1989:

LOVING FAMILY PONIES

Bringing with them a brief introduction to the concept of genetics, the Loving Family Ponies first came onto the scene in 1989. Although Hasbro had tried mother and baby ponies that matched in earlier years, this was the first foray into the world of My Little Pony families and each set consisted of a mother, a father, and two children (the happy nuclear family!). Each baby bore the same body tone as the adults, but combined both mother and father's symbols and hair colours.

Of course, nothing is ever as simple as it at first appears to be. Not where Hasbro and My Little Pony are concerned! Although in Europe and the UK each family set consisted of four characters, the North American sets contained only three - two adults and one baby.

Furthermore, in the United States they seem to have been sold as a group set, whereas their initial UK release saw them sold on seperate cards, only being combined into a group set when rereleased the following year. Apparently, that mischievous store chain, Woolworths, were also responsible for importing US boxed sets of Mommy, Daddy and one baby pony and selling them as store exclusives, just to confuse everyone, so it is unclear whether the sets sold in the UK were of all four, or of just three, or a mixture of the two (thanks to Lady Guinevere and Chrissytree for the information about Loving Family sets in Woolworths)

Another odd factlet about this set is that the parents often have no country of manufacture on their hooves. These were sold through normal channels alongside the basic China versions. (It is possible that the imported versions were the ones made in China and the official release UK ones were the No Country ones, but this is unproven)

The No Country versions were actually made in Spain, since ponies have been found mint on card detailing that information. Why they should have been sold in the United Kingdom is anyone's guess - all we know is that they undoubtedly were.

It is worth mentioning that the Daddies from these sets are often confused with Big Brother/Adventure Boy Ponies and Mountain Boy Ponies. In fact they are probably the most common clydesdale hooved ponies on the second hand market and are distinguishable as family ponies by their almost Twice as Fancy style symbols. (And remember, no freckles - no Mountain Boy!) The mothers are also confused with genuine Twice as Fancy or Party ponies, but they too are easy to distinguish at a moment's glance, since none of the Loving Family Ponies have the repetition of their symbol on their cheek that ALL Twice As Fancy/Party Ponies have.

'LOVING FAMILY PLAYSETS' (Trolley and Rattle Backcard, 1989)
(thanks to Lady Guinevere for the scan)

The Loving Family Ponies also had a group of accessories which were specifically designed for their use. They were baby pony accessories, sold under the unoriginal labels "Playpen and duck", "High chair and bottle" and "trolley and rattle."  Each playset was sold on a seperate card, with the Loving Family Pony graphics on. I don't believe these sets were sold in North America.

I have chosen to keep each family together on their pages, for ease of navigation.