Realism became the goal and the hobby grew a larger fanbase. They began to seek each other out, and early model horse magazines such as Breyer's Just About Horses and Model Horse Showers Journal were the means for collectors to socialize. In the 1970s, US model horse collectors decided that their horses should be doing something else than just sitting on a shelf. Many young hobbyists got their start after reading a short article about model horse collecting, which was published in the March 1969 issue of Western Horseman magazine. One of the earliest known clubs was the IMHA, or International Model Horse Association, which was run by Hitchins and Smiljanic. MHN also folded around this time, but was replaced by Model Horses Unlimited (MHU) catering for both realistic and more traditional models, and which is still in existence today.Дuring the 1960s, hobbyists such as Ellen Hitchins, Simone Smiljanic, and Marney Walerius began to organize photo shows. TIA changed its name to Model Horse International (MHI) to reflect its move away from purely Arabian interest, but the magazine folded around 1989. While MHN remained largely in the original tradition of Julips, etc., TIA promoted realism through custom Breyers. In 1979 The International Arabist magazine appeared, which though restricted to Arab horses and their descendants, was the first magazine to actively seek to unite hobbyists from around the world. From this was created the Lindfield Model Showing Association and later Model Horse News (MHN), a bi-monthly magazine which ran until 1989.

In the late 1960s, UK collectors came together through PONY magazine, and several clubs and newsletters were born, the most important being The Postal Pony Club.

Horae fogurines 90s