one of the next lots that I'll show here. I can't keep up with my collecting in this topic!

Sorrel is an American term for a certain shade range of chestnut. As far as I can tell from reading photo captions, it's applied to the deeper, more intense, redder ones, where the mane is the same colour as the body. But we don't use the word over here, we'd just say 'bright chestnut' or 'red chestnut' if we needed to be more specific.
The stablemate Belgian is such a light flaxen chestnut, it wouldn't get called sorrel even if it was bred in the USA.

Thanks, George. The different colour names in American and British English make things more complicated, because I usually rely on the American website “Identify your Breyer”.

I bought this playset:
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Obviously, the star is the Hereford bull. I bought the set just for the bull and I don’t regret it, because he is very beautiful:
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There is also a calf:
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Unfortunately, it isn’t a Hereford calf. Breyer has made this calf as a Hereford too, but strangely, not in this set with the bull. I don’t know what breed it is and I don’t have parents for him. The Breyer brown cow doesn’t look quite right to be a parent:
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My Britains Jersey cattle are closest in colour, but they don’t have such thick hair and the calf is rather large for them.
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Also a wobbly rooster, but I already had one, and Breyer always makes the rooster in the same colours. They should sometimes give it different colours as they do with all their other animals.
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And a donkey:
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It has a strange, silvery colour (hard to see in the photos), which looks nice enough, but isn’t so realistic. Here he is with my other, slightly darker coloured donkey:
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Really nice figures

I always love donkeys. I have no idea what is the calf supposed to be but it looks a Scottish one to me.

Yes, if you've got any Highlands in your herd that would make a nice baby to go with them!

I agree the bull is the best of the set, his colouring's done nicely with the shading inside the crisp masked markings, and his details are well painted for something so small. He's also got a really nice, kind face!

rogerpgvg wrote:

Thanks, George. The different colour names in American and British English make things more complicated, because I usually rely on the American website “Identify your Breyer”.

I bought this playset:


Obviously, the star is the Hereford bull. I bought the set just for the bull and I don’t regret it, because he is very beautiful:
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Unfortunately, it isn’t a Hereford calf. Breyer has made this calf as a Hereford too, but strangely, not in this set with the bull. I don’t know what breed it is and I don’t have parents for him. The Breyer brown cow doesn’t look quite right to be a parent:
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Also a wobbly rooster, but I already had one, and Breyer always makes the rooster in the same colours. They should sometimes give it different colours as they do with all their other animals.
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what a wonderful playset! Congratulations Roger! I love the rooster, it's so cute, and the shape is very nice and I like dark bright colour pattern too. First time I have seen this. The bull is magnificent and I love the subtle way his head is turned just a little, it makes him very alive. And his hooves are painted very nicely!
Breyer really do lovely little pieces at 1/32nd scale :)

The Breyer cow looks so beautiful! I shall have to add this beauty to my collection for sure :)

yes, I agree with George, the calf looks very much like a Highland Cow to me, all fluffy and stocky. To put up with the constant drizzle, sleet and chilly weather

Very nice set! I am lucky to own the hereford bull too!

Congratulations! The bull is truly a magnificent piece. The calf could pass as a highland, but where I live in the US in a colder climate our jersey calves tend to be fluffy little guys just like this model. Congrats again!

The Hereford bull is a beautiful model and a really lovely addition-I also have him.Its nice to have a bull with horns as well as many of the American Herefords are polled.The little calf also comes in black with white feet,which I have.I think sometimes, as we know with Breyers identification can pose problems. The brown calf looks a bit like a Limousin to me but this breed tends to black in the USA and the red/brown normal colouring in the UK and Europe,or could just be a generic brown calf!

The calf may indeed be a Highland calf, even though I don't think he really looks like one (body too long, not sufficiently fluffy around his head and he should be cuter). My Highland adult has a different colour:
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The adult is meant to be a steer, so regardless of the colour, he couldn't be a parent.

I'll use the calf as a Limousin. Perhaps he doesn't completely look like one either, but at least I can't tell.

When I mentioned Scottish I was refering to Highland. For me it is still the best option but it is because I don't know many hairy cattle.
I enjoy their difference in colors, especially hooves.

I love the donkeys!

Another bunch … 

Four are from the “Dapples and Dots” set (2018-19). Their dots and dapples stand out and, at the same time, they are also a bit peculiar. 
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Here we have the Valegro, which I didn’t have yet:
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A good looking sculpt (from 2016), but I am not a great fan of the colours. Breyer says that it is dapple bay, but when I see photos of dapple bay horses, they don’t quite look like this. “Identify My Breyer” says that it is fleabitten bay, but I can’t find any photos of fleabitten bay horses. Anyhow, one good thing is that the colour is quite different from my other horses.

Valegro, a Dutch warmblood gelding, is a famous dressage horse that won two gold medals in the 2012 Olympics: [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] Unlike my Stablemate, he is “straight” bay with white stockings. As far as I know, he is still alive.

A dapple grey Arabian (2010 sculpt):
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The colour is a bit similar to the base-coat (?) of this horse that we saw before:
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And another rearing Andalusian (2006 sculpt), which Breyer has made into an Appaloosa:
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As you may realise, I like this sculpt. Not the best colour I have, but again, at least it looks different from my other horses.

And the fourth from the “Dapples and Dots” set, another Appaloosa, based on the “trotting warmblood” (2010) sculpt.
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I am not so keen on this painting style, it looks a bit unnatural. 

This lot included three others:
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I bought this bunch mainly for the bay Clydesdale (2015-17, sculpt 1998), but unfortunately, it is a bit scuffed.
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Bay is normally my favourite colour and it is nice enough, but surprisingly, I prefer the dun version:
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Also a Shetland pony (2015-17, sculpt 1998). It looks strange to me, but perhaps that’s because American Shetlands look different from British Shetlands. I am not so keen on it, because it is too large and the mane looks peculiar. It’s a bit scuffed as well. Here with a Britains Shetland pony, which looks much more typical:
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Finally, a beautiful palomino standing foal (2013-17, sculpt 2006). Perfect for my palomino thoroughbred.
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And let's not forget the teenager. I think he is by Breyer, but I haven't been able to find out from which set he is.
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Horses surely gained a special protagonism in your collection. I still remember when you were not familiar with Stablemates.
They are very tempting, I know it, I also almost started collecting them.
I wonder why Clydesdales are usually replicated with more energetic poses than Shires. It is not a rule but a tendency. I agree the dun version is more beautiful, maybe also because it is less glossy but the bay is much more typical to the breed.
Really unusual Shetland, it almost has an Icelandic character in its pose and design. American Shetlands are not that large, I guess, I think the Shetland derived Pony of the Americas is larger reaching 14 hands according to Wikipedia.
If you ever find a very small Shetland, you can also use it as a miniature Shetland, they're tiny.

American Shetlands are very different in proportion, more like a miniature horse, with longer slimmer legs and lighter builds. They look like someone tried to create a tiny Morgan or Saddlebred, and they're quite a lot taller in the process - here's an example with some handlers for scale.
Real Shetland Shetlands are built like mini draft horses, with the best (generally island-bred, or from island-bred lines) having short but thick legs, deep bodies, and wide chests.
This mould does have a little of both in there, it's got longer lighter legs than what I'd class as a good Shetland pony, but you do see a lot of the taller and less stocky ones in real life in the UK, so it's not wrong, either.

The clydesdale is lovely, a shame you didn't get a perfect one, that's always a risk with mixed second-hand lots - and it always seems to be the one we like best which has the marks! But the damage doesn't look too drastic, I'm not even sure I'd have noticed it if you hadn't pointed it out.

The resist-dapples are a tricky one to explain in terms of real colours, I haven't got that model (my bay one is the first release, the portrait of the real Valegro) but I'd be tempted to go with either snowflake appaloosa (here - or a lot of tetrarch spots (here)

Neither are a perfect match, on the snowflake pattern the spots are usually whiter than on the Stablemate - his pale bits look more beige than white - and with the tetrarch spotting, the rest of the coat has usually started to go grey at least a bit before the spots show, so it isn't right that his bay is so bay.
But the paintjob definitely resembles either of these mottled, blotchy, spotting patterns better than the dappling they intended it as!

The valegro I agree is an odd artistic effect, not to my taste. But the others are very lovely. Congrats on all!

Roger wrote:

Horses surely gained a special protagonism in your collection. I still remember when you were not familiar with Stablemates.

Yes, I said I didn't like them!

George wrote:

American Shetlands are very different in proportion, more like a miniature horse, with longer slimmer legs and lighter builds. They look like someone tried to create a tiny Morgan or Saddlebred, and they're quite a lot taller in the process - here's an example with some handlers for scale.

They indeed look very different.

George wrote:

The resist-dapples are a tricky one to explain in terms of real colours, I haven't got that model (my bay one is the first release, the portrait of the real Valegro) but I'd be tempted to go with either snowflake appaloosa (here - or a lot of tetrarch spots (here)

Thanks for that. Yes, it looks closer to a snowflake appaloosa.

Saarlooswolfhound wrote:

The valegro I agree is an odd artistic effect, not to my taste. But the others are very lovely. Congrats on all!

Thanks!

rogerpgvg wrote:

Another bunch … 

Here we have the Valegro, which I didn’t have yet:
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A dapple grey Arabian (2010 sculpt):
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Finally, a beautiful palomino standing foal (2013-17, sculpt 2006). Perfect for my palomino thoroughbred.
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what wonderful horses, congratulations Roger!

the palomino foal is such a beauty, just look at that little nose being held up in the air :)

and I love the pose of Valegro, especially at the great angle you've taken this shot above ^ looks superb! the coat is interesting too

and I can see the similarities with the snowflakes ad the grey horse. Lovely running pose it has

Thank you, Annette!

Now something a bit different. I was keen to get the Stablemates companions white sitting cat, but I had to buy a complete hospital to get it:
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You must think I am crazy, but honestly, I bought the hospital for a price I thought I would need to get just the cat. And it came with a few other animals:
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Here is the white cat together with the Siamese cat I got before:
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Interestingly, the white cat is slightly larger than the Siamese, they don’t seem to have come from the same mould.

Also a white-grey standing stock horse, here with my other standing stock horses.
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A black scrambling foal too, shown with my other scrambling foal:
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And a donkey. It’s very similar to the first Breyer donkey I got. The new one is on the right:
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And I was keen to get the brown goat too, but I forgot to take a separate photo, so I’ll just have to zoom in:
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The hospital is great, a wonderful toy to play with. But it occupies a lot of space and I don’t think I’ll display it on my shelves, so I'll have to sell it.
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You got a nice batch of animals there, for the price you'd have spent on just the one cat!

Rather strange that the cat's sculpt is so similar, but different - it looks as if they've somehow re-made the mould between releases, like a knockoff of their own product

The donkey is my favourite, though they're very similar they're different enough to need both releases if you're collecting! From what I see on IdentifyYourBreyer, the hospital building roof changes colour several times over the years it's been sold, and that might mean the accompanying animals' paintwork varies too?
My donkey looks more like your first one, but I got her second hand in a mixed lot which didn't include the building, so I can't say what colour roof she came with