I have been collecting metal horses since I was four (perhaps I should give my parents credit for starting my collection, since I had no money) and I still have not found all of the wonderful items I have set my heart on owning.

My collection began with a small cast iron horse made by Hubley Metal Manufacturing; (see above) the same Hubley that made all those wonderful old metal toys every little boy and girl wanted! I still have that little horse, and since then, I have continued to build my metal stable, bit by bit.

There are many categories of metal horses to consider, but today I will discuss the wonderful metal western horses that were created by great equine artists for the big metal companies like Dodge or KO, the ones that became so popular from the mid 1940's and stayed popular until the end of the 1960's. By the end of the 60's, big plastics companies like Hartland and Breyer had overrun the metal manufacturers in the production of beautiful, lifelike horse statues that anyone could afford. And joy of all joys, the newer plastics were not as likely to get broken if a child touched them!

A child could play with them to their hearts' content, and if the tail broke off, a bit of glue would salvage the problem. Not so with metal horses! Because most metal horses of this genre were created of semi-hollow metal (very heavy, but still hollow), there were no available powerful glues to fix up nasty boo-boos. Most of these horses that were broken went the way of all scrap metal...to the trash. And so, many thousands of these precious old metal creations vanished from the world, leaving only those that had been carefully shuttered away in glass fronted cabinets, tucked gently into crates when family estates were sold off, or preserved in museums, antique shops, or the homes of horse aficionados. To find one of these intact, with finish still pristine, and the lifelike reins and saddles still in good shape is extremely rare.

One of the world's most noted horse artists and sculptors, Gladys Brown Edwards, was commissioned by Dodge Metal foundries to sculpt a line of horse art that included figurines of foals and adult horses in smaller sizes that could grace ashtrays, pipe holders, desk sets and more, plus large horse-head wall plaques and bookends, not to mention trophy tops, western horse statues, and more!

This lovely little Dodge ashtray holds a GBE sculpture.  It is on eBay now.

The Bookends above were just one of Gladys Brown Edwards' numerous sets.  The set of wild stallions below was pulled from sale because Dodge thought the horses looked "mean".  These are the rarest of the GBE bookends.

The Desk Figurine below was used as a decoration, a paperweight, and sometimes, as a trophy for gaited horse competitions.

Dodge, especially, favored the most lifelike and beautifully made horse models; the horses powerful, elegant, with perfect conformation and heads held high.

The desk figurine above was sold as a bareback statue, as well as with a cowboy rider twirling a lariat over his head.  Another version had the saddled horse without the cowboy rider.  Both of these were recently on eBay.

The standing western horse statues are seen far more often, though.  These had fine legs and hooves, alert ears, flowing manes and elegant long tails curving gracefully down to touch the hock of the hindmost leg. You could see the finely detailed eyes and all the elegant detail of the molded-on bridles and martingales and breast collars. Some even showed veins in the face, and fine detail down to the finely worked metal bit shanks that had chain and wire reins attached, just like on the real thing! And many had removable saddles that looked so amazingly real, it took a horse lover's breath away!

This gorgeous first generation GBE western horse is owned by Carolyn Martin, whose books on metal horses are available on eBay.

Yes, finding one of these is a welcome rarity, and buying one is almost as difficult as finding one.

You can find these horses in antique shops, at estate sales, public auctions, and sometimes, even on eBay. Many have lost their wire reins and even their wonderful saddles. And when you do find them, they are bid accordingly...they cost far more than their distant cousins, the later mass-manufactured carnival horses, clock horses, and copies of copies that are fun to collect, but still not quite the "real thing".

Recently, one fine example of a Gladys Brown Edwards horse in reasonably good shape went for well over $200. I saw a P. DiNapoli horse go for about $140. A Trigger school trophy by Estes Tartar went for over $200, as well!

But you can always find the later copies...the carnival horses and larger clock horses that show up a lot more often, at far more reasonable prices. (The clock horses are normally no longer standing on the clock base, and the bolts that held them in place have been cut off.)  Keep in mind, when you are looking for good earlier copies, that the most realistic and most finely detailed ones are worth more, both as a collector's piece, and as an investment.

Look for horses that look REAL, not like a caricature.

 Horses with removable saddles are not always the best copies, although removable saddles are a plus when looking for the older horses. If the saddle looks like it sits an inch above the horse, it might be from a different horse, or may have been molded slightly off kilter. Some of these older horses were left with a gaping "pour hole" in the middle of their back under the saddle. This sometimes pokes up and prevents the saddle from settling well onto the horse's back. Although this is not aesthetically pleasing, it denotes that this is one of the older molds.

When looking for good metal horse buys, remember:

the more natural the stance, the more natural the set of the head and tail, and the more realistic the muscles and the saddle and bridle, the higher the value to a collector. If the hooves are just flat clubs at the end of shapeless legs, you have a very poor copy of a copy of a copy. Look for slim, ridge free legs and naturally shaped hooves. Look for tails that flow naturally from a nice crest to a point closer to the rear legs, not one where the tail sticks out like the horse was just jabbed with a cattle prod. If the horse is trotting, or moving, the stiffly flared out tail is desirable, but not on calmly standing horses. Look for long slim natural looking necks, and well made heads with clean pointed ears. As these horses got copied and re-molded time and time again, the necks, ears, legs and heads got less well defined and got shorter, thicker, and fatter. Visible mold-lines can be seen plainly on many of the fourth, fifth, sixth (and onward) generations.

Note the mold lines and thicker ears and legs on the gold-colored copies to the right.  The darker colored original is on the far left.  This example shows the original and three later copies.

Look for molded-on saddles that look like the real thing.

Some of the metal artists who later added the molded on saddles may have known what real saddles looked like, but there were many more who had never even seen a western saddle!

Even collectors who have no idea what great horse conformation looks like can tell if a copy looks "natural". Some Hong Kong and Japan copies of wonderful trophy craft molds have similar shapes, but the front legs are set way back under the barrel of the horse, making these copies look front heavy and awkward. However, I have both types in my collection, just as I have every copy made from a copy made from a copy, all lined up in comparative order so that people can see the transformation process. A collector should not exclude the poorer copies that show the history of an item from inception to final pirate copy. :)

To see many examples of the originals and the copies, simply page through Carolyn Martin's books on metal horses, always available on eBay when you search for "metal horses". Although not every metal horse is in there, facsimiles of the majority are shown in high detail. The price guides are not based on antique sales, but rather on eBay's ending sale prices for many of these, but she gives an excellent idea of what you will end up paying for some of the better ones.

Let me know if this has helped. And have fun collecting on eBay!