Collection Review: Schleich and Papo Horses

Figure Brand: Papo & Schleich

Figure Name(s): Black Appaloosa Horse (51539)
Chestnut Appaloosa Mare (51509)
Pinto stallion 13794

Sex: Black Appaloosa Horse – Female
Chestnut Appaloosa Mare – Female
pinto stallion – male

Name: Black Appaloosa Horse – Dot
Chestnut Appaloosa Mare – Ermentine
pinto stallion - Brennan- Irish- 'teardrop, sorrow.'

Year Made: Black Appaloosa Horse –2013
Chestnut Appaloosa Mare – Ermentine - 2010
pinto stallion - 2015

Observations/Thoughts:
As this is Papo’s brown and black variants of the same sculpt of horse so I’ll review them together here.
Papo, I often think, are better with their horse moulds than Schleich, but here, I don’t think I’m fond of how long and leggy the sculpt seems to be? Both are in an active pose, with both back feet firmly on the ground while two forelegs are lifted from ground in a prancing pose. Especially with the outstretched tail, it really accentuates the cantering pose.

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Both horses have short manes and the same pose, so one must be a repaint of the other.
Black appaloosa has more varying marks than brown, with long stripes of black on her forelegs and hind legs. Ermetine the brown appaloosa doesn’t have these, instead she has plainer legs but a little brown ring around her eye- a cute detail!
Ermentine also has more of a brown blush or gradient around her nose and lips whereas Dot the black version hasn’t got so much of this, neither had she a splodge near her eye. Dot also has more black dots in her coat pattern, whereas Ermentine’s brown speckles are more sparing.
I would have preferred a slightly differing pose with the appaloosa’s rather than just a repaint of the one mould but, it’s fine, I’ll take them both, they are nice sculpts anyway.

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The next model is Schleich’s Pinto Stallion named Brennan. I’m overall not sure about the mould, really what sets me off is his strange legs, I don’t like the pose much as it seems like a strange, strutting his stuff on the catwalk type of thing? Especially with his mane stretching out behind him, he looks like he’s walking through those giant opera fans or something? Looks a bit strange to me, though I understand they are going for a walking pose whilst his tail and mane is windblown dramatically. I don’t think they have captured it here. I think mane comes out looking clumpy and unnatural looking, his tail works better seeing that it’s supposed to be windblown but not his mane. His markings are sparing splodges of white on an overall russet brown body. His white splodges are still sparing and sometimes have white curling shapes and arches over his flanks or neck, like a spill of cloudy fluid in water? Because of this, I took inspiration form that and called him Brennan, an Irish name that means ‘teardrop.’ I think it suits him, as when bemoaning his poor mane and rigid legs, I sometimes think of many teardrops too…

Rating: Black Appaloosa Horse – 4/5
Chestnut Appaloosa Mare – 4/4
Pinto stallion – 3/5