Collections within My Collection: Steha Leihas

 My introduction to Steha Leihas happened very early in my hobby life. 

Fourth grade. 

My friend Bobbie had an unusual model in her collection that her grandparents had given her.

She named him Ross, and he had a hair mane and tail and wheels in his hooves so he could roll across the floor. (Not gonna lie, I have had fun rolling both of my Stehas across my desk!)

I learned years later that Ross was a Steha Lieha, imported from West Germany, and most likely distributed by Breyer. (Photo from Google Images.)

I thought he was gorgeous, and had kept my eyes open ever since, hoping to find one just like him.

 I looked a very long time.  It wasn't until 2017 that I finally found my own "Ross," only this time as a black circus horse. 

Nearly pristine, he also had his original "Steha Made in West Germany" label on his belly. I was thrilled!

I started actively looking for more Steha Leiha circus horses. I have found a lot of Rosses and several more circus horses, but that flocking on the body is fragile and easily damaged. Manes get messy and even pulled out, and tack disappears. And, the price for a Steha Leha even in poor condition is high.

I kept searching and in 2021 I found another one, one in good enough condition to justify the seller's asking price.

Unlike the black Steha, he has some flaws and someone had pulled all the green feathers off his saddle pad. His saddle is also too far back, but I chose to leave it there rather than risk damaging the flocking by repositioning it.

For a white flocked piece this old, I think he looks remarkably good for his age.

Their manes

and their tails are lovely which makes me wonder, 

did some little girl or boy brush them when they played with them? A thought that makes me smile.

The dapples on the white Steha are large and even comical. They remind me of pencil top eraser prints.

To protect both pieces, I have them loosely covered with plastic bags that are open on one end for some air circulation. I also have them on shelves that do not receive direct sunlight.  

I am not actively looking for more Stehas, although if I found the circus Steha in another color, I'd be interested. In the meantime, I am happy to have these two in my collection.

50th Anniversary: Pawnee Stables

In 1966 at the start of school, my 4th grade teacher put up a line of zoo animals on the bulletin board, all different and all with our names written on them. I was disappointed when I saw that my name was on the giraffe - I wanted the zebra since it was horsey. The zebra went to Bobbie Sue, a new girl in our school. 

Bobbie Sue and I became friends and, along with another girl named Carol, they were my first horse-loving friends. They also started collecting like me, and soon we were getting together on Saturdays and having shows and making tack.

Bobbie Sue on the left and Carol on the right. 

We decided that our now blossoming stables needed names, and for reasons I no longer remember, used the names of Native American tribes. Bobbie was Apache Stables, Carol chose Cherokee Stables, and I became Pawnee Stables.

We even made "brands" that we used as symbols for our stables.

Of course, our stables had to be located in real western towns. I remember poring over a map of Colorado looking for a horsey/western sounding town to use as the home of my stables. The towns and cities in my father's atlas were tiny and abbreviated, so when I saw a dot labeled "Pagosa Sprs," I assumed that meant "Pagosa SPURS" - the perfect town for my stable!

It was years before I learned the real name of the town was Pagosa SPRINGS, not Spurs!

This pretty Lenox Appaloosa is named Pagosa Spurs in honor of the original town for my stables.

Even back in elementary school I was starting to play with fabrics and hand embroidery. Not only did we make halters, bridles, and saddles for our horses - I embroidered coolers out of my mother's sewing scraps. You can see the Pawnee Stables symbol on Sham's.

Bobbie had an unusual model in her collection that her grandparents had given her. She named him Ross, and he had wheels in his hooves and could roll across the floor. I learned years later that he was a Steha Lieha imported from Germany and most likely distributed by Breyer. (Photo from Google Images.)

 In 2017 I found my own "Ross," only this time as a circus horse. I looked a long time - Stehas are so hard to find in good condition but this guy is nearly pristine.

It wasn't long before Pawnee Stables had taken over several shelves - I had dolls who cared for, trained, and rode the horses, a lounge where they all gathered at the end of the day, and more. I'm going to see if I can pull those things out of storage (no more lifting restrictions for me!) and when I do, I'll show you some other parts of Pawnee Stables.

Don't forget to comment if you want to participate in the first anniversary giveaway!