Breyer

Back in 1950, the Breyer® Molding Company, based in Chicago, IL was busy making a wide variety of plastic parts for other companies and the US government. The parts were used in products like airplanes, TVs, radios and swing clocks, just to name a few. One of their clients, MasterCrafter Clock Company, asked them to mold a plastic horse to decorate a mantel clock. The result was Number 57, The Western Horse, Breyer's first model horse. After the models were produced for the clock, MasterCrafter gave the metal mold to Breyer in lieu of payment. As toy and horse collectors across the country learned of the horse's remarkable authenticity, demand grew for other models representing other breeds. And the rest, as they say, is history. In response, Breyer began to produce and market the standing horse model, #57 – Western Horse. In time, the creation and manufacturing of authentic and realistic plastic model animals – especially horses - formed the core of the Breyer business.

In 1984, Reeves International, Inc., a privately held distributor of fine European toys and collectibles, acquired Breyer and relocated the factory to its home base in New Jersey. Reeves International’s strength as a distributor and marketer to the specialty toy and gift markets, combined with the quality and authenticity of the Breyer product, created a formidable combination.

Today, Breyer dominates the model horse market in volume, sales, distribution, innovation and quality. Working in a variety of sizes and materials from plush to resin, Breyer creates unique varieties of model horses for both play and collecting for horse lovers of all ages. Breyer is known for making portrait models of famous horses (like Secretariat and Black Beauty, for example) and each Breyer model is still crafted and decorated by hand. In all, some 20 artisans work on each individual model horse, creating a beautiful, hand-made model horse that is as individual as the horse that inspired it.