My Breyer Stablemates: G1 Drafter and another Appaloosa

The distinction between pony and horse seems rather arbitrary, as it is just based on height (usually 147 cm shoulder height) and a pony can become a horse and vice versa.

Wikipedia says that Icelandic horses are normally between 132 and 142 cm shoulder height, which is pony-sized, but this website says that their size "can vary considerably, from just about 130 cm on highest point of withers, to over 150 cm. The average size of horses shown in breeding evaluation is now at 142 cm to the withers which is considerably taller than 30 years ago."

The tallest Icelandic horse is 157 cm: Tallest Icelandic

The Stablemate is 4.5 cm at the hip (144 cm), so as George already said, it's actually acceptable for a large Icelandic horse.

Great additions again and am loving the Draught horse and the Appaloosa!

Great additions again and am loving the Draught horse and the Appaloosa!

Susanne would NOT appreciate Icelandics being called ponies. :) The term is indeed quite arbitrary, and for me it doesn't really matter. They are all HORSES to me, some just smaller than others, and some different behaviors. For instance, we all know that smaller dog breeds often act different from larger dogs, so mentally we categorize them as different things but they are still the same animal. Anyhow, I really enjoyed reading all the comments. Including how to make your pony taller or shorter!

Anywho... congrats on all the new models Roger! Several lovely ones there. I also like the drafter!

rogerpgvg wrote:

Let’s have a look at the contents of this Mystery Foal Surprise box made between 2018 and 2020:
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rogerpgvg wrote:

Three horses that I bought individually. First, an Icelandic horse:
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oh the foal surprise set is very nice! I love the blue eyed foal. Photos never do justice to the cute tiny size of a 1/32nd model. It really is a tiny little foal, such a beauty. Well done Roger!
And the Andalusian has gorgeous colours. I really like the prehistoric type of colourations in animals (it seems that way to me:D )

and congratulations on getting such a beauty - with the Icelandic horse!
I never knew about the tolt so I am learning all the time on this forum!
These little models are all beauties!

just a thought - regarding the shiny silvery type coat of the draughter - it reminds me of the super silvery sheen on the light coloured Akhal Tekes!

Two Collectibulls, the last Breyers in my parcel from the US. I have to say I am not so fond of “Nightlife”:
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It’s rather glossy, rather black. It reminds me of the glossy bulls that you can find in Spanish souvenir shops. It’s also quite large, too large for 1:32 scale.
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It’s made of a material that is different from both the Stablemate horses (cellulose acetate) and the Stablemate companion animals (PVC). It doesn’t really help the appearance because it is very smooth.
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I am much happier with “Blueberry Wine”. In fact, this is the best bull in my collection! In contrast to Nightlife, it is made of PVC, painted matte and a much better size for 1:32 scale. I like the shading and the black dots on its body. Great pose too, although it is best appreciated from below on a high shelf.
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It didn’t come with a cowboy, so I’ve taken the cowboy from “Jumpstart”.
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Here are all my Collectibulls: Nightlife, Blueberry Wine and Jumpstart.
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Nice bulls

Superb bull models! I don't wish to alarm you as I am in no means an expert, but I wonder if your Nightlife is repainted or a very early/late run? Because mine is not nearly that glossy and I have had it for years (my current model is technically a replacement but my original was the same as this). 
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Rollercoaster is the same mould but similar paintwork (slight changes)
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That's very interesting. I bought Nightlife and Blueberry Wine together, both in PBR boxes. The boxes were a bit battered, but my impression was that they hadn't been opened. Also, Nightlife's plastic has a very different feel, probably suggesting that it was made differently rather than repainted.

Then I would suggest it was a particular run of the figure (very early or very late?).

According to IdentifyYourBreyer, Nightlife has two different item numbers, but it doesn't mention any difference between the releases (usually if it's a single run versus the same horse in a boxed set, they detail what other items were included under the alternate item number, so I'd assume they'd have the same info for bull releases)

If you've kept the boxes, check the item number near the barcode to see which year yours was from, here's the page :

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Maybe they changed plastic and/or packaging when the item numbers swapped?

Very nice! I especially love Blueberry Wine. Congrats!

Thank you all! It sounds plausible that my Nightlife was an early or late run of the model. Perhaps early, as you'd hope they improved it rather than made it worse. Are all your Collectibulls made of PVC, Paige?

I'll check the number on the box; I need to find it behind the sofa

Wonderful new additions to your wonderful stablemate collection! You have convinced me with this thread that I eventually must find one of the Andalusian stallions for mine, it has such a well done face. I also love the drafter, his color reminds me of the traditional sized Theo and how they used the metallic paint to create the roan color. The blanket on Gale is really nicely painted, even if she has some eyes.

Except for sculpts that have only been used for special runs, I have managed to find all post-G1 Stablemate sculpts . However, there was still one missing: the Cantering Warmblood. Not the most exciting model, but it isn’t bad either and it was hard to resist buying it when I found it in this lot:
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Here is the Cantering Warmblood:
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This Stablemate was first issued in 2006 and this red roan version was made between 2012 and 2017. It isn’t rare, more by chance that this is the last one I got.
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Another Drafter too:
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This dapple grey version isn’t so exciting either, but I am quite happy to have another drafter.

And two Tennessee Walking Horses. One is also dapple grey, but darker than the Drafter.
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The other one is a light grey horse. White isn’t usually my favourite Stablemate colour and I am not so keen on ribbons, so I was surprised that I really like this one.
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The shading and the blaze look great and the ribbon gives this otherwise monochromatic horse some colour.
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Now that I have all the post-G1 sculpts that aren’t special runs, perhaps I’ll slow down collecting Stablemates. We’ll see …

Congrats on getting a representative of each! I love the dapple drafter, I think he is one of my favorite molds from these middle years. I agree also that the gray face is very nice with that blaze on the Tennessee Walker. I really like all the colors you got in this group, in fact.

(I see no reason to slow down )

I think the reason the grey TWH works so well is cos he's actually painted, not bare plastic with a little bit of black spray for face and feet, but painted white all over as the base coat then the shading applied on top of that, even a little on the shoulders and flanks - it's subtle but it's there.

The cantering warmblood mould is one of my favourites from the G3 batch, I'm surprised it has taken you so long to end up with one as they've done it in loads of colours and they're often in mixed batches cos they've been regular runs and in playsets.

It's interesting (well, maybe only to Stablemate fans with too much time on their hands ) that the chestnut roan warmblood was released in two different sets, supposedly the same horse in each, but we can actually tell them apart.
The one from the Horse & Rider set looks slightly different to the one in the Show Stoppers set of four horses. I'd guessed yours was probably the Show Stoppers version because that grey TWH was also in the set, so it seems likely whoever was selling them second hand had bought them together in the first place. Then when I went to check the pictures on my blog post, your horse definitely matches my one from that set.
You can see some comparison shots I posted there, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] (last horse on the page so scroll down to find it)

Jill wrote:

Congrats on getting a representative of each! I love the dapple drafter, I think he is one of my favorite molds from these middle years. I agree also that the gray face is very nice with that blaze on the Tennessee Walker. I really like all the colors you got in this group, in fact.

(I see no reason to slow down )

I like the Drafter mould, but I am more a bay and buckskin lover than black and white. On the other hand, it's good to have variation in colour, they shouldn't all be bay or buckskin. I am actually looking forward to collecting less so that I can enjoy my collection more rather than spending time on buying and cataloguing them. It's better for my wallet too.

George wrote:

I think the reason the grey TWH works so well is cos he's actually painted, not bare plastic with a little bit of black spray for face and feet, but painted white all over as the base coat then the shading applied on top of that, even a little on the shoulders and flanks - it's subtle but it's there.

The cantering warmblood mould is one of my favourites from the G3 batch, I'm surprised it has taken you so long to end up with one as they've done it in loads of colours and they're often in mixed batches cos they've been regular runs and in playsets.

It's interesting (well, maybe only to Stablemate fans with too much time on their hands ) that the chestnut roan warmblood was released in two different sets, supposedly the same horse in each, but we can actually tell them apart.
The one from the Horse & Rider set looks slightly different to the one in the Show Stoppers set of four horses. I'd guessed yours was probably the Show Stoppers version because that grey TWH was also in the set, so it seems likely whoever was selling them second hand had bought them together in the first place. Then when I went to check the pictures on my blog post, your horse definitely matches my one from that set.
You can see some comparison shots I posted there, [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] (last horse on the page so scroll down to find it)

I guess there had to be one that was last. I recently bought some of the rarer moulds in the US. I could have bought a Cantering Warmblood too, but I thought I'd probably find it in the UK. Thanks for the information about the two sets. It may be a rather trivial fact, but when I catalogue my animals, I always try to find the exact production years because it gives me a historical perspective on my collection. And good to know that it is a little bit rarer than I thought .

A few that I got a while ago but forgot to show you. I shouldn’t miss them out because they are good.

Another Drafter. This one is from the Gentle Giants set (2015-17, sculpt 2010). A nice colour.
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Here he is with the Drafter from the Horse Crazy Surprise 4:
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And another Valegro. It’s the original Valegro Stablemate from 2016-17, which I was keen to get.
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Also a nice colour, but it’s very similar to the recent Mystery Horse Surprise Valegro:
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The original Valegro is on the left, the Mystery Surprise on the right. The main difference is that the original has a small white patch on his belly, which the real Valegro (an Olympic champion dressage horse) also had:
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The bay paint is also thinner on the original Valegro, but that may just be my figure. The Mystery Surprise is painted better in my opinion.

And finally, a “Friesian”. It is white-grey and was sold as a Cob as part of a Stablemates 4 Gift Collection in 2009-11 (sculpt 2006).
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I keep saying that I am normally not so keen on white horses, but I have recently found so many that I like that I should probably change my opinion. This is another good one. Here with the opposite colour, a real Friesian.
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Wonderful valegro!

Great additions,especially the Draught horse!

you must have a huge herd of horses by now Roger ?! it's wonderful to see all these individual figures because Breyer is a mystery to me!

I like the Valegro models. I like the browny coat of the original one, and the white eye of the newer one and his fawn coloured fetlock area. It's a nice touch I think with all the dark on the coat.

I know these stablemates are just a tad bigger than the 1/32nd Britains.
How do their foals compare to Britains ? I don't have any foals yet but I do have 3 stablemates.

Thank you

Thanks, Alain, Taylor, Annette and Andreas! The Stablemate foals are generally just a tiny bit larger than the Britains. I'll show a comparison when I have some time.