Noriker, stallion (Farm Life by Schleich)

Before I begin the review, I would like to kindly thank our friends at Happy Hen Toys for who provided me with this review sample (my first!) for the Blog! If you end up being interested in this figure, you can certainly find it on their website or wherever Schleich toys are sold. Now…the first Schleich horse for the Blog! Let’s dive right into it.

The Schleich Noriker stallion was produced by the company in 2023 with the item number of #13958 as part of their Farm World series. The figure itself is a depiction of a draft style horse breed, however the Noriker has become a very adaptable all-terrain equine.

This sturdy breed was originally bred from Roman war horse stock brought into Austria and then crossed with local Alp horses. The area they were created in was a Roman province dubbed Noricum, hence where the names Noriker, Norico-Pinzgauer, or simply the Pinzgauer horse, comes from. The breed has been paramount for the region since, helping to transport all kinds of goods in and out of the area. This horse was developed to be muscular and powerful, deep chested, but still agile and sure-footed for all kinds of terrain. Later adapted for agricultural work, they furthered the area’s development during the industrial revolution. A great variety of coat colors exist, there are no un-accepted coat variations. Shortly after their immense growth in popularity during and following the World Wars, they experienced a stark decline during the 1970s and ‘80s. Today, they have somewhat rebounded with special care into preserving this durable breed.

A description of the breed is often that they are a “moderately” heavy draft horse, with a low center of gravity. There should be of a stout conformation, especially in their muscular hind legs. These large horses can be solid colors of red, white, bay, palomino, chestnut, and black (considered the most common coat color today, perhaps the reason why this model is a nearly solid black!). But numerous patterns also exist, variable painted patches of color on a white field, appaloosa, leopard spots, dappled, roan, etc. In modern times, the bold leopard spot pattern is the most popular. Lastly, these animals are said to be very good natured, easily trained for working or for equine sport past-times such as dressage.

For the figure itself, its rather a plain looking model at first glance. It has very few special markings, it is mostly a solid black horse. The only markings on this model are two hind socks (the white bits right above the feet). Looking more closely at the figure itself however, it is sculpted rather well. The figure has a strong head and deep chest, just as it should. A muscular neck and haunches finish out the true-blue draught horse appearance. It has a long, natural, thick mane and tail as well as some feathering (the extra hair around the lower leg and feet, though this feature can be much more prominent in some individuals than it is represented here). There are fine hair striations running directionally down from the topline of the animal. My only real criticism would be that in this model, just as it has been present in several other Schleich horses, suffers from a shortening of the muzzle. In this particular breed, it isn’t completely unheard of, just not something to my personal liking. I would have preferred a true “Roman nose” head type instead. I like the movement for this sculpt. It has the appearance of a horse that has just spotted its flake of hay being dropped at the end of the field, and it has begun to slowly trot to meet its dinner. Head raised tall, ears pricked forward, and with an intelligent glint in his eye. The model has a somewhat glossy finish; I am unsure if that is a sealing coat of some sort or just the type of paint used. At any rate, it is a rather fine figure of a Noriker if anyone finds a need to include an all around adaptable dafter type of horse breed to their collections! This horse, and many others, can be purchased from our friends at Happy Hen Toys!