Picture 1 - Clockwise from upper left: large bubble wrap, small bubble wrap, flat foam, tissue paperNow on to packing materials. Let's start with the padding you'll be using.
For my purposes, there are two types of padding: padding for the horse and padding for the box. Some of the materials mentioned below can be used for both.
Padding for the horse? Shouldn't everything be fine if I just put lots of padding in the box? Well, maybe, but I wouldn't trust it. If the horse shifts in transit, it could start rubbing against another horse or the outer box, causing minor to severe damage or even breakage (let's call this the separation factor). So it's better to wrap each piece with sufficient padding to protect it from other horses in the box and some of the hazards of shipping. Then the box's padding can help protect all of the horses.
"Fragile points" is a term I'll use to refer to the parts of a horse that can be easily broken - like delicate legs, tails and ears; these deserve extra or special support to cushion these parts from damage in transit.
One other general note about packing material - padding. You might want to consider the reusability of the materials and their environmental impact. Some items, like shipping peanuts, do not biodegrade easily; however, there now are cornstarch shipping peanuts being made which do biodegrade, but need to be sought out as they are not as readily available.
The following list of different packing materials is presented alphabetically.
bubble wrap: Available as "bags" or long lengths. Small and large bubble sizes. Best used as horse padding. Look for it at shipping or packaging stores; shipping or office supply stores have boxes of 12" wide large bubbles (100 feet) or small (175 feet) bubble wrap for $30; purchasing through a shipping material supplier (check the yellow pages) in larger quantity (e.g., one foot x 650 feet roll for the small bubble) is much more economical, but at 4' or more in diameter storage may be an issue. Bubble wrap in rolls often is perforated at 12" lengths for ease of use. Bubble wrap can be purchased in larger widths, e.g., 24", as well. Clear bubble wrap is the most common, but it also comes in green and pink (which are usually for special functions, such as electrostatic control, and may add to the cost).
I prefer the large bubble size for general padding - thicker layer of padding around the horse. But the small bubble size allows more contour to be followed and is more flexible. Can be used to support fragile points. Easily reusable. Long lengths are better than shorter lengths pieced together to cover horse; use shorter - unable to surround horse - lengths as box padding or support of fragile parts. When wrapping a horse, please be aware of wrapping with "bubble side in" (next to the horse's finish) as this may cause a "octopus attack" effect if subjected to heat; "bubble side out" is recommended.
Picture 1 - Clockwise from upper left: large bubble wrap, small bubble wrap, flat foam, tissue paper
egg carton foam: More commonly known as "convoluted foam," sometimes called "finger" foam. Available as foam mattress pads. Differing depths available; average depth difference between peaks and valleys about 2". Best used as box padding. It can also be used to provide an inner layer of padding between layers of horses in a box. Easily reusable; however, over time the foam can degrade and start to pill/flake off (estimated life: 2-3 years depending on use and quality/density of material).
If shipping out a large number (100+) of packages, you might be able to order interlocking finger foam to exactly fit in a box.
Picture 2 - hard plastic box lined with egg carton foam
fabric: Available in various thicknesses (e.g., cotton, corduroy, felt, velvet). Find in fabric or craft stores. Best used as horse padding. Beware of using material that has lint, like fleece, especially with plastic or cutomized pieces. One shower recommends "swimsuit" fabric (often a lycra or rayon).
Some people are creating bags, often draw-string bags or with flaps, that they place their horse in to give minimal protection. The thicker the material and/or the more times wrapped around the horse the better the separation factor is. If bags are used, use a bag that has sufficient space to enclose the entire horse and a little room extra along the edges; stretch fabric can cause problems as well, including rubbing the horse's finish. Easily reusable. And in a pinch, you can pack your horses in your (hardsided) suitcase between your clothes!
flat foam: Thin foam, from 1/8" to 1/4" is usable. Much thinner and it can only be used to provide some finish protection - but not any padding. Found at shipping and packaging stores. Best used as horse padding, but the thicker foam can be hard to manipulate to wrap a horse. Easily reusable. (See picture 1 for example of flat foam.)
form-fitting foam: Many manufacturers produce form-fitting foam (FFF) for their horses. Material can be made from egg carton foam, Styrofoam, or other material. A person can create a FFF by taking two meshing pieces of (soft) foam and carving out the horse's body, head, legs, tail, etc. Or through new technology folks can use "expanding" foam to cradle their horse in form-fitting fashion: the horse is positioned (in a box) between two "bags" and the bags filled with expanding foam that conforms to the horse's shape.
FFF's are generally made to fit one and only one horse model (mold). FFF's can be placed inside boxes - so are like horse padding; but they are also the padding for an inner box in shipping. Easily reusable, but rigid foam can be damaged by extensive use.
Picture 3 - Breyer Styrofoam FFF for porcelain Barb
Picture 4 - Hagen-Renaker egg carton FFF for Nataf
Picture 5 - Border Fine Arts pressed foam FFF for Champion of Champions
newsprint: Available from any daily paper, or new (without print). Can be used as horse padding or (best use) box padding. Very biodegradable. Use two or more pages to wrap a model to provide a minimum separation factor; best used as a stop gap or inexpensive alternative when no other material available for transit. Use crumpled to fill corners or provide padding between layers. Not recommended for cleanliness and some shipping companies do not recommend it because it can be compressed so much; be careful when wrapping light or white colored horses - ink may come off on model; your hands also attract the ink. Hard to reuse as horse wrapping material because of horse extremities creating holes that enlarge.
pillow filling: AKA batting. Available at fabric and craft stores. Best used as a inner box / small horse protection. Stablemates can be easily put into a small plastic container with lid with about 3/4" of this material on either side of the horse. Nice and neat - no mummy wrapping required! Easily reusable.
Picture 6 - open container with batting fill with customized Hagen-Renaker mini drafter.
plastic bags: Available at grocery stores. Best used as finish protection. Often I will pack a horse in a plastic bag inside the horse padding to protect the paint surface from the padding. The recent (1992-1994) Hartlands are very prone to finish problems; be sure you do something to protect the paint from the packing material. Sometimes I will use a plastic bag to keep the padding all together. Easily reusable. Ensure that if you do use plastic bags with writing, that the ink side is away from the horse's body; otherwise you may permanently be advertising on your horse. I prefer the non-plastic cling-wrap kind, like the "plastic" (or paper) grocery bags, but not the produce bag material (which is similar to dry cleaning plastic). (Note, please keep away from infants, small children and pets as it may cause suffocation.)
plastic wrap: Available at grocery stores; about $3.00 for 100 yards. Best used as finish protection/mane enhancer. Just like a real horse who wears a hood to keep its mane from getting all tangled, you may need to use some plastic wrap to keep a hair mane and tail free of problems. Moderately easy to reuse. (Note, please keep away from infants, small children and pets as it may cause suffocation.)
popcorn: Available at grocery stores - you pop it from kernels. Yes that's right, the kind you eat! If air popped, or popped without oil, it makes a nice box padding material. Easily reusable (unless the dog or a hungry brother get to it first).
shipping peanuts: Also called "popcorn." Available from shipping and packaging stores. Cost - 14 cubic feet for $15 (don't forget you have to store what you don't use); but check out your company's receiving area - you might be able to get it for free before they toss it. Best used as box padding. Some people use one or two pieces as a method of protecting the ears. Easily reusable.
Picture 7 - different shipping peanut styles.
shredded paper: In a bow to recycling, may organizations are shredding paper - about 1/4" wide - to provide shipping material. Best used as box padding. (Shredding is also a neat way of protecting your sensitive information; a personal shredder is available for about $60.) Northlights are sometimes packed in shredded plastic stripes (keep these away from pets - one of my angel kitties had acute excrement problems and panicked after "eating" some). Easily reusable.
Picture 8 - left is shredded paper, right is roll of toilet paper
tissue paper: Available at general "drug" or stationary stores. This is the packing kind of tissue paper - not the kind you find in bathrooms to blow your nose (that's facial tissue). Best used as horse padding. One note of caution: tissue paper is somewhat rough and can damage a horse's finish (especially Northlights!). Best used on a glazed horse or as a finish protection or for additional padding. Moderately reusable. (See picture 1)
tissue paper, acid free archival: similar to the tissue paper above, but it is specifically created to reduce/eliminate any issues of incompatibility of finishes where (chemical) interactions may occur.
toilet paper: Available at general drug, grocery, warehouse stores; also accessible from a hotel housekeeper's cleaning cart. Yes, this is the wipe your b--- kind of paper. Facial tissue and paper towels can also be used. Best used as horse padding. Especially good at supporting fragile points. One way of supporting fragile points is with the technique called "mummy wrapping." (See picture 8 of toilet paper and series of photos 9-11 on mummy (un-)wrapping an Hagen-Renaker Thunder.)
Picture 9: mummy wrapped horse
Picture 10: partially unwrapped horse
Picture 11: completely unwrapped horse with wrappings
One concern about toilet paper is it's use on customized or plastic-finish pieces. Moisture can cause the paper to "stick" to the paint and at minimum cause a mess and at worse ruin a paint job. Best used on glazed pieces only.
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