When I was little, one of my favourite books was Fly-by-night by KM Peyton. (Amazon. ) The 11 year old Ruth is pony mad and ends up with a completely unsuitable pony in her back garden (my memory is insisting she wins a horse from a cereal competition, but the internet is not verifying this) and the story goes on from there.
This may have been the start of my pony dreams. I devoured every book about pony clubs I could get my hands on – when we did eventually get a pony of our own (long story) it didn’t work out like it did in the books. Does it ever? Despite this, I really wish there was some way we could have a pony now – I think the little ones in particular would love riding.
In the meantime, the next best thing. Schleich Horse Club toys. With the standard Schleich attention to detail (the toys are hand painted) these are durable, beautiful play sets that will last for years of imaginative play. We were sent Horse Club Schleich Eventing Rider Toy (amazon link) and Horse Club Schleich Horse Feeding Playset (amazon) and obviously headed out into the garden with them immediately.
Smallest is a huge animal fan. She played with these for hours. The foal is particularly cute, although the whole set is just gorgeous.
The eventing rider set includes removable saddle and bridle although the rider is always in a seated position, so that’s not quite as good to include off the horse. My only caveat with this would be to note that the reins do come off the bridle, and they are kind of fiddly to put back on. The toys are marked as being unsuitable for under 3s due to small pieces – I’d say this particular one is unsuitable for any child who likes dismantling things, but isn’t quite so good at putting them back together. *looks at Tigerboy*
You cannot go wrong with Schleich toys. Whether you’ve a pony fan in the family, or you just want to have one (or let’s face it, you are one yourself 😉 ) these are a wonderful addition to a toy box, and will give hours of happy play.
Disclosure: we were sent these toys for the purposes of review, Amazon links are affiliate links, all opinions are mine.
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