Did I get this appaloosa Running Stallion at the same time as the Lying Down Foal?  Were they meant to be a set?  They certainly have identical markings.  I remember having had them for ages, but I can't remember where they came from specifically.  

Running Stallion was sculpted by Chris Hess in 1968, a year before he sculpted Lying Down Foal.  Running Stallion came in three flavors during his first release: black appaloosa (like mine), alabaster, and "charcoal."  (Charcoal is the funny color that, as far as I can tell, Breyer invented for horses in the late 1960s.  It's like a black palomino, basically: black body with white mane and tail.)  Alabaster and Charcoal both ended their runs in 1971, but the black appaloosa continued another 10 years to 1981.

The black appaloosa Running Stallion has the same coat pattern as the black appaloosa Lying Down Foal.  A bald face, and a blanket on the rump which was created by virtue of splattering paint dots on an unpainted portion of the model.  

Running Stallion was later released in a white unicorn model, which I snapped right up with my allowance money.  His horn featured a bit of gold detail on the spiral, which I thought was pretty awesome.  Naturally he fell and the horn snapped off, and I think he lost his goatee as well.  

Running Stallion has the disadvantage of being sculpted in a completely untrue posture.  It looks neat, true, but in reality he would have more than one hoof off the ground at this stage of the gallop.  But I appreciate the fact that he balances fairly well, all things considered.  

This is one of the few molds that I feel really looks dated.  A lot of the older Breyer models, although distinctively "old school Breyer," still have a timeless quality about them. Maybe it's just that the arch of his neck doesn't work with the set of his head, his triangular tail, or that unrealistic gallop posture, but this one just feels terribly out of date to me.

Another odd thing about the Running Stallion is that he's… shall we say "big boned"?  I mean, look at that butt!  Baby got back.  From behind he could easily be mistaken for a draft horse.  And his big round belly hardly seems befitting a horse in such an action pose.  Methinks the Running Stallion maybe should have spent more time running, and less time at the feed bucket.

As with the Lying Down Foal, this is another model that you shouldn't pay too much money for.  Again we buck the trend with antiques pricing, because this is one of the few models that is generally worth less than cover price.  It was such a common model, but it isn't one that people seem to get very sentimental about.  A lot of collectors will gush over, say, the Fighting Stallion - but the Running Stallion is, sad to say, kind of a has-been.

Of course, none of that keeps sellers from slinging around the word "vintage" and pricing their old black appaloosa Running Stallions at $30, $40, even $55 and higher!