Barbie's Horse

[axl]

I had a wonderful Breyer collection and a handmade barn that our neighbors gave me when their daughter left for college. When she later moved into a house up the street with her family, I was able to give the barn to her daughter, along with some of my horse collection. It was lovely to be able to give her the barn her grandfather built!

Of all the Breyers I had, I think Sham was my favorite. He got a hand-crafted ‘Arabian’ bridle and breastplate that I made from an antique collar I discovered in the attic. (Think like an RBG collar, but pearl instead of lace.) I wish I had a picture of that, I did a pretty great job IIRC

[onlyTBmares]

Since we’re talking about Barbie’s horse, I think we all need to remember this meme:

[BatCoach]

Can you imagine her riding lessons? Heels up! Up I say! hunch forward! Keep your hands in your crotch!

[axl]

To be fair, they showed Barbie in the position she was forced to use because of her build

I (*child me) would be infuriated if animated Barbie rode beautifully while the doll could NOT spread her legs.

Ahem…this made Barbie a bad rider. It did not prevent me from putting her in bed with Ken but I did not really understand those mechanics

[capalypinto]

It’s so weird how that name Sham immediately brought images of the bright bay Arabian with the mane and tail blowing in the wind. My favorite was Yellow Mount.

[Larksmom]

bwahahahaha

[poltroon]

We’re only just past Breyerfest weekend at KHP which is a delightful celebration of both real and model horses.

Today the full size Breyers run $40-50 BUT there are also more alternatives, like a quite nice Classic size line that sells for closer to $20 and the smaller CollectA rubber horses (similar to Schleich if you know those) for under $10. And of course the smaller Stablemates too. And so many fun accessories and sets that I wish had been available when I was a kid, like the camping set, barn tools, various veterinarian playsets etc.

I tried to use a Skipper as a rider doll when I was a kid, accomplished it by breaking her hip and taping the leg back on.

[erinmeri]

I turned the smaller ones (Stablemates and some others) into Christmas tree ornaments for our barn tree (sacrilege, I know!)

[Renn_aissance]

That’s a cute idea!

[paw]

My Barbies only had one leg because I kept trying to make them ride my Breyer horses…

[Paint_Party]

That is so clever!

[SillyHorse]

@capalypinto

This is for those that played with Barbie’s horse more than Barbie.

https://zoomason.com/

The bit is genius!

[quietann]

I had a huge collection of Breyers as a kid. I spent my entire allowance on them for several years; the first one I bought was a “Bay Arabian Foal” around 1970. My grandfather built me a barn for them. I had a few Barbies but wasn’t interested in them much because they couldn’t ride my Breyers.

I never got a Barbie’s Dream Horse (the palomino 1970s version) but in 2008 I became the owner of the living embodiment of Barbie’s Dream Horse.

[jherold]

No one had the Johnney West horses? I had a large collection. The tails would break off! I remember my dad making a stable out of plywood. He was a teacher and not terribly handy, but the amount of love in that stable was enormous. As an adult. I taught him to ride a real horse at 73!

[phoenixrises]

I only had 2 barbie knock offs but in 1981 I got this horse for Christmas and I still have her. I would spend HOURS braiding the hair. My dog chewed the legs and I cried for hours but she was ok, just needed some stall rest.

Also note how this poor person tried to put the bridle on!

[Paint_Party]

@phoenixrises

My dog chewed the legs and I cried for hours but she was ok, just needed some stall rest.

Did the stall rest and rehab include topical applications of glue?

I remember making supportive leg wraps, like track bandages, out of strips of toilet paper and wrapping them around therapeutic levels of white Wilhold glue.

[BLBGP]

Ok I was not a Barbie girl (for those that have seen the movie, mine were weird Barbies) but I LOVED the movie. I’d see it again for sure.

I still have my Breyer collection 🩷:green_heart: So many fond memories of my dad fixing broken legs with his Vice and superglue.

[Larbear]

@axl

To be fair, they showed Barbie in the position she was forced to use because of her build

Barbie’s inability to ride based on her build was always annoying to me. Lol my sister and I used to steal my brother’s Star Trek dolls (Spock and Capt Kirk) or GI Joe (when they had fuzzy facial hair) to ride. Didn’t have Barbie horses but I had Comanche, movable neck and legs!

[MadTrotter]

@axl

It did not prevent me from putting her in bed with Ken but I did not really understand those mechanics

To be fair, neither did Ken

[capalypinto]

haha. Thank you. Barbie bit, an Elevator/ Pelham hybrid.