Mike Jackson’s Hartland Photos:
Semi-Rearing with Mane Down

Text & Photographs Copyright Mike Jackson 1998-2009


Semi-Rearing 800 Series with Mane Down horses are very similar to the other two semi-rearing molds. It is hard to say why they created three so close in appearance.
Black and White Pinto:
This is a farily common horse sold by Hartland as one of their Remuda grouping in the later years. I don’t believe it ever had a rider even though a few people try to combine one of the Chief Thunderbird sets with him.
Coffee-Dunn with black points:
This the most common horse used with Gil Favor and is shown in some of the 1961 Christmas Catalogs. A few collectors have combined this horse with Maverick, but I don’t believe that is a correct combination.
Buckskin with black points:
Maverick rode this horse, I believe, as his exclusive mount. Some have suggested he might be combined with the Coffee Dunn horse above but I don’t have anything concrete to base that upon. For some reason, this molde seems to have a flaw right behind the tail and there is often a crack running perpendicular to the flow of the hair about 1/4" from the rump. I see it mainly on this color horse in this mold.
Semi-Rearing mane down with black tack:
Hartland did switch from rearing to semi-rearing horses for a while around 1961, based on Christmas Catalogs and the Lone Ranger did get a semi-rearing horse. However, the mane up version of the semi-rearing horse is much more common than this mane-down version.
Semi-Rearing mane down with black tack:
Quite honestly, I don’t know if this horse ever had a rider. Recently, a collector located a Champ Palomino with black tack, too. This one normally has blue tack as shown below. It very well could have been produced later as a horse only piece.
Palomino with blue tack: Trigger
Sometime around 1961 and maybe into 1962, Hartland took the Roy Rogers figure and saddle off his full rearing horse and put him on a semi-rearing horse with blue tack. They are shown in several Christmas Catalogs that way, however this horse is still very hard to find. Roy normally came in the horizontal fringe mold when paired with this horse.
Palomino with black bridle:
Again, I believe this horse was sold separately as an 800-P horse in some of the later years. I don’t believe this one ever had a rider, however collectors might run across the variation.
Semi-Rearing mane down, white stockings painted over brown plastic:
This horse is an uncommon variation used occasionally with Jim Hardy. It is believed to be a correct horse for Buffalo Bill, too This horse was molded in brown plastic and then the stocking and blaze were added over the top.
Semi-Rearing mane down, black points:
Another uncommon horse variation. This one is used with Paladin on occasions for whatever unxeplained reasons Hartland did what they did!
If you have, or know of any other mane down semi-rearing horses, please let me know!