Mystery Family Arabian Foal

Earlier this summer, I found an unusual Family Arabian Foal. At first glance, I thought it might be the Five Gaiter sorrel version, but it didn't have the bald face.

It was only a couple of dollars so I brought it home to see if I could figure out what it was. I'm still puzzled.

The piece is matte and has a pearly-esque sheen in his right foreleg and from the shoulders up to his head.

Unlike the regular run FAF, his hooves are grey

but the facial stripe is the same. 

I decided to pull out my other two early FAFs in bay and compare the three of them.

From left to right: my glossy carpet herd FAS that I've had since the mid 1960s, a matte bay FAF with USA stamp from early 1970s, and the mystery FAF.

Grey muzzles on the two on the left; the mystery foal has a pink muzzle. All three have the striped face typical of the early releases.

Hoof close-up. Two with black hooves, one with grey.

Black ears on two; brown on the mystery foal. I have debated with myself about this, but I think the ear shape varies - the mystery foal has a more pointed right ear. (There are several ear variations on this mold - they were changed by Breyer several times.) 

I couldn't get a good enough picture of it, but the mystery foal's mane and tail are a very dark brown, not black like the other two. And, the socks on the mystery FAF are shorter, front and back.

A view of the USA stamp under the Breyer stamp on the matte bay from the 1970s. 

The striped face rules out the Five Gaiter sorrel version. So, what did I find?

I think it may be the 1982 SR Holiday release by JC Penney and also sold by Bentley Sales. (Photo from Identify Your Breyer.)

The lack of a USA stamp stumps me, though. The stamp was introduced in the early 1970s; since my piece doesn't have it, that would mean that Breyer had whiteware of the FAF sitting around in the warehouse for about a decade before using it. While that is possible, I don't think it is realistic.

If you can help me ID this mystery foal, please email me at horsiemama8@gmail.com. I'd appreciate any info you can share! And if I do get any more insight on the piece, I'll post an update on the blog.

Stay 'tooned!