Tuesday, August 30, 2016

LORI Horse Review

American Quarter Horse

Hi! This season's offerings from LORI move from the ballet studio to the equestrian ring. Perfect timing right around the Olympics too. Did you see any of the dressage or jumping competition? It was cool!

The other day I was in Target and found one lone horse in the LORI section. Very pretty too. At first glance I thought it was a palomino, but the box has it listed as an American Quarter Horse. The horses run $9.99 in our area. There was also a 10% off purchases that day.

The horse comes in the standard pink and white LORI box. 
The story is on the side panel and the back shows this horse with a possible rider as well as a list of what is included. 1 horse, 1 bridle, 1 saddle, 1 spray bottle, 1 hook, 1 scraper, 2 saddle blankets.


The horse comes out of the outer box easily and is attached securely to the pink brick inner packaging. 


That's when the fun begins. 
The large tie wrap is around the horse's middle, then there are three smaller wraps around the hooves (the third is hiding on the bottom). And all that lovely tape. The small accessories are encapsulated in a plastic shell.

The worst part is the mane. It was difficult to release it from the sewn on plastic. But not impossible.


The tail is secured with two clear plastic bands. One up high and the other by the hoof. 
The mane and tail are very silky and smooth. You can see the gap where the tale is attached to the body.

There is a line for the mane.
The way it is attached you can not easily shift the mane to fall on the other side of the horse.

Here we are - out and free! It takes a bit of patience to get the horse to stand, but it will. 


I took the saddle and blankets off. You can see the body is hard, molded plastic.
The blankets are attached together by one stitch. I like that, you are less likely to lose a piece. I did not take the bridle off, because it was not moving easily and I didn't want to tear the plastic.

This close up of the blanket you can see the stitch in the upper right corner. 
If you have OCD, you might be getting out the shears to trim the "shearling" blanket a bit.

Rebecca volunteered to meet our new horse first. 
She looks so much like Butterbrandy that we've decided to call her Butterbeer- BB for short.

First try mounting was a bit awkward.


Rebecca straightened up in the saddle. I couldn't get the reins in her hands though.


After the ride, Rebecca decided to clean BB up a bit.
She can hold the bottle, but not the scraper or hook.

To get an idea of how BB will fit in your corral...another new member to our barn sauntered into the photo...
Steps High.  (Shhh, Kaya hasn't officially met her yet. Nonna found her second hand for us and she is beautiful!)

BB is a very nice horse. I would like her to stand on her own better, but that can be worked around. I do have her stored lying on her side though. 

The other oddity is the scale. I feel this way about the AG horses as well. The girls are supposed to be anywhere from 8 - 12 years old, yet when standing next to the horse, they are taller. So these must really be ponies not true horses. Those are my only negative observations. 

Overall, I give the LORI horse 4 out of 5 stars. I see great play value from this item especially if you love horses.

Best wishes,


Note: Tea Time with Melody Q is not affiliated with American Girl or LORI or Target. All items shown are from our own collection.  The item reviewed was purchased for our collection with our own funds. The review is unsolicited and comprised of our own opinions, thoughts, and words. No links are provided as the new line does not appear on the LORI site as of yet. If you are interested in learning more about the line check target.com. No purchase is required or suggested to enjoy this post.

4 comments:

  1. Very cute! Too bad they didn't do a better job of making it stand up though. I agree with them being ponies, that would make much more sense in regards to the proportions.

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    1. Yes, I think the balance would have been better if they were on four hooves instead of 3, but maybe not. It seems the one leg is just a hair shorter than it needs to be for perfect balance (not unlike Rebecca and her two different legs).
      ~Xyra

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  2. I'm surprised they don't stand well. The OG foals and horses are sturdy on their feet, but we've never taken them outside. That's unfortunate and would be very frustrating.

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    1. Do your horses have all 4 hooves on the ground? That might be the difference. I see some of the OG horses are 4 down and others are 3 or 2?

      The balance is not horrible, but I couldn't just set it on the step and let it go right away. It took a couple tries to get it just right so it would stand. Then it was good.
      ~Xyra

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