Braided Horses by Schleich: A Review

As most of you will know I am very reluctant to do product reviews or endorse advertising on my blog, unless it is for something that I feel would be particularly relevant for you or your children. 
After all, who wants to land here looking for Down's Syndrome support and find a review of some eye gel I quite fancied trying for free or my kids playing with a game that I know would be guaranteed to send you round the twist!

No, no, no I usually say.

Flower details in the tails

Mr Tumble toys and Easy belts and fab funky tights with grippy feet by Slugs and Snails have got past my strict policy though. And Natty really enjoyed road testing all three.

However, there are 4 of us in this family, and it was big sister Mia's 9th birthday last week. I am always very conscious of giving her special alone time with me or Daddy Downs Side Up. I was lucky enough to be able to take her away to my dear old friend's house for the weekend, and we enjoyed more grown up time, without being on red alert, or interruptions from her little sister, and all little sisters can be annoying sometimes, however much you love them and however much you do for them.

Her need for special big sister privileges was again brought home when she asked if she might take a couple of school friends to see the circus as her birthday treat, but would it be OK if Natty didn't come. This was the first time they had celebrated a birthday without the other sibling present, my heart sank a little at the end of an era, but we respected her wishes and took her out for her grown-up evening of choice, while Natty had a whale of a time at home with our baby sitter.

Her face as she opened the parcel in her PJs says it all

So, when the nice people at Schliech as me if I would write a review of a new set of 6 horses with braided manes from their World of Nature range, including mares, stallions and a foal, I jumped at the chance. 

For you see, Mia collects Schleich horses already. She is given them for presents, as a prize for doing well at school or finishing a long book. She saves her pocket money to go and choose them. Santa pops them into her stocking. 

The new additions were immediately split into family groups

She has around 20, all lined up on a shelf in her room. Sometimes they are categorised according to colour or size, sometimes they huddle round having a mother's meeting. She loves how realistic they look. They have names, and she dreams of the one that will look like the horse she will own one day when she grows up. How could I refuse to write this review, a little thank you to Natty's sister for being such a caring and sensitive, patient soul...

The braided friends were taken to meet the existing collection of Schleich horses in her room

Mia says a big thank you Schleich. There is nothing we don't love about these model horses and ponies. The product description says suitable for 3-8 years, but I think Mia will have many years of enjoyment from them yet.

We received the horses as a gift for writing this review. The stallion and mare cost £5.99 and the foal £3.99.