Horse toys will always be a hit because horses occupy a magical space in all kids’ hearts. These are the best horse toys out there for your little horse lovers. For more farm sets, check out the best tractor toys.
This Melissa & Doug Take-Along Horse Stable Set comes with eight horses and has a handle making it easy to pick up and bring with you wherever you and your little one go.
Like all Melissa & Doug toys, the stable is very durable and made of real wood that will hold up for years.
The set comes with eight horses of different breeds as well as an illustrated guide on the bottom of the stable that describes each breed for your horse-lover to learn more about them. There are also name tags they can fill in once they’ve named their horses.
Plus, the stable is its own storage area and encourages kids to put their toys away because it’s putting their horses in their stalls for the night.
This is a Paint Your Own Breyer Horses Set is a fun activity that results in toys they can play with so it’s almost like it’s two gifts in one.
Your little artist will create their own horse pals with this activity kit from Breyers.
It comes with five unpainted Stablemate-sized horses including a foal, a paintbrush, six paint colors, and an instruction booklet with horse facts.
This Horse Stable Set by Schleich comes with everything you need to set up your riding club with over 34 pieces, accessories, and transformable multi-use areas.
The riding center is 22.4 inches across, 15 inches long, and 5.5 inches tall. It’s highly detailed from the real chain on the halter down to the faux woodgrain pattern on the floorboards of the paddocks.
The center contains four separate horse paddocks and enough connectable fencing to create small runs that attach to each paddock. The windows on the roof open and close and the roof itself lifts off to be transformed into a covered riding area for training. It comes with blank stickers so they can write their horse’s name on it and set it on the matching spot on the door to each paddock.
There’s enough here that they’ll be able to care for horses from feeding to grooming to exercising. For accessories, the set includes an adult Arabian mare, Arabian foal, rider figure, saddle, bridle, halter, horse blanket, pitchfork, straw bay, hay bale, apples, carrots, purple cooler, brush, grooming sponge, hoof pick, window flowerpots, and 12 lengths of fencing.
It’s perfect for ages five to 12.
This Plush Horse Stable Playset is a nearly eight-inch tall soft stable with four weighing plushie horses. It has a carrying handle, making it great as a take-along toy and for encouraging clean-up since it’s the same as caring for the horses and putting them into their stable for the night.
The entire set is plush and soft, making it great for cuddling and safer if the little one decides to make the horses “jump” a little too high. There are four horses that have a neighing sound when they are squeezed.
If you’re looking for a soft, squeezable plush horse then check out Charmaine.
He stands just under 18 inches tall and is a perfect size to be huggable. Charmaine is made of super soft fabric and plush stuffing with hidden wire in the legs to make him posable and able to stand upright on his own.
They love his Shire Horse fuzzy feet and soft tail and mane.
Give them the closest thing to riding their own horse with the Ponycycle: a non-electric riding horse that mimics the experience of riding a horse.
When your kid bounces up and down on the saddle, the legs of the horse propel both horse and rider forward.
You have got to see this thing in action. Check out this video on YouTube to see what it looks like.
It’s incredibly unique and neat. The wheels only move forward so there’s no risk of rolling back downhill and they are tough enough to be used outside but gentle enough on floors to be used inside. They can even steer by turning the handles on the head of the horse.
The Ponycycle comes in two sizes. The small is for ages three to five and the medium is built for ages four to nine.
It even comes in a unicorn design.
Forget flimsy plastic stables, this Fold & Go Stable Set from Melissa & Doug is made of sturdy wood that will hold up to years of play.
The hinged stable folds together into a compact barn for storage with a handle on top so they can take it with them wherever they go. The stable opens up to reveal two horse stalls with four working swinging doors, four working sliding doors, as well as two haylofts. It also comes with a wooden ladder to get up to the haylofts, four toy hay bales, and four toy horses.
There’s even a fold-out length of fencing to extend their play area. It’s a good size for 1/25 scale horse figures and comes with four toy horses to start.
It’s rated for ages three and up.
Everyone loves advent calendars and with this one they get a new toy for a horse farm every day.
The Playmobil Advent Calendar has 24 pop-out windows for one gift each day of December right up until Christmas Eve. Every window reveals new toy or toys to build their own horse farm. In total it’s a 125-piece set that includes, two ponies, two foals, one horse, three riders, cats, fencing, a tree, horse food, hay, a wheelbarrow, buckets, birds, hedgehogs, and decorations for the horse’s manes.
They’ll love opening their tiny horse gift for the day and adding it to their growing horse farm
Do they love watching horse shows? They’ll be able to hold their own pretend competitions with Schleich’s Horse Club Big Horse Show 59-Piece Playset. It comes with everything they could want for their horse show: four different types of hurdles, two horses, two riders, fencing, banners, award ceremony station, ribbons, a trophy, winner wreath, number placards, decorative flower and topiary planters, and start and finish signs.
Schleich is a trusted, high-quality German brand in horse figures and toys so this set is compatible with all their other horse figures as well.
If they’re a fan of the movie Spirit or Netflix series Spirit Riding Free, they’ll love this Bring-Along Spirit Toy Stable Set with seven-inch tall horse figure from the show.
The open and closing paddock is build so that the roof acts as a handle that they can use to carry their horse and stable with them.
The set comes with the stable, horse figure with brushable mane and tail, bridle, reins, saddle, brush, shovel, rake, hay bale, storage bin, and a Spirit sticker sheet they can use to personalize their stable.
If all they’ve been asking for is a pony, get them the next best thing with this Prancing Clydesdale Plush from Hansa. It stands at five feet tall, five feet long, and 17 inches wide.
It has a sturdy but lightweight structural metal frame that keeps it upright but is covered in soft, plush fabric so it’s still huggable all the same.
Like all of Hansa’s animals, this one is incredibly life-like and detailed down to muscle definition. Each pony is hand sewn individually so it will be unique in the world. Can you just imagine their faces when you unveil this stuffed horse that’s taller than they are?
This 23-Piece Feed and Groom Set from Melissa & Doug is designed to have everything kids need to go through the daily chores of caring for a horse. The set comes with a reusable checklist that covers chores like brushing with brush and comb, feeding with fake water, grain, and hay, bathing with a bucket and sponge, and applying velcro horseshoes.
The adorable plush horse fits perfectly in the foldable, cardstock paddock and also comes with a bridle, blanket, and saddle for riding and a realistic carrot as a treat.
The set is perfect for kids who love horses, taking care of animals, or playing vet. The checklist encourages following directions and responsibility.
It’s a nice choice for ages three and up.
If they want to be a vet when they grow up, they might also love a veterinarian dress-up set to go with their toys.
If they also love to play with Lego, the Mia’s Horse Trailer set combines some of their favorite things.
This set comes with 216 pieces and includes Mia, Emma, a horse, a rabbit, as well as all the blocks needed to build Mia’s ATV, horse trailer, and the rabbit’s den. There are lots of fun accessories inside like a bridle, horse blanket, riding helmets, brush, carrot, bows that fit on either the girls or the horse, plus a mini crate to hold all these extras.
It’s made for ages six and up and is one of Lego’s more simple builds. If they love bigger Lego projects, they’ll want the Lego Friends Heartlake Riding Club set.
You don’t see many horse toys with moveable heads so the Blue Ribbon Champion Deluxe Set is a treat. The horse’s neck and head are hinged so it can bend down as well look up and down.
You’d be surprised how much more personality this can give a horse figurine.
These seven-inch tall horses make realistic sounds when you move their heads as though they’re responding–plus the batteries are included which is always nice. They come with a full, 14-piece set of accessories including bridle, saddle, blue ribbon, trophy, and grooming tools for its brushable mane and tail.
This 17-Piece Mobile Vet Playset is a great way to expand the playability of their existing horse toys.
It allows them to give their horses regular check-ups and care for their “injuries.” There’s so much potential for storytelling and pretend here.
The Mobile Vet van opens both from the side and the roof to make it easy to access all the medical tools hidden inside. The set comes with the van, one Hanoverian foal, a veterinarian with moving arms, X-ray machine, laptop, medical bag, stethoscope, syringe, medicine bottle, purple bandage, prescription pad, table, chair, halter, red apple, and sticker sheets.
There’s an incredible amount of detail here including an anatomical poster of a horse on the wall and an X-ray image on the vet’s laptop.
Because of the tiny pieces included this is meant for ages five and up.
It’s a classic toy for a reason. Hobby Horses encourage exercise, role-playing, and interactive play.
This Giddy Up Stick Horse is 37 inches long and plays different horse sounds when the ears are pressed (batteries included).
If you’re looking for a rocking horse with a little extra punch, check out this Interactive Riding Horse by Radio Flyer with movement-triggered sound effects.
Blaze is a spring horse with protective spring coverings to prevent pinched fingers. The horse produces three different sound effects (walking, trotting, and galloping) depending on the levels of bounce which encourages imagination and physical activity.
It comes with a carrot that triggers chewing sounds when held to Blaze’s mouth and a comb for grooming the mane.
There’s a textured step for safer mounting of the saddle and the x-shaped design is sturdier than the spring horses we grew up with. The horse itself has really nice details in the face and saddle that you’re little rider will love.
You can also get a Chestnut Plush, a version with softer, stuffed-animal fabric covering the standard plastic body.
This toy is sized for ages two through six.
Combine their love of horses and vehicles with this Schleich Pickup Truck and Trailer Set so their horses have a stylish way to travel from the stables to their competitions.
All the individual pieces work with opening doors and trailer hitches. The roof of the trailer comes off for easier play and inside there are pens for two horses and space for their feed. There’s even a special compartment in the trailer for storing the saddle.
The 11-piece set comes with everything shown: pickup truck, trailer, horse figure, bridle, saddle, horse blanket, driver figure, handler figure, hay bale, carrots, cleaning tools, and sticker sheet for decorating their trailer.
This stationary Rockin’ Rider Plush Horse has a sturdy metal frame that can support up to 130 pounds.
Even with its structural frame, the horse is still soft enough to be huggable and they’ll love bonding and caring for their horse. Realistic neighing and galloping sound effects enhance their role-playing. It comes in several styles each with their own name including Coffee (tan and white, featured above), Domino (painted), Diesel (speckled), and Duchess (pink).
The horse stands two feet tall and is perfect for ages 36 months and up.
The Breyer Stablemates Deluxe Animal Hospital is a good choice for a child who loves Breyer horses or is interested in being a veterinarian. It combines the fun of a horse stable with all the fantasy play of being a vet. It’s sized for 1:32 scale animals.
The hospital stable has two stalls, a large animal exam room, a small animal exam room, and a grooming station. It comes with six animals 1:32 scale to play with: a white quarter horse and blanket, a black foal, a donkey, a border collie in a herding position, a pigment goat, and a white barn cat. You also get an operating table and a box of bandages.
If they’re really interested in becoming a veterinarian, an article in The Arbor Ann News suggests getting kids books on animals as early as possible to start their learning and put them on a path toward their education.
If they love watching Disney princesses and their horse-drawn carriages, they’ll love this Little Tikes Princess and Carriage Set which converts from a foot-to-floor toy to a pull or push wagon.
This adorable toy from Little Tikes has three ways to play. Your little one can sit in their carriage with its white horse and be pushed around with the handle on the back of the carriage, be pulled with the reins on the horse, or your princess can propel themselves.
The reins reverse so they can hold them to control their own carriage and there’s a removable floorboard in the carriage so they can move with their feet on the ground. This floorboard is nice as it’s a safety feature to keep little feet away from the ground when they’re being pulled or pushed.
It’s really nice that the carriage has its own cup holder and there’s storage in the back of the carriage so they can tote around whatever a princess needs that day.
This one is intended for ages 18 months to five years with a 50-pound weight limit.
The Horse Stable Playset by DinoBros is a durable plastic case filled with all the small plastic toys they’ll need to dream up their own horse adventure stories.
It includes eight breeds of horses, four human figures doing different tasks, stable with two stalls, stable, fence, haybale stack, and one tractor. This is a great choice if they’re also into tractor toys.
The figurines are extra small so they’re easy to store. It’s for kids ages three and up.
For the little cowboy on your list, this Inflatable Lil’ Bucker Horse is perfect for them to bounce around on their cowboy adventures.
The horse is made tough to withstand serious bouncing both indoors and outdoors.
The brand even sells matching rodeo barrels and bucking chute so they can build their own rodeo event.
This bouncy toy comes with a bridle and hand pump to easily inflate it and is best for ages 18 months to three years.
If they love realism, they’ll love this Kids Globe Wooden Horse Stable. Made of real wood, the stable has realistic board-textured siding, wooden window frames, and wooden gates. The lift-up roof has realistic looking, to-scale singling and the stable even includes little details other toys forget like the small black ramp to get in and out of the stalls.
All the doors slide and many of the windows open as well. It doesn’t come with the shown accessories or figures so it would be great to bundle with with a 1:24 horse figure and this incredibly realistic Horse Feed Set with hay bales, straw bales, rake, vegetables, grain, and bins.
This 3D Horse LED Night Light isn’t exactly a toy but they’ll be entranced by its trick of the eye 3D look from this ultra-thin lamp.
It has seven different colors to choose from, is dimmable, and can be controlled by the included wireless remote.
This adorable little Singing Plush Horse will trot, wiggle its tail, and sing a little cowboy song with a squeeze of the buttons on his ears.
It’s a wonderful little toy that will fascinate toddlers and keep them gigging. Batteries are included which is always a plus.
This color horse is named Gallop and the toy also comes in a lighter tan horse named Rusty
Some ride-on horses require you to bounce on them to be powered but the My Wild Pony is fully motorized. Movement is controlled by the reins, just like a real horse, and the lever allows kids to steer the horse forward, left, right, and in reverse. It rolls at safe speeds of up to 1.8 miles per hour.
For more realism, the horse neighs and makes galloping sounds when you pet its head. I like that the horse is a harder plastic because it’s easier to keep clean and less likely to get stained. It does have a soft mane and tail that are brushable with the included brush.
It works as an outdoor or indoor toy and is powered by a rechargeable, included 12V battery. It’s built for three and up and can hold up to 66 pounds.
This Playmat by Melissa & Doug is just over three feet by three feet and is covered in paddocks, racetracks, jumps, stalls, a barn, and forest walking trails for your horse-lover to play with their toy horses on.
This is a perfect gift if you know that they already have plenty of horse toys as it gives them a new environment to play pretend with.
Even if they don’t have lots of horses, this rug comes with four horse figures and a folding fence to get them started. Pair it with a set of horse figurines to make a nice bundled gift.
The rug is machine washable to take care of any spills and rolls up to be easy to store.
Get a little magical with Aurora, a Breyer Classics Unicorn Figure.
This 1:12 scale horse has all the intricate detail you’d expect from Breyer with a pearlescent shimmer finish that makes the unicorn look even more otherworldly.
This is a perfect gift for any horse-love who always loves fantasy, fairy tales, or unicorns.
Upgrade the old hobby horse design with HollyHome’s Plus Stick Horse on Wheels. Instead of just a horse head on a stick (which sounds way worse than it is), HollyHome has added two wheels to the end of their wooden stick allowing more easier movement and less annoying dragging noises.
The plush horse head houses a battery-powered sound effect unit that produces neighing and galloping sounds when the ears are pressed. The unit takes two AA batteries which are, unfortunately, not included.
There are several different color horses to pick from including the light tan featured above, black, dark brown, and a blue sequin unicorn version.
If you’re on a budget and shopping for someone ages four to 10, consider this bucket full of horses. The Blue Ribbon Horse Farm Bucket by Sunny Days is packed with over 50 pieces that create a horse training farm.
You get a variety of horse figures of different sizes, colors, and positions including performing jumps as well as practice jumps at different heights, rider figures, feed stations, horse trailer, pickup truck, barn facade, fencing, cones, buckets, horse blankets with ribbons, circle of “grass” for the fenced-in area, and even the lid of the bucket doubles as rocky terrain with the handle becoming a bridge.
It may not be the fanciest or the most realistic but this bucket is packed with potential for role-playing training, competitions, and other adventures. Plus it comes with its own storage.
Rocking horses, like this Rockin’ Rider Horse, have been a classic Christmas gift for as long as they’ve been around.
I remember getting my first rocking horse at Christmas as a little kid and holding onto it for years and years.
This toddler rocking horse is perfect for kids ages one through three depending on their size. It’s designed to be durable with a wood and plywood structural frame on the inside but it still has a super soft and huggable horse on the outside. The wide seat is great for toddlers who are learning to sit upright and the edges of the rocker are turned downwards at the ends to prevent tipping.
When you add batteries, the button in the ear has six different phrases and sound effects that sync up with the movement of the horse’s mouth.
Made for ages one to three, it’s a great baby’s first rocking horse.
Puppets encourage imagination and this Horse Head Puppet is amazing detailed and soft for hours of fun.
They’ll love the incredibly realistic horse head with bright, shiny eyes, soft faux mane, and anatomically accurate face structures. Being soft latex, it’s easy to move the mouth to mimic talking and it folds up easily for storage.
Just be aware that it is latex so you’ll want to skip this one for kids who have latex allergies.
It’s meant for ages one and up.
Breyer releases a handful of Horses of the Year and Fairfax, this American Morgan, is one of the prettiest in the 2020 series.
This breed is known for their adaptability for use from plowing fields to dressage. Fairfax is part of their 1:12 scale Classics line so is about seven inches tall. Any Breyer collector will love this one.
If they love horses and styling hair, check out Saddle Stars. At 12.5 inches tall, these horses are sized to play well with any of their 12-inch tall dolls.
The beautifully sculpted horse figures have long flowing manes and tails, perfect for braiding. They come with two different color sets of snap-on horseshoes, brush, eight butterfly hair clips, matching saddle bag, bridle, reins, saddle blanket, saddle, and a bracelet for your little one.
It's certainly a widespread phenomenon, enough that the term "horse girl" is part of our lexicon.
People have been obsessed with horses since we domesticated them 6,000 years ago according to the BBC, and that interest hasn't waned even though we're generally no longer reliant on horses for transport and agriculture.
There are different theories on exactly why. An NPR article suggests that horses, unicorns, and dolphins capture our little hearts because they encourage our imaginations. I would add mermaids to that list because mermaid gifts for girls are just as popular at some ages.
These animals represent speed, power, and independence as well as the ability to travel in ways children can't on their own. (And sometimes that's into fun, magical worlds too.)
I mean, horses are gorgeous, captivating creatures. Who didn't want a pony growing up?
The plus side to this obsessive love of horses is that nearly any horse gift you give them is almost a guaranteed winner.
That really depends on who you're buying for. If you're finding a gift for a toddler or someone who likes horses but hasn't gone over into horses-are-life territory, you can probably get away with any brand you like.
If you're buying for someone who has a collection or who loves specific horses like a collection of Spirit horse toys, it's best to spring for the big names.
Another reason to buy brand names is if it's important to you where the toys are coming from. Most toys out there are going to be manufactured somewhere in Asia. Schleich horses are a German brand and many of them are manufactured in Europe.
On some listings, you'll be seeing numbers and symbols like 1:12 or 1/24 scale. That refers to the size of the toy.
For example, 1:12 scale means that one foot in real life equates to down to 1/12 of an inch for the miniature.
Scale is important because you want the toy horses to be able to fit inside the barn or stable so you want to check to make sure they're the same scale.
Just Miniature Scale has a great visual explanation of this if that's easier to understand.
None. It's 2021. Kids of any gender can play with whatever toys they want. Girls playing with horse trucks and trailers? All good. Boys playing with pink little horses? No worries.
Gendering colors and toys only isolate kids from each other and discourage sharing.
Kids like what they like. There's no harm in any of it.
It's a cliche for a reason, right? If the only thing on their Christmas list is "pony" written 25 times down the pages, don't panic.
The obvious answer here is to spring for horse riding lessons if you're able but not everyone has the money or location to make that work.
For starters, get them books so they can learn about horse riding and everything it takes to care for horses. The book Horse Life: The Ultimate Guide to Caring for and Riding Horses for Kids is a solid option here. They may learn more and decide they don't actually want to care for a horse when they learn what "mucking stalls" means.
But chances are they'll still be gung-ho. Your options here are to get them a larger stand-in toy or break down and find a way for them to spend time with horses.
I know there's a cost to it, but it's not really a bad thing. Horse Illustrated details lots of benefits to being a horse-obsessed kid. Caring for horses fosters a sense of responsibility and dedication. It helps them face their fears while engaging in an athletic sport outdoors.
You could also try to shift their focus to something else horse-esque that you can't own with giraffe gifts.
My top one is that I don't have to get up and go find your wallet because they already have your billing information. Plus there's always:
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