2015 Schleich Mini Shetland Stallion

I couldn't pass up the opportunity to get a couple more of the 2015 Schleich horses that I liked. Here's the first, and probably my favourite, of them. He's just so cute!

 I'm extremely happy with this little man. Whilst many of Schleich's horses can be a bit off (or very off) with their conformation, they have better success with their pony moulds. And there is absolutely no doubt that this stallion is meant to be a Shetland pony.

 To be honest I'd never heard of a 'miniature Shetland' before, but from what I can gather they're not a separate pony breed to the Shetland. Rather, the miniature version is simply smaller than average, standing at around 7-8 hh at the withers (regular Shetlands average 10-11 hh).

 Because of this, and because they are very strong willed and said to be, for their height, the strongest horse or pony breed in the world, they're not recommended as a children's riding pony. Instead, miniature Shetlands are often trained to be guide ponies in a similar fashion to guide dogs, or performance ponies in shows or circuses. With this in mind it's not difficult to see why Schleich chose a rearing pose with this boy.

His colour is a little difficult to define. Whilst the cream body and brownish points suggest an amber champagne, he lacks the speckled nose or hazel eyes of a true champagne. With this in mind I think he's probably a buckskin, but I can't say for sure.

  As you can probably see from his mane and forelock my boy isn't painted perfectly. There are strands of hair that have missed the paint altogether. But that really doesn't bother me that much. His adorable pose, his sweet face and his thick pony mane just make me smile affectionately every single time I look at him :)

 It was a little difficult to name him, but not because I couldn't find a name that fits. Rather, I had many, many names that all could have worked for this little guy, and narrowing them down to just one was what took the longest. In the end I decided, partly based on his colour, to name him Peanut. And to reflect his cheeky nature, his show name is May Contain Peanuts :)

 Like the rest of the new moulds, this stallion lacks horse shoes. But that's a good thing; unlike the larger horses and ponies this boy isn't a riding horse and therefore wouldn't need the added protection on his hooves.

There's the faintest hint of a smile on this little chap's face that, combined with his cheeky rear, just makes him seem so mischievous and adorable. Had they painted him in a dark bay he'd look just like Tucker from Racing Stripes!