Someone is Missing!

 I love May! The pastures are lush and green and fully able to support the herd, the temperatures are warmer, and the insects are still small in numbers and don't bother the horses. (Or me.)

 I always count noses when I arrive at the barn, just as a safety precaution.

 Hokey, Abby, and Diablo were all together in the southwest pasture

 with Trouble nearby and grazing a little ways away from them.

But there was no sign of Sultanna anywhere. And while it is normal for Hokey to wander off on his own to a different part of the pasture, it is not normal for Suntanna to be gone. She is the youngest herd member and the lowest in its hierarchy, and is usually right on Abby's heels, following her everywhere.

None of the horses seemed distressed by her absence, and Abby came right up for her treats and to say "hello" all by herself.

As I handed out the peppermints, I scanned the other pastures to see if I could catch a glimpse of the missing mare. But judging by the horses' behavior and the lack of any calls from Sultanna, I was pretty sure that she was not on the property.

I decided to text Tim and check and see if she had been sold or moved somewhere. He responded right away and what he said gave me a clue as why she was not at home.

Looks like we may have a foal on our hands next spring!

"Aunt Abby" sure has a nice ring to it, doesn't it?

Lancelot - Color Repeat?

As I looked at photos of Breyer's new  web special Lancelot in Appaloosa, I had a nagging feeling that I had seen that color done before, and fairly recently, too, on another model.

Photo from Breyer web site.

Then I remembered - Lancelot in Appaloosa was very similar to Lucy, the 2013 Vintage Collectors Club special! (All photos of Lucy are from Identify Your Breyer.)

The text on IYB says that Lucy has brown and black spots.  The matte version has brown spots

while the glossy version has black ones. Lancelot's spots are brown. I have looked at a lot of photos that have been posted online of the Appaloosa Lancelot and have not seen any with black spots so I am assuming that he does not come in a black spotted version. Having said that, with Breyer, you never know!

The paint jobs on both Lucy and Lancelot are really nice, and there have been very few complaints as to quality control (outside of the super small shipping box he came in.)  

I received the blue Lancelot - he is so pretty and has green undertones.

But since I really don't collect Breyer's Classics line, I am sending him to a friend who wanted a blue one.

School's Out!

School's out, and I have made it through my five weeks as the teacher for the middle schoolers at the alternative school. There were lots of ups and downs, tears, and frustrations on my part, but we had some good moments, too. My goal was to get them back in school, and for ten kids, that is going to happen. 

I began with thirteen kiddos, expelled two due to gross violations of the rules for being in the program, and a third left of his own volition. Of the remaining ten kids, I have hopes for them to be successful next year, but it is up to them. 

One of the very best parts of coming out of retirement is that I had a former student of mine working alongside of me.

I was Madeline's teacher for 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade. She is now studying to be a teacher at Purdue University, and so when they told me I could have a classroom assistant, I invited her to apply for the job.  What a treat to work with her! And she is going to be an excellent teacher herself.

It was a proud teacher moment for me when Madeline taught the students origami - something that I introduced her to when she was in my classroom.

The students were absolutely riveted and for many of them, it was an opportunity to be successful at something in school.

Some even took the origami to different levels, experimenting with various sizes of paper as well as making other shapes besides the cranes that Madeline taught them.

The very last day of school was the roughest we'd had in the class for at least a week. The kids were DONE with school and their behavior reflected that. It was a constant juggle all day long, and my patience was stretched as thin as I think it has ever been stretched before. One student became so angry at me that I was actually afraid that he was going to hit me at one point as he raised his voice and yelled at me. (I called the principal for help at that point.)

 My desk and things, all packed up for the end of the school year.

As difficult as those five weeks were, I did come to love the students. There were moments when the tough outer exteriors dropped for a few moments and I could see them as simply kids. We even had some laughter - the morning class had a running joke about always being hungry (none of them ate breakfast and so would be hungry an hour into the school day.) It became a fun joke of them begging for food or threatening to use their phones to order something and have it delivered to school. One boy even googled, "What to do when your teacher is starving you" and showed it to me, and we laughed and laughed over that one. So some good moments, some glimmers of who they could be if they would take the chance being offered them and change their focus to better things.

I wrapped up the last day by packing and closing down the classroom after the students left. I am exhausted and drained, and my emotions are mixed. Did I really make any kind of difference in those kids' lives? There was some progress - ten students will be back in school this August, their language was much improved, and they ended the school year far more respectful than they were five weeks ago when I arrived. 

Tough as it was, I'm glad that I took the position. I hope that perhaps the kids saw a different side of life and know that I cared about them. My fingers are crossed that they will find better success next year than they did this one.

It's now up to them.

Rearranging the Minis

I am still transitioning my collection from the old, random brown shelves to the new IKEA Billy shelves. (Two were damaged when I opened the boxes, and I am currently waiting on replacements to be delivered.)

I also decided to discontinue using these tabletop display cases. While I love having my favorite Hagen Renaker minis out where I can see them, they really eat the shelf space.

Since I have decided to keep the small curio cabinet in the office, even though it does not match the white Billy shelves, I thought that I could transfer them into it, still have them close and accessible, but also have them in a place more protected from damage than they have been.

The first thing I did as I tackled the project was to sort out the pieces that I wanted to keep but did not want to have out on display. That included some sentimental pieces (the dogs and my grandmother's donkey planter)...

 ... and what is left of my unicorn and Pegasus minis. (Those may be passed on to Pony Pals Mila and Cambria when they're a little older.)

Next I sorted out pieces that I no longer wanted to keep and am ready to pass on as show donations or gifts to fellow collectors. That included a few Hagen Renakers, some Loza minis, and a couple of sheep.

I was pleased with the finished product. Pieces are harder to see as they are doubled and tripled on the shelves depending on their size, but they're safely stored and I can easily get whatever I need when I wish.

The circus minis, both Hagen Renaker as well as knock-offs, are on the top shelf.

 The next two shelves are other assorted HR minis.

Next is a shelf of the few Breyer Stablemates that I own, Sparkle and Glitter kitties, and some Dalmatians, and then an eclectic mix of everything else that I am not yet ready to store away.

I am pleased with the results, but now I need to figure out what to do with these two tabletop display cases. I'd thought to give them to Goodwill, but I may see if some hobbyist or show could use them as a donation.

Is This Related to the Other Glossy Greys?

As I was researching and writing the blog entries on the early glossy grey Appaloosa color, I went through the pieces in my collection looking for examples in that color. I came across this guy and paused.

My Brahma Bull sure looks like a belly band version of glossy grey Appaloosa that is missing its spots.

According to Nancy Young's book, Breyer Molds and Models 1950 - 1997, the Brahma Bull was first produced in 1955 or 1957 in this color. That predates Breyer's other pieces done in glossy grey Appaloosa and leads me to wonder if Breyer made the decision to use the color in its line of horses and just added spots to make them Appaloosas.

The Family Arabian Stallion was first marketed in the glossy grey Appaloosa color in 1959, several years after the release of the Brahma. The Family Arabian Mare and the Family Arabian Foal followed in 1960. The Proud Arabian Mare was introduced in 1959 in the color as was the In Between Mare. All came AFTER the Brahma.

As far as I can tell, the Brahma Bull was the first piece that Breyer produced in glossy grey. Was his color the inspiration for the glossy grey Appaloosa that first appeared in 1959? I don't have a definitive answer, but I do have a strong suspicion that the two colors are related.

Some More Recent Grey Appaloosas

Breyer used the glossy grey Appaloosa color on later molds, but they were not always glossy. Some were matte, like the Standing Stock Horse Foal.

Produced 1983 - 1986, three versions were made of this piece. They included bald and star faces, and grey or black hooves.

The third version (this piece) has no white markings on its face. It was a special run for Sears and JC Penney in 1983. There is speculation that some of the special runs were also released as regular runs because some collectors report that they bought theirs at brick and mortar stores.

Both the Stock Horse Mare and the Stock Horse Stallion were also available in this color as special runs.

Doesn't the Indian Pony look lovely in glossy grey Appaloosa?

A special run for Sears in 1997, she is the old belly band version of the color.

Mine is one of the pieces that did not receive the heavy gloss it was supposed to; while it is not matte, it is close to it. Her mane and tail have a few black streaks, but they more closely resemble the mane and tail on the glossy grey Appaloosa Fighting Stallion and are mostly grey.

The Balking Mule was put back into production in 1997 after twenty-five years of non-appearance in Breyer's line-up.

Molly was the 1999 Collector's Edition and was limited to a short production run for the first six months of the year.

Breyer advertised the piece by saying they were issuing the Balking Mule in an old style color that was a collector's favorite. The Balking Mule does look nice in it!

In 2013 Breyer released the Stablemate Warmblood Jumper in glossy grey Appaloosa to members of the Vintage Collectors Club. I am not a Stablemate collector, but I do like this guy.

I love his big blobby spots - they are so out of scale, but I find them charming.

Breyer captured that old glossy grey Appaloosa color beautifully when they designed him.

The last piece in my collection that is an example of the color is also from the Vintage Collectors Club.

Levi was a 2014 offering, and he has the cream mane and tail that the Semi Rearing Mustang had.

While not a mold that I like very much, I do like the color on it.

That sums up the pieces that I have in glossy grey Appaloosa in my collection. But, as I was pulling out the pieces that I wanted to write about, I noticed a model that may just be the forerunner to the color. I'm doing some research on it; stay tuned!

Two More 1960s Grey Appaloosa Oldies

Breyer used the glossy grey Appaloosa color on several other molds back in the 1960s.

The Fighting Stallion looks lovely in this color - I think I like it better on this mold than I do glossy charcoal, my favorite color of all. It was produced 1961 - 1966.

The mane and tail on this piece are not black like they are with the Family Arabians. Instead, the Fighting Stallion pieces came with a grey (like mine) or light grey mane and tail.

The face is bald and a very few have pinking on the inside corner of the eye. Mine has three spots on its face.

There is a white belly band and the splash spots vary from very few and limited to the rump to all over the body. Mine has spots on the off side up to behind its ears.

Mine is old enough to have remnants of the old foam hoof and tail pads. (That white circle on the tip of the tail is drainboard patterning.) He's a beautiful piece.

Breyer also produced the Semi-Rearing Mustang in a glossy grey Appaloosa 1961/63 - 1966.

The mane and tail are white instead of black or even grey. (My piece's are a creamy color due to age.)

The color produced on this mold ranged from a light powder grey to a medium dark grey.

The socks are white rather than black or charcoal, and the hooves are pink.

The Appaloosa spots on mine are more extensive than they appear in photographs - his go up to his shoulders with a few high up on the neck and behind his ears.

Breyer continued to produce the grey Appaloosa color (and variations of it) up to very recently. Next we'll have a look at more modern examples of the color.