I ran across a thread on the Model Horse Blab forum, asking people to show off their Breyer model that's in the worst shape.  That's a tough call for me, since all of my Breyer models are former "carpet herd" models, having been played with and adored half to death when I was just a sprout.  (I don't buy Breyers now; I'm strictly a Breyer voyeur as an adult.)

One of the best candidates for my "worst Breyer" is the three legged Grazing Mare.  This is one of a small handful of models that were passed to me through a friend of my mother who was clearing up her "clutter" back when I was a little girl.  She had loved her Breyers just as much as any other kid, so they were in pretty bad shape by the time they got to me in the first place!

Not that I cared a whit.

This is an old model, one of the original Breyers that was sculpted by Chris Hess and first issued in 1961.  Judging by the age of the woman who gave it to me, I would guess that this particular horse would have been made in the mid 1960s, one of the earlier model years.  It's difficult to say for sure, because the bay Grazing Mare was produced from 1961 to 1980 with (apparently) no significant variations from one year to the next.

When you think about it, the amazing thing is that this Grazing Mare is in such GOOD shape for her age!  She must be around 45 years old, and was heavily played with by two little girls (myself and her original owner).

Her broken front right leg is the most obvious flaw.  I believe that leg was broken when I got her.  (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.  Although admittedly I think I was about six or seven when I got her, so it's entirely possible that I broke the leg.  Many of my Breyers from that time ended up with permanent hard water stains, because I used to play with them in the bath.  True story.)  

Even though there are ways to repair a broken leg, without the missing piece, I figure I basically have zero chance of fixing her.  Even if I did find another mid-1960s Grazing Mare, would I be willing to break off her leg to fix my own model?  I don't think I could.  Plus, she just wouldn't look right to me with four legs.

I remember building her a peg leg out of Playdoh at one point.  Kind of too bad it didn't stick around, because today I would find that fairly adorable.

Moving on, she also has scuffs on virtually every surface.  This is a semi-gloss model, and the semi-gloss coating is worn away at many points.  In addition to the white scuffs and scratches down to the base plastic, she has black scuffs and rubber marks.  And some odd reddish brown speckles, too, which might actually be part of her original paint job.  That is how they used to make "roan" Breyer horses - but I notice that these roan speckles are only on one side, so maybe not.

And naturally, she has a chipped ear.

None of these flaws kept me from loving her at the time, of course.  Nor do they keep me from loving her still!