Bit of a rant post today. Before the age of 4 I went through several phases. Cars, dinosaurs, animals, and horses. I’m still in the horse phase and I’m starting to think it’s not a phase anymore. When I was younger I had a lot of horse toys. Hundreds. My favourites though were a brand called Schleich. I got my first one when I was 4, as a gift when I moved from New Zealand to Australia. I love that horse and his name is Stripe.

Over the years I kept buying these Schleich horses because of their attention to detail and realistic textures. Obviously, being 18, I don’t exactly play with them anymore. I’d like to, but to be honest, I just don’t have the imagination I had when I was 5. My favourite model was a Thoroughbred stallion which I must’ve bought in around 2005-2007 maybe. We were on a road trip and I got him in the Victorian town of Bendigo. So, naturally, I called him Bendigo.

So, what’s with the boycotting? Well, back in the day, the bigger models (adult heavy horses and such) would cost about AU$10. Nowadays, it costs about $20. Plus, I believe the quality has decreased. They are recycling models, the expressions are blank, the poses unrealistic, and someones really screwed up the hooves. I can’t even describe them but there’s no shape, and they’re stripey?? They just look almost cartoonish. The old models were just simple, but well made, and I liked that. I don’t want jazzy colours and poses, I want realism. Also, what kid is going to have $20 to buy a toy horse? I could barely afford them when I was young when they were only $10.

Fortunately, I’ve found a new brand. CollectA is my go to now. They are fantastically made and are a lot cheaper than Schleich. The colours and poses are simple but there’s so much detail, especially in the manes and tails when they’re blowing in the wind. It’s annoying though because stores don’t seem to stock CollectA horses, so I buy them off a site (minizoo.com.au) but then you pay $10 for postage. Aghhhhhh I can’t win.

Larne