New AG horse palomino

[JAdder]

Hi I have just receved the palomino. It seems are beloved Penny is now Samantha and Nellie's horse (yes, the horse pulling the sled is good old Penny don't let the money hungry drips at Mattel tell you any different.) The palomino is really the first horse made that had a removeable bridle it also fits over the ears like a real horse it also velcro on the chin and nose buckle not like a real horse but for someone putting it on it's a time saver to say the least. The saddle had a separate saddle pad and it at least buckles underneath they are dark brown and have real metal irons (stirrups). The mane and tail are a pale blond brighter then even blond dolls hair. The color is a soft yellow gold which complements Molly's dude ranch outft well. Okay so the set up on the doll is western and the horse is set up for english ridding but they don't seem to care. Molly has named her horse Victor short for Victory.

[Jeanette M.]

It sounds wonderful, Jecca! I'm sure Molly will love having Victor to ride when she is dressed for the dude ranch. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img] That cowgirl outfit and the light colored horse remind me of Dale Evans and her horse Buttermilk! [img]smile.gif[/img] But I guess the Palomino is more like Roy Rogers' horse Trigger, isn't he? What I know about horses would fit in a teacup, but you mentioned the horse setup being for English riding - could that be because of the Olympic equestrian "uniform" that was introduced when the Palomino was introduced? [img]graemlins/wonder.gif[/img]

[JAdder]

Most likely the dates fit as well as the AGOT that was with her was dressed for show jumping. The English as I could see was no saddle horn and the bridle haveing a nose band and a head piece the fits over and in front of the ears.

[Grapedy1982]

The horse is mostly definately set up for English equitation. He does come with an English saddle. However, the saddle pad being seperate isn't exactly correct. English saddles usually have the pad attached to the saddle and the two are not seperate.

Unfortunately in the horse world, Western riding is looked down on by people who ride English. A lot of them tend to think it's not up to par and nowhere near as elegant as English. It gets overlooked, made fun of and ignored. The rich people who used to dominate the world of English equitation passed their attitudes down to far too many equestrians, IMO. Not all of them are like that, but more than it should be. The English world is also VERY prejudiced against palaminos, paints, whites, blacks, and any breed that isn't considered a sport horse. So the decision to make the horse a palamino truly baffles me.

[courtneysunshine]

Does this mean the AG Horse (Penny) will not be retired? I thought someone posted that the horse for the sleigh was darker and a little different? UGH! I would have waited to get it if I knew it was the same and not being retired [img]smile.gif[/img]

Kim

[horsemom]

Yes, I believe the horse is set up with an english saddle and bridle because the show jumping outfit came out at the same time. BUT it doesn't really make sense to me, since most show jumping horses at the olympics are thoroughbreds and warmbloods and those don't generally come in the palomino color. Palominos are traditionally more a western horse. They should have put all the new english gear on good ole Penny and released the palomino with a western saddle and bridle. Just my opinion... At least they finally have a bridle that is sort of correct, though the saddle still leaves a bit to be desired. Considering the number of girls who ride, I don't know why they don't put out more accurate horse stuff and take their clues from Breyer. I hope they start releasing Penny with the new bridle and saddle soon.

[Grapedy1982]

BUT it doesn't really make sense to me, since most show jumping horses at the olympics are thoroughbreds and warmbloods and those don't generally come in the palomino color.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Exactly!!! Thoroughbreds do come in palamino, but they're even rarer than a true white Thoroughbred. And warmbloods don't come in palamino at all. That's true all throughout the show world, no matter what the level. Unless your horse is one of the "accepted" colors, like bay, chestnut or brown, it doesn't matter how good you and the horse, there is a 90% chance that you will not place. This is true even at the Olympics.

While I admire them for trying to break the stereotype, whether it's intentional or not, most horse crazy girls are going to be pretty unforgiving about this oversight, myself included. While I love the palamino, I'm not a big fan of the mold that AG uses for this horse, and trying to pass it off as an Olympic horse is just beyond my comprehension.

They should DEFINATELY take a page from Breyer and Battat when it comes to horses. I want my horse to look like a real horse, not have a flocked coat. That is why I will buy the Battat palamino from Target instead of the AG palamino. The one at Target looks like a real horse. The AG does not. It looks like a fat little pony with no personality.

[Pat B]

What we need is a mega sized Breyer to fit the AGs. American girl took a long time to put a real bridle on their horse.
Concerning Palominos- it was only this year when the Jockey Club ( Thoroughbred registry ) admitted that the color existed. DNA testing showed it to be different from chestnut.
The red coat is also a fairly new addition.Men wore red coats when fox hunting for centuries women only recently. Women began competing in Olympic equestrian events in the 1960s or 70s.

[horsemom]

I agree. The AG horse mold looks nothing like an olympic quality horse, or even a TB or warmblood, for that matter. It is on the wrong scale and that is part of the problem. It is far too short and small- looks like a pony compared to the doll. Also, as someone pointed out before, its eyes are far too small. I've not seen it in person, but in pictures it looks like its eyes are smaller than the dolls, and that its hooves are smaller than the doll hands, which doesn't make any sense. I don't mind the flocked coat since it reminds me of the old style horse toys (the antique type with real horse hair), but I do wish they'd get better about the coloring and scale and tack! I just don't know why they don't make a giant Breyer horse, like Pat said. This seems to be a major marketing oversight- I think they'd sell a lot more horses if they were more correct and came in more colors and had more accessory sets. I realize they can't be another Breyer, but it does seem they could put out a few standard colors: bay, black, chestnut, and gray and the basics: western tack, (correct) english tack, and a halter and blanket. JMO- would love to see it and I'd be a lot more inclined to buy.

[Grapedy1982]

Ditto, ditto and ditto!!!!!

I have seen the Penny horse up close. A friend around the street has it. It is the wrong scale and looks like a very poorly bred pony. They need to build it with correct conformation and to correct scale. Yeah, it's going to be a large item, but horse-crazy girls will buy it regardless of whether or not they have a doll to go with it. There's a HUGE market out there for anatomically correct horses. Breyer is living proof of that. They are constantly expanding, and even host a convention/showcase for toy horse collectors.

As long as the horse just looks BAD and has horrible conformation, I will not buy it. Ever. Especially since I found out that the Target line has a palamino! That horse looks like a giant Breyer.