The feminisation of the horse-riding public in recent decades has spread to the "toy horse." For a long time, these toys were more akin to male games, such as the hobby horse, which played an educational role, whereby boys learned to simulate duels in the saddle, for instance. Making its appearance in the 1980s, My Little Pony quickly became the darling of little girls everywhere. This "toy doll" thus spread a very different image of the horse, not as a companion in war and daily life, but as a friend to cuddle and groom.