Most people think Breyer model horses are just pretty horse figurines that are found in almost every horse crazy girls’ rooms but they is so much more you can do with them.... 

Showing

There’s two types of showing you can do with your Breyer model horses, photo showing and Live showing. Photo showing is where you try and make a photo of your model look as real as possible by either using a background, footing and props or taking a photo of your Breyer model outside in your garden or paddock.

There’s two ways to enter photo shows and that’s either online or mail-in shows where you send printed copies of your photos to the show holder to judge. Live showing is where the Breyer models are judged in person and these shows are tougher than photo showing as your model needs to be free of any flaws such as chips or rubs in the paint and breaks and cracks where these flaws can be creatively hidden in photo showing.

Before you can show your Breyer models, you will need to give them a name and also give them a colour, breed and gender so the judge can judge your model the best that they can. The best way to find out about any upcoming shows is to be a member of one of the many model horse forums such as Paradise Ridge Model Horse Club (www.prmhc.proboards.com) or model horse advertising sites such as Model Horse Sales Pages (www.modelhorsesalespages.com)

Customising

Do you love your Breyer model but would love to have it in a different colour?

Then why not customise it! Customising is where you change something on your Breyer model from something simple to etching or painting some simple markings to something more drastic where you reposition the horse into a different pose such as from standing into trotting or rearing or you could even give it a brushable mohair mane and tail.

Most Live shows and some photo shows have Workmanship classes where your customising skills are judged on parts like correctness in conformation and paint finish quality. Common mediums used to paint models include acrylics, powdered pastels and oil paints.

Performance

Performance is where you tack up your Breyer model and make a scene depicting an equestrian discipline such as dressage, jumping, reining, carriage driving etc. Most tack used on Breyer models is just as detailed as the tack you would use on your real horse, only on a smaller scale. You can even make the tack for your Breyer models yourself with supplies easily found online. 

Education

Showing and collecting Breyer models horses isn’t just fun, it’s also educational too! Collecting is a great way to learn about different horse breeds and the breed’s standards such as conformation and allowed colours and also to learn about colour genetics and colour features of different colours like the appaloosa. Most collectors have learnt more about horses during their time collecting Breyer model horses than in any other time with horses. 

Pedigree Assignment

Ever dreamed of having a horse by a certain stallion but could never afford it? When you do pedigree assignments with your Breyer model horses, you can give them the perfect bloodlines of all the horses you dream of owning and you can even “breed” them too! As you can see, there’s so much you can do with your Breyer model horses, the only limit is your imagination.