50th Anniversary: The Early "Glass Horses"

Back in the 1960s and 1970s, a good place to find Hagen Renakers and other makes of china horses was in a gift or flower shop. Here in Lafayette, we had Bowers Gift Shop. Bowers only carried those chinas that were made in Japan; I was unaware of Hagen Renaker until I read that article in Horse and Rider magazine and saw the photos of Zara and Zilla.

Leslie and I used to stand and look at Bowers' beautiful "glass horses" (hands behind our backs so we didn't break anything!) and wish and dream that they could all come home with us. Some of them did, and I still have almost all of my earliest "glass horses." 

Diamond Dindy, a Lefton, was my favorite foal. He has two leg breaks and a chip on the side of his head, but I only have to pull him out of my china cabinet to feel my heart soften and my eyes get a little misty. I loved Diamond Dindy (and I still do; I teared up just writing that.)

Of course, Diamond Dindy had parents. His father was Black Diamond, a Lefton Saddlebred. Black Diamond was the leader of my glass horse herd. 

The beautiful Falda (a misspelling by me of the name of the horse Falada in the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, The Goose Girl) was Black Diamond's wife and the mother of Diamond Dindy. She was the boss mare in my 1960s herd.

Despite being the size of a Breyer Traditional, Mollasus was a gentle giant. And, when I got Needles, a woodgrain Running Foal and my very first Breyer, she became his mom. (True story - I kept Needles and Mollasus together until about five years ago when I decided that she would be safer in the china cabinet rather than out on the open shelves with my Breyers. Doggone it if I didn't feel a pang separating the two!)

Counterpoint was a sweet, Little Bit sized Saddlebred/ Tennessee walker. His name came from one of my favorite books at the time, Scarlet Royal, by Anne Emery. 

The only pony in the glass horse herd was Bobol. A gift from my friends, Bobbie Sue and Carol, I combined their names to get his. He is one of the only members of my glass horse herd that doesn't have any breaks!

Old Maude wasn't actually mine; she belonged to Leslie and was Leslie's favorite glass horse. The original Old Maude is not in good shape but she is lovingly packed safely away. I bought this one from Karen Beeson because I, too, had loved Old Maude. 

Coming soon: early dolls and tack.

Don't forget to comment if you want to be entered in the first giveaway!