When the Collection Outgrows the Memory
A serious model horse collection does not stay small. A hundred pieces becomes two hundred, then four hundred, and suddenly the difference between a 1980s Breyer Running Mare on the original mold and a mid-production reissue on the same mold is something you have to hold in working memory or look up every time a buyer asks. Which ones have certificates of authenticity. Who painted the custom that placed at BreyerFest three years ago. What you paid for the Silver medal PAF finish at the 2019 sale versus what it would realise today.
Without a catalog, the collection is an asset you cannot accurately describe, cannot insure properly, and cannot present coherently to a serious buyer.
The Fields That Separate a Collection Database from a Photo Gallery
The Mold field is the primary technical identifier in model horse collecting. A model's mold — the sculpture it was cast from — determines its show class, its historical placement in a manufacturer's run, and in the custom arena, the base cost of the canvas. Two models with identical colorways but different molds are not the same piece. A Fighting Stallion mold and a Proud Arabian Stallion mold are distinct show entries. The database that captures Horse Name but not Mold is missing the field that actually answers the question "what is this."
The distinction between Show Breed and the model's actual gender at the mold level is the other field that experienced shower collectors understand immediately. Show Breed is the classification you show under — Quarter Horse, Morgan, Andalusian, Friesian — which may or may not match the sculptor's original intent. Show Gender is separate from the physical mold's anatomical representation, which is the Gender field. These are three different values for the same piece and all three matter for preparing a show string.
The Quantity Produced field and the COA field together establish rarity and provenance for limited runs. A special run of 350 pieces with a COA is a different object in the secondary market than a production run piece without documentation. The database carries both data points per record, and the COA boolean means you can filter your collection for pieces with documentation at any time — which matters when a buyer wants to confirm authenticity on a higher-value custom.
Painter Attribution and the Custom Market
The Painter field is load-bearing if any part of your collection is in customs. In the model horse custom market, painter reputation is a significant driver of value. A piece painted by a sought-after artist with a known style and competition record commands a premium that a quality but anonymous custom does not. When you are showing a custom, the painter's name on the certificate and in your records is part of the piece's identity.
The Purchase Price versus Value separation is the field pair that makes the collection an asset record rather than just an inventory. What you paid at a 2017 MEPSA special run versus what the same piece would bring in the current secondary market are two different numbers, and the delta compounds when you hold a large collection. A collection with current values entered per piece generates an aggregate figure that matters for riders insurance policies and for estate planning.
The Current Show Horse boolean is the operational field. You filter on it before preparing a show string. You see the field at a glance before loading the transport case on a Saturday morning when the weather is coming in cold and you are trying to confirm which pieces are in active show rotation and which are display shelf models that should not be travelling.
The Finish field — tracking the specific surface treatment — captures the difference between a matte, semi-gloss, gloss, and decorator finish on what is otherwise the same mold and colorway. In photo show judging, this distinction is visible and scoreable.