I really don't have much control over the order in which horses appear in my collection. I am a bargain hunter - whatever shows up in the announcements in good condition and price - I take it! And after Lucy here comes the original Tawny with full equipment (no brush).
She came to me on July 20, 2022. Her condition is practically perfect. Almost no scratches, the painting is even mat, as if it was not a toy at all. It is dusty and the mane is a bit matted - but the hair can tangle without play, even from simply moving or falling over the horse. They are of the original length.
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| Tawny as she arrived |
Accessories
It has all the accessories:
> Pink bridle with a bit
> Pink reins
> Flexible brown saddle
> Pink saddle pad with ribbons for attaching the blanket
> Green blanket with flowers
> Four flower-shaped hair beads - 2 x pink and 2 x blue
The only thing that is missing is a brush, but that is quite a minor detail.
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| Here you can see the tangled hair |
A bit about history
Tawny means the yellow-brown in color. Such a not very creative name and surprisingly it stuck to many models, so she is no exception. As if the former, very creative Mattel suffered some limitation in coming up with names, although ... probably not only.
This Tawny appeared in 2006. It is built on the High Stepper's mold, and so far I think it is almost identical to it - apart from the loudspeaker on the front. As I wrote in Lucy's post - Tawny not only walks, but also neighs - hence the speaker. Like its progenitor - the High Stepper - it has a switch between its front legs. When she is turned on - she takes a few steps - during this time, hoof sounds come from the loudspeaker. Then she stops and neighs, then takes a few steps again with hoof sounds, stops and neighs ... and so on until she is turned off.
On the occasion of writing about Baja, I wrote that Cali Girl's horses were the last ones similar to the real ones in the Barbie world, but I forgot about this Tawny. And then there are a few static models similar to real horses, but their equipment leave a lot to be desired. Then came the era of all these ugly horse-like creatures. Okay, let's go back to Tawny, because I strayed from the topic. She's a really cute horse, just don't understand why she has white hair? Or to be precise, I always perceived it as gray ... - I'm picking on again. However, when I saw her for the first time - I knew that without her my collection would be incomplete - I really wanted to have her, but with all the most important accessories and in good condition - and as it can be seen - dreams come true :)
These horses were probably quite popular and easily available at the time when they occupied the stores shelves, because today there is no problem to find them on the secondary market. Children from those years are probably just growing up and are getting rid of unnecessary toys. After all, 16 years have passed since the premiere.
Tawny was available individually (J9488) or as a set with a doll (N3286). You could also get the Dream Stable set (J9489) with a doll. The set with the stable also included a dog, but this was a typical modern Barbie dog - you had to look carefully to see it - it was quite small, called Ginger (another name that stuck to more than one model).
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| Boxed Tawny (photo from the web) |
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| Barbie and Tawny set (photo from the web) |
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| Dream stable for Tawny set (photo from the web) |
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| Dream stable set (photo by Mattel) |
photo by Matel
Mattel legend has it that Tawny can carry a basket and other accessories in her mouth, on both of my horses - this feature doesn't work. I don't know, maybe there were some special editions or simply - marketers wrote such a function in the description, but the production forgot to implement it. If anyone has Tawny who has this legendary ability - let me know.
The most common ills of used Tawnys, apart from the lack of equipment (the most common losses are beads and a blanket), abrasions, shading and paint on the hooves, are felted or completely cut hair - an example here is my Lucy. Another drawback is something that appears even in unused, boxed specimens - white sediment appears on the saddle, similar in look to flour.
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| White sediments on the saddle |
Time for cleaning
After an in-depth session, it's time to undress my new mare. I know this Tawny's saddle very well, because that's what my Elsa came to me with (and she still wears it). It is very large, probably the largest of all my horses saddles (I do not count the old Western ones, because there are fastenings there). This saddle has no stirrups, just loops into which the doll's legs are inserted. As for the further equipment - I was a bit surprised when it turned out that both the bridle and the reins are made of flexible material - it is not the stiff plastic I had hoped for. On the other hand, I was disappointed with the blanket, which does not look like a blanket at all - more like a handkerchief. It is very tiny and is supposed to have only a decorative function. Somehow I do not see the doll sitting comfortably on it and reading a book in a clearing under a tree - as it is illustrated on the packaging (which I do not have).
All its accessories are in perfect condition, only the hair beads are slightly faded, probably from the sun.
And my Tawny without equipment looked like this:
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| Another example of tangled mane hair |
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| Also here you can see how the mane looked |
It's a battery powered mechanical horse - I couldn't put it in the bowl with water, but I had to somehow wash her hair. Holding her with one hand over the bowl, I was washing her mane and tail hair with the other hand.
Then with a sponge moistened in water with detergent, I gently rubbed her entire body, trying to prevent the water from penetrating inside. After washing, I rinsed the hair in a similar way.
Accessories also landed in the wash:
After their removal, the water from the horse and equipment washing did not prove that they were clean:
Detangling hair
The next step was to comb the hair - I started with the tail because it was easier to handle. I applied a conditioner to the hair and started from the bottom, combing the tangled fibers with small strands.
The mane was in worse condition, which is clearly visible in the photos above - even when it was dry, you could see that it is quite tangled after the degree of its frizz - in the lower part. Very patiently, I was brushing its parts with small steps and a huge amount of conditioner.
Straightenning hair
First, I treated the hair with a curling blow dryer, but still at the bottom the mane was too fluffy. Then I came up with the idea that I would try to use my old hair crimper - I still haven't equipped myself with a straightener. Well, even if something seems stupid, it may even look stupid, but it works - it is absolutely correct and ok. Pulling the hair several times through the hot crimper definitely and visibly improved its condition.
And my lady after drying, straightening and combing:
Dressing up again
After drying the saddle pad and blanket, I was able to put it back on her. Tawny didn't have any interesting hairstyle in the original, so I came up with a composition of short twist braids.
Tawny and Lucy
Tawny with model sister - Lucy. Lucy has a mane three times as the original (in volume), the tail, although it seemed quite poor when I created it, is also twice as in the original, except that I trimmed it a little shorter.
Lucy has been an often played with horse in the past - a lot of her shading has disappeared, making her appear brighter than Tawny.
The manes appear to be of the same length. Only they differ in volume and the fact that Lucy has a fringe.
Due to the fact that Lucy has worn shading, there is a visible stripe on her spine.
All battery powered walking horses
Garden session
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