Flocked Model Horses, Harnesses, and Vehicles by Charles B. Cottrell

Breyer Belgian with flocking and harness by Charles B. Cottrell.
Photo courtesy of the horse's proud owner, Jen Boss.

Breyer model horse collectors affectionately call them "flockies" -- the model horses and other animals covered with soft fuzzy flocking.  Kirsten Wellman's excellent blog Model Horse Collectibility summarizes the history of flocked Breyers. She notes:  

If a flocked model appeared as a regular run in a Breyer catalog, as a special run in the Sears, J. C. Penneys, or Montgomery Wards holiday catalogs, or as a BreyerFest special run, it is considered original finish. If it did not, it's aftermarket or custom. 

The distinguishing factor is the intent behind the model's creation -- the catalog issue models were specially ordered by Breyer and retailers in a collaboration with an Indiana company called Riegseckers. 

All other flockie models were produced independently -- with no orders or input from Breyer -- by a variety of family business and hobby customizers including Riegseckers, Eighmeys, the Diercks and Algyre family, and many others. 

One of the other independent makers was an Iowa man named Charles B. Cottrell. An example of his handiwork recently came to live with hobbyist Jen Boss, who kindly allowed me to use photos of her new pride and joy. 

Cottrell's initials are embossed into the harness:

The Cedar Rapids, Iowa Gazette newspaper ran a feature story on Charles B. Cottrell and his family, showcasing their harnessed animals and vehicles. The story noted that Cottrell, a "veteran All-Iowa Fair livestock superintendent," started his hobby in 1974. The article doesn't mention Breyer models by name, calling them "small plastic animals" that "are purchased and then flocked. But the tiny pieces of farm equipment are cut from wood, assembled, and painted, all by hand."

A close inspection of one of the photos accompanying the article shows that Cottrell didn't just flock Breyer horses....

...because that's a walking Hartland walking Quarter Horse mare in the harness with the Amish buggy!

In June 1977, the Gazette reported, Cottrell entered his flocked animals and wagons in the hobby division of the All-Iowa Fair, "which earned him exceptional exhibit honors."

Today, the flocked model horses of Charles B. Cottrell are among the sought-after stars on the shelves of collectors.

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Here's the link to Kirsten Wellman's full blog post about flockies:

https://modelhorsecollectibility.blogspot.com/search/label/breyer%20flockies

Meg McDonald wrote about flockies for the Breyer website:

https://www.breyerhorses.com/blogs/collecting/a-history-of-breyer-flockies

There's a private Facebook group for collectors of Breyer flockies and vehicles, the Breyer Flockie and Wagon Collector's Showcase: 

https://www.facebook.com/groups/204555127642499

Here's my earlier blog post on the flocked model horses of Diercks & Algyre:

https://modelhorsehistory.blogspot.com/2018/08/the-flocked-breyer-model-horses-of.html

Note: The "market value" of any model horse is always dependent on condition, rarity, and who's shopping for it, among other things. A general starting place to find comparative values is to look at eBay "sold" auctions for the same or similar piece, then consult other model horse hobbyists for additional context.