Personal finances in the hobby

When I'm surfing eBay, the Model Horse Sales Pages, orModelXchange, I very frequently see ads that begin "I hate to have to sell this lovely guy, but. . ." and then follow with a sad tale about job loss, car repairs, vet bills, or similar expenses.

I'm guessing the seller does this because (a) she wants to vouch for the quality of the horse and/or (b) she feels a sob story about her finances will convince folks to help her out.

I rarely see this kind of narrative on sales of other items at auction or sales websites. Why in the hobby do people have a compulsion to tell these stories in their ads? How do they benefit? And what does it say about hobbyists and the management of personal finances? I'm wondering how widespread the phenomenon is, how many of us spend beyond our means in this hobby and then have to resell horses in order to stay solvent.

And regarding those of us who do participate in this ritual--is it a class thing? Or is it part of a more general American trend toward overspending? Do European hobbyists also see this trend?

I don't mean to sound as if I'm on my high horse; I certainly don't have enough personal savings to float me for several months, as experts recommend (hello? I'm in graduate school), and there are a couple of models that cost me more than I care to admit. But the phenomenon of needing to sell horses—and sell them quickly—remains interesting to me.

Thoughts?

The Value of Knowledge

I've been thinking a lot lately about knowledge and how it's valued by model horse collectors. Model horse knowledge seems to fall into several different categories:

• Industry and hobby knowledge: includes knowledge of the history of model horse manufacturing--which molds and models were manufactured, by whom, and when--as well as an understanding of the history and development of the hobby as a whole.

• Real horse knowledge: includes knowledge about conformation, breeds, color genetics, bloodlines, performance, and more.

• Artistic knowledge: knowledge of, and talent for, creative processes, including sculpting, firing, molding, prepping, customizing, finishing, tack-making, photography, prop-making, and more.

A related category is social capital, which one gains not only, I think, through possessing, displaying, and generously sharing the above categories of knowledge, but also through hobby networking: commissioning and purchasing artistic work, attending live shows and other hobby events, participating in photo shows or online forums, and more.

Which variety of knowledge or capital is most valued depends, of course, on context. For example, a live show halter judge may gain respect for her knowledge of breed standards, a performance judge for her experience with reining or dressage, a collectors' class judge for her understanding of hobby history and manufacturing. In other arenas of the model horse world, such as breeding, an understanding of color genetics or bloodlines may be far more valuable.

I'll post more on this later. In the meantime, do ou have any thoughts?

Live Show Questionnaire

Hobbyists can participate in our research by filling out this questionnaire. Participants are entered in quarterly raffles for model horse-related items. Raffles take place in January, April, July, and October; you'll be entered in the raffle that most closely follows the date you submit the questionnaire to me. You receive one raffle entry for each questionnaire you submit that is at least 80% complete.

This questionnaire is for model horse collectors who have attended at least one live show. Please copy and paste this questionnaire and your answers into an e-mail to me . All questions are optional; please don't feel compelled to answer questions that make you feel uncomfortable.

Identifying information
Your responses to this questionnaire will remain anonymous by default; we will assign you a pseudonym. No personally identifying information will be shared with anyone.

Would you prefer that we use your real name if we quote from your questionnaire or paraphrase unique information from it?

If so, what is your name (first name only or first and last)?

General background

Age:

Gender:

What year did you start collecting?

How many live shows, approximately, have you attended?

For how long have you been live showing?

When was the most recent show you attended?

How many shows did you attend in the last 12 months?

How many shows do you plan to attend in the next 12 months?

In what region of the world do you show (state/province, country)?


Participation

In what divisions of a live show do you usually participate?

How many horses, on average, do you take to a show?

Do you show horses customized by others?
If so, what kind of satisfaction do you get from purchasing and showing these horses?

Do you show horses customized by yourself?
If so, what kind of satisfaction do you get from displaying and competing with your own work?
Would you consider yourself a novice, intermediate, or professional artist?

Do you show in performance classes?
If so, what do you most enjoy about them?
Do you make any of your own tack, props, dioramas, backgrounds, etc? If so, specify.

Do you show in collectors classes?
If so, how do you feel these should be judged?

Does it matter to you whether or not a show is NAN-qualifying?

Have you ever competed at NAN?

Besides preparing your horses for the ring and competing, what else do you do while at a show?

Please share your thoughts on live show judges and judging.

Expenses

On average, how much have you spent per year for the last three years on:
• factory/original finish model horses?
• artist-produced tack?
• unpainted resins?
• commissioned paint jobs?
• noncommissioned horses purchased from artists?
• dioramas and props?
• art and craft supplies related to model horses?
• other (please specify)?

Are these expenses typical for you, or are they above or below average for your spending in the hobby?

Do you agree with the statement "money = ribbons" at live shows? Explain.

Reflection

What was the best moment you've witnessed at a live show?

What was the worst moment you've witnessed at a live show?

What are your live show pet peeves?

What is your favorite aspect of live showing?

What aspect of live showing do you least enjoy?

Other thoughts on live showing:

Follow-up

May we contact you if we have further questions based on the answers you provide here?

Would you like to be included on a low-volume e-mail list to be informed of future developments in this research?

Please refer others to this questionnaire. The more participants, the more meaningful the results of this research.

Thank you for your participation!

General hobby questionnaire

Hobbyists can participate in our research by filling out this questionnaire. Participants are entered in quarterly raffles for model horse-related items. Raffles take place in January, April, July, and October; you'll be entered in the raffle that most closely follows the date you submit the questionnaire to me. You receive one entry for each questionnaire you submit that is at least 80% complete.

Instructions: Please copy and paste this questionnaire and your answers into an e-mail to me . All questions are optional; please don't feel compelled to answer questions that make you feel uncomfortable.

Identifying information

Your responses to this questionnaire will remain anonymous by default; we will assign you a pseudonym. No personally identifying information will be shared with anyone.

Would you prefer that we use your real name if we quote from your questionnaire or paraphrase unique information from it?

If so, what is your name (first name only or first and last)?

General background

Gender:

Your age:

How do you identify racially or ethnically? (e.g. white, Hispanic, etc. Use whatever terms are most comfortable to you.)

Your state/province and country:

I live in a:
major metropolitan area (city and suburbs of 1 million people or more)
urban area (city and suburbs of 500,000 to 1 million people)
medium-size city (city and suburbs of 100,000 to 500,000 people)
small city or large town (30,000 to 100,000 people)
small town (30,000 people or fewer)
I live outside a city or town, in a rural area.

What do you do for a living (industry or position)? If you're a student, what do you study?

Have you or a member of your immediate family (mother, father, siblings, or your children) been enlisted in the military? If so, what is this person's relation to you, and how long was their term of enlistment?

On the political spectrum, I consider myself to be (indicate one):
far left of center
considerably left of center
slightly left of center
moderate: neither liberal nor conservative
slightly right of center
considerably right of center
far right of center

Do you own real horses? If so, what kinds, and how many?

Do you ride? If so, what style(s) or event(s)?

Annual household income (pick one):
less than $20,000
$20,000 to $40,000
$40,000 to $60,000
$60,000 to $80,000
$80,000 to $100,000
more than $100,000

Would you consider yourself to be introverted or extroverted?


About your collection

In what year did you begin collecting?

How many horses are in your collection?

Do you collect the following horses? If so, indicate relative percentage of your collection or approximate number of each kind of horse.

made by Breyer?
made by Stone Horses?
made by Hagen-Renaker?
made by Hartland?
made by independent artists (e.g. resins or china)?
made by other manufacturers? Specify:

Does your collection have a special focus or two (e.g. china, resins, special runs, a particular breed, a particular mold)? If so, what is/are the focus of your collection?

Do you participate in any special buying programs, e.g. Artisan Hall or the Breyer Connosieur series?

Where do you keep your collection?

Are all your horses on display?

Approximately how many horses have you purchased in the past 12 months?

How much did you spend, in total, on these horses?

Were your acquisitions in the past 12 months typical of your model horse purchases, or did you spend more or less than in past years?

How many horses do you anticipate purchasing in the next 12 months?

How much do you intend to spend on horses in the next 12 months?

How many horses did you sell or give away in the past year?

Have you ever misrepresented to your partner, spouse, parents, friends, or others how much you have spent on a particular horse or another aspect of the hobby? If yes, explain.

Hobby participation

Do you live show?
If so, how many live shows do you attend each year?
What's the farthest you have travelled, or plan to travel, for a live show?
(If you do live show, please consider taking our more detailed live show questionnaire.)

Do you photo show?
If so, how many shows do you enter each year?

Do you participate in breeding activities?
If so, what is the nature of your participation?

Do you sculpt, remake, paint, or otherwise customize model horses?
If so, explain.

Do you make tack, props, or other items?
If so, explain.

Have you ever been to Breyerfest or a similar model horse event that takes place over two or more days? If so, which one(s), and for how many years? How far did you travel?

Do you participate in any online model horse bulletin boards or forums? If so, which ones?

Are you signed up for any Yahoo! Groups that relate to model horses? If so, how many? How often do you read these e-mails (i.e., are you set to no-mail, individual messages, daily digest, etc.)?

Does the hobby provide you with social outlets? If so, what are they, and to what degree have they affected the development of your social networks, personality, and social activities?


Follow-up

May we contact you if we have further questions based on the answers you provide here?

Would you like to be included on a low-volume e-mail list to be informed of future developments in this research?

Please refer others to this questionnaire. The more participants, the more meaningful the results of this research.

Thank you for your participation!

About This Blog

I received my first model horse, a Breyer Sham, in the mid-1980s. Although my collecting has been sporadic since then, I've tried to keep tabs on the dynamic, fascinating, and sometimes downright odd world of model horse collecting and its attendant pursuits.

Because I'm interested in material culture, I'm driven to research and write about the collecting community of which I have become a part. This blog, then, is one location where I'd like to share my thoughts with other members of the worldwide model horse community and receive ongoing feedback on my musings and discoveries.

Feel free to respond to posts at length using the comment function on Blogspot, or e-mail me with especially long comments, and I'll post them manually. I especially invite the participation of people who are intimately involved in the hobby, either through depth, breadth, or length of participation. I've come to know many of you at live shows and through Model Horse Blab, and I value your thoughts tremendously.

Anyone should feel free to take the questionnaires posted under "Participate" in the right-hand column. Participants are entered in quarterly raffles for model horse-related items.

Eventually, I'd like to publish a book on model horse collecting communities, and thus it's possible that anything you share here might find its way into print. Unless you explicitly e-mail me to request otherwise, any comments you make to me, either on this blog or in e-mail, will be represented anonymously in my research--that is, you will be given a pseudonym.

In addition to keeping this blog, I'm interested in interviewing people who are especially prominent in the hobby, have been in the hobby for more than a decade, or who have otherwise reflected at length on what it means to be a collector of plastic, resin, or china horses. E-mail me for details if you're interested, or if you know someone I should interview.