Today’s article is brought to you by Molly Patton, LEGO horse whisperer. You can find her on Flickr and YouTube.

In 1984, horses began prancing their way into LEGO sets, and they'd eventually become a part of many themes, including Castle, Western, Paradisa, Friends, Harry Potter, Scala, Belville, and Elves.

But just how many different LEGO horses are out there? If you search for the keyword “horse” on BrickLink, 507 results appear, though you’ll probably get more than you bargained for. In that search, you’ll see everything from the wooden pull-along horse from the early days of the LEGO company to a Clickits wallet that happens to have a pink horse printed on it.

For a more refined search, type “horse” into the “animal, land” category on BrickLink. This time you’ll get just 85 results, from cute Friends foals to all-brick steeds. What you won’t see on that list are centaurs or unicorns, which in my mind should at least be counted as horse-adjacent.

So until one of us sits down and makes a detailed list of all available horses, at least we can safely say: “there are A LOT of LEGO horses.” And there have been numerous variations of LEGO horses over the years – more than you may even be aware of. From easily-seen differences, such as a horse’s color, to small variations, like in the horses’ eye shapes, to their functionality. Some can move their necks, some can move their back legs, and some can’t move anything at all. These many differences mean that when it comes to buying LEGO horses, you’re going to have plenty to choose from.

Below are just some of the LEGO horses and related creatures that are available.

The Classics

Ah, the classic horse of many an AFOLs’ youth (part number 4493c01pb01, pb02, and so on.) Produced between 1984 and 2012, there are at least 11 variations of this particular critter. You can find it in black, brown, white, and gray with spots. Some, like the black horse above, even have fancy printing on their sides.

Notice the differences in the eyes of the three horses in the photo above. The horse in the back (4493c01pb02) has white eyes with a central black pupil, the white horse (4493c01pb04) has black eyes with a white gleam, and the horse in the front (4493c01pb06) has eyes that peer forward.

Other variations among these classic horses may include mane colors and bridle colors. Two things they all have in common, though: they have moveable necks and a 1x2 opening in their backs, which can accommodate a saddle (part 4491a or 4491b), barding (part 2490 and its variations), a hitching piece (part 2397/4587), a 1x2 brick and 1x2 plate or tile, OR a minifig.

In 2012, the classic LEGO horse got an upgrade. This “new classic” (10352c01pb01, pb02, and so on) has more realistic curves and can move both its neck and back legs, allowing it to rear, leap over fences, and get up to all sorts of horsey shenanigans.

This type of horse currently comes in black, white, brown, and tan -- and there are several variations among bridle colors as well. One white horse of this type with an ornately-printed bridle (part 10352c01pb5) has thus far appeared in only one set –Winter Village Market from 2013.

Friends-Style

2012 was a big year for LEGO horses. In addition to the upgrade of the classic horses, the advent of the LEGO Friends theme brought Friends-style horses to the masses...

Friends-style horses differ from classic LEGO horses in several ways:

They’re more rounded/curvy.
They have tiny holes in their tails and manes so they can be adorned with bows, flowers, ribbons, and other decor.
They carry different-sized saddles (part 93086) than the classic horses, and have a 2x2 opening in their back, rather than a 1x2.
Friends-style horses released between 2012 and 2020 (part 93083c01pb) had no moveable parts. In 2021, Friends-style horses (76950c01pb) were updated and given moveable necks and bendy tails.

Friends-style horses can be found in multiple colors, including white, medium nougat, bright light orange, dark orange, reddish brown, and black. Their manes and tails come in over a dozen colors, including magenta, silver, lavender, and gold.

Pegasi

The noble winged horse of Greek mythology, the Pegasus, has appeared in several forms across LEGO sets in recent years. Most frequently seen in the Elves theme with a Friends-style horse body, variations include a light orange pegasus with magenta wings (Azari & The Goblin Escape - 41186), a white one with a gold mane, tail, and wings (Skyra’s Mysterious Sky Castle – 41078), and a pair of white pegasi with violet manes and tails and silver wings (Aira’s Pegasus Sleigh – 41077). These last two are nearly identical, save for the printing on their faces and the color of their eyes.

Two white horses of the “new classic” style appeared in the Harry Potter set Beauxbatons’ Carriage: Arrival At Hogwarts (75958). They are white with brown bridles and white wings. On all LEGO pegasi, the wings are detachable.

Disney Horses

2021 brought us two of my favorite Disney horses – Philippe (from Beauty and the Beast) and Max (from Tangled), in the set Belle and Rapunzel’s Royal Stables (43195). They, like other LEGO Friends-style horses released in 2021, have moveable necks and bendy tails.

The recently-released set Jasmine and Mulan's Adventure (43208) includes Mulan's horse Khan, who is black with a white muzzle.

And we can't forget Woody’s loyal pal from Toy Story. Bullseye appeared in two 2010 LEGO sets, and the one I own bears the number 534J9, though on Bricklink he’s simply listed as “Part number: Bullseye.” Bullseye’s front and back legs both move, but his neck does not.

Foals

LEGO makes baby horses, too! The foal above (part 11241) comes in black, white, tan, and brown. It is one solid piece with no moveable limbs. A similar-sized, but more basic-looking brown foal (part 30032) appeared in two Paradisa sets in 1996.

Belville horses (part 6171pb and its variations) and foals (part 6193pb) came in brown, white, black, and dark orange. The adult horses had moveable necks, but the foals did not.

A tiny yellow pony (part number 28320pb01) was the key figure in the set Petite’s Royal Stable (Set 41144-1) in 2017.

Centaurs

The LEGO Centaur piece was first seen in the Harry Potter set Forbidden Forest: Umbridge’s Encounter (75967), and later as part of one of the collectible minifigs in Series 21. It currently comes in brown with a dark tan tail and dark orange with a brown tail. The torsos can be removed, allowing the legs to gallop freely.

Horse-ish Minifigs

Several individual LEGO minifigs are decidedly horse-esque. These include:

White “Uncorn Girl” from the collectible minifigs series 13.
Blue “Unicorn Guy” from series 18.
“Unicorn DJ” from the set Unicorn DJ Beatbox (43106-1).
The purple “Flying Unicorn Singer” from K-Pawp Concert (43113-1).
“Cowboy Costume Guy” from series 18.

Honorable Mentions

A tiny horse (75498pb01) in the color “satin trans-light blue,” appeared in the set Elsa And The Nokk Storybook Adventures in 2021.

A slightly larger horse (58484c01pb01) in “trans-light blue” can be found in the 2019 set Elsa’s Jewelry Box Collection. (41168-1). It has a much longer tail than other LEGO horses.

Whether you’re creating a massive castle scene, constructing a bustling western vignette, recruiting an ancient Roman army, or envisioning an elvish haven, you’ll definitely want to include some LEGO horses in your build. I’m not going to tell you to “collect them all!” but... that would be kind of cool. Have fun horsing around!

How many LEGO horses do you have? Did we miss any in the article? Let us know in the comments section below!

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