My Little Pony

Pastel ponies, colorful manes, and a whole collection of characters. My Little Pony made brushing hair part of the fun.

A pink pony, a blue pony, a purple pony. Brush the mane, arrange the tail, and decide which one was your favorite. My Little Pony made collecting little horses as much about the colors, names, and hair as anything resembling actual horses.

Hasbro introduced the familiar pastel ponies in 1983, following its previous, larger, My Pretty Pony toy. Cotton Candy, Butterscotch, and Minty were among the first ponies, each with soft vinyl bodies, brushable hair, and individual markings. Unicorns, winged ponies, and playsets gave the collection even more possibilities.

My nieces had these, and spent a lot of time making up adventures, or mostly just brushing and arranging the hair. Another pony just meant another character for the story, and another color for the collection (and another mane to untangle).

Later cartoons and newer generations changed the ponies' appearance and characters over the years. If you're looking for the rounded figures you remember from the 1980s, the My Little Pony Classics collection recreates early designs, including Earth ponies, unicorns, and Pegasus ponies. These are newer editions (not original vintage toys), but the colorful bodies and brushable hair are very familiar, just like the originals.