Variations in Flockies!

 Hello readers!

Today I want to talk about my favorite mold- the Saddlebred Weanling! 

Though she is not the most popular mold, for some reason I have been drawn to her for quite some time. I probably made the decision to conga her maybe about 10 years ago? But by that time I had already added several to my collection, including one original liver chestnut, Kentuckiana, Burnt Sienna, the palomino SR, the palomino pinto Limited Edition, the black JCPenny SR, and I think Raven by then maybe? Over the course of the next couple of years, I added most of the others quite easily, and I now own just about all of the large(r) production pieces on the mold- with duplicates of Burnt Sienna, the bay pinto SR, the alabaster SR, several variations of the original liver chestnut, and the main focus of today's post- the chestnut rocking horse. 

The Chestnut Rocker has the distinction of being one of the only, if not the only regular run line Flockie that Breyer commissioned from Riegseckers. Because there are a lot more of her that were made, it seems that led to more variations over time than you'd see in a smaller batch made for a SR (though the Purple Flockie SR seems to have an intriguing amount of variation on it's own, but since I don't own one of those yet, I'll focus on what I do know for now). 

The two most common variants involve both eye color and rocker color. Each model will have some combination of brown or blue eyes and a yellow rocker or a brown rocker (shades seem to vary on the browns). The two most common combinations are blue eyed yellow rocker and brown eyed brown rocker - both will be shown here. However, I have come across photos of some examples which swap the colors; blue eyed brown rocker and brown eyed yellow rocker. From what I can tell, both of these are far less common than the first two. I don't know if the differences in eye and rocker color were requested by Breyer, if it was an idea from Riegseckers' end, or if it came about due to the eyes and paint colors for the rockers they had available at the time. 

Here are my two girls- the common variations. As an added mystery, I've noticed that their blazes are different as well! This is something I had never noticed before, though it could be due to the most common angle to photograph these gals being from the side. It's hard to tell from the photos I've collected for personal reference over the years, since many of them are small, but I'm seeing at least one brown/brown with a larger blaze like my blue/yellow. The blazes on the original liver chestnut non-flockie vary quite heavily as well, so I'm not sure why this was such a shock to me! 

Regarding the brown rockers in particular- I've noticed there are two shades of brown that they show up in, either this "dark chocolate" like color on mine, or a more reddish "dark cinnamon". 

Sock heights- because these are all hand finished pieces, the height of the socks/stockings seems to vary. My brown/brown has socks on the shorter side, while my blue/yellow has taller than average stockings. 

Unlike with the purple special run, whom I hope to discuss in the future, the body as well as the mane and tail color don't seem to vary too heavily on this run. There are very slight differences between mine, with the blue/yellow being slightly redder in both m/t and body. 

(Both of these gals will be getting peroxide/UV treatments on their whites at some point now that I've noted that technique worked on the Clydesdale Mare!)

The tack is the one thing about this run that is consistent no matter what else changes. It is always light tan in color. The saddle pad is yellow felt, and the bridle consists of a strip of leather attached at the corners of the mouth with circular rings. I've seen at least one attempted restoration for sale in which the person doing the work "conditioned" the leather, which turned it a dark brown. I had considered purchasing the horse, but I am not confident that I'd be able to get the dark staining off the saddle. 

More fun facts! The Chestnut Rocking Horse is one of the only models to be sold in the specialty box it was originally sold in. Kipper, a slightly later 80's experiment by Breyer, was sold in the leftovers of this box. It is a distinct green on the back and bottom, with a short platform of the green cardboard to showcase the model. All the other sides are clear plastic. The back of the box features a sizing chart of Breyer scales (with some curious mistakes). Here is a shot I have from a live show several years ago, though the occupant of that particular box was a Kipper, I think. 

(Placeholder while I try and find the picture I KNOW I took!)

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed today's deep dive into the Chestnut Rocking Horse! I'll get that photo added if I can find it. 

*BreyerFest shipping status- still no updates. Bleh.