Let’s agree to refer to Schleich 2016 as the year of the hoof. There were some great dinosaurs released that year. There were a few playsets. There were even some toys in Farm World and Wild Life that had paws.
We loved all of those, but we still must admit. The best Schleich toys of 2016 all had hooves!
Now, knowing that we’re going to focus on animals with hooves, you probably thought we were going to start with the fabulous new horses they released that year. There, you would be wrong, my friend!
Be sure to also check out our Schleich selection. It's huge!
Schleich Bayala
This year saw what were, without a doubt, our favorite Bayala creatures. The Pegasus of 2016 was the most amazingly life-like fantasy Pegasus we had ever seen. It was white with a shimmery silver mane and tail. There was a cool moon, sun, and star design on its rump.
The wings! White and silver with the glimmer of sparkles, they spread to the sides and moved. This Pegasus was ready to take flight!
Not to be outdone, there was a Rainbow Unicorn Mare and a Foal! Two gorgeous white unicorns with glittery manes that ended in a splash of rainbow color. They both sported a golden horn and golden hooves. There was even a small rainbow on their rumps.
The most fantastic thing about this pair, apart from how magical and beautiful they were—when we were little, my younger sister pretended to look just like these unicorns! Who would have ever thought that I would find something like that in the Schleich 2016 collection?
Schleich Horse Club
Oh, the horses! We love Horse Club! There was a light tan and spotted Andalusian Mare with a long black mane and tail. A bay Arab Stallion, holding his tail proudly in the air like a flag as he pranced.
2016 was the year our Clydesdale family was released. The Mustang family—Mare, Stallion, and Foal—tried to run right past us, but the Saddle Bronco with Cowboy managed to rope them and get them into the corral.
If you were lucky enough to find the Stable with Horses and Accessories Set, it was the perfect place to bring the new Pinto Foal and a Tennessee Walker Foal. The two of them were born around the same time and loved frolicking together.
The Schleich 2016 collection also added the horse I dreamt of owning most of my life. A True Black Friesian Stallion! That glossy black coat and thick black mane and tail, the lovely feathering around the hooves. The stallion was a truly magnificent animal.
Schleich Farm World
Let's check out Farm World. A Border Collie and a couple of Dalmatians came to live on the farm that year. However, the real stars of the Schleich 2016 Farm World collection also had hooves! We met the Simmental Calf, Bull, and Cow that year. This family unit was a perfect addition, in part because these are dual-purpose cattle. They are used for meat as well as milk.
On the dairy side, we got the Holstein Cow, Bull, and Calf. They made a lovely family we were happy to take home with us.
The Rodeo Bull was huge and impressive. The Team Roping with Cowboy Set was not complete without a good bucking bull for that cowboy to ride when he was finished catching the calf.
For those just starting with their farm collection that year, Schleich put out the My First Farm Animals Set. It included a Pig, a Lamb, and a Holstein Cow. Of course, there was also a small Rhode Island Red Hen and a few accessories as well.
The Mini Pig with Bottle Set and the Mini Pig with Apples Set were both exciting to play with. Who doesn’t enjoy tiny pigs? Just looking at them reminds me of Charlotte’s Web!
Schleich Wild Life
Yes, there were elephants, a Giant Pangolin, and Cheetahs in Schleich 2016, and we even spotted a large male Leopard. These were great additions to Wild Life, and we enjoyed playing with them. But, did you see the Oryx?
Oryx are a type of large antelope. There are four different species of Oryx, and all of them have those magnificent black spiraled horns! They may look like a creature from Bayala, but these beasts share the Earth with us.
Did you check out that family of Giraffes? The Giraffe is the tallest mammal on earth. Their tongues are black, so they don’t get sunburnt. There are four different species and five sub-species of Giraffes in the wild, but all of them are either endangered or threatened.
Fun Fact—Did you know you have the same number of bones in your neck as a giraffe?
Schleich Dinosaurs
None of the dinosaurs in the Schleich 2016 collection have hooves. This is not surprising, because the hoof is a strictly mammalian trait. That means only warm-blooded animals have hooves.
Even without hooves, some great dinosaurs joined our collection in 2016. The Barapasaurus, with its spine-covered back, was a great addition. In some ways, it reminded us of a dragon with all those sharp spikes.
The Dilophosaurus and the Dimetrodon came ready for a fight! Which one would win? The two of them might have been more evenly matched than you would imagine. That Dimetrodon had an enormous mouth and wicked-looking teeth!
The Dimorphodon and Therizinosaurus Set was an exciting addition. Did you know the Dimorphodon was one of the very first dinosaurs? The Therizinosaurus was one of the very last dinosaurs to roam the Earth. Having them together in a set was an excellent idea.
Conclusion
All in all, it is easy to see why we think Schleich 2016 was the year of the hoof. Maybe not all the animals released that year had hooves. The animals that had them, however, were some of the best we had ever seen before.