The Edit: Horse Girl Autumn

Why does everything have horses on it this season? And why am I into it?

I don’t mean to brag, but you are currently reading the newsletter of a former Pony Pals club member. (HOW does this website still function??? and also please somebody tell me you also had this experience as a young girl in the early 2000s).

That is to say that, yes, I had Felicity the American Girl doll, I commanded a whole stable full of Barbie horses, and I begged my dad for my Very Own Horse plenty of times (he was actually willing to oblige, provided I would care for it; I was less enthused after that). I spent my free time during class sketching horse nuzzles, I can still tell you the difference between a paint, a piebald, and a palomino, and I know exactly where to locate a forelock.

I was a horse girl by association – my best friends in elementary school and middle/high school (two different girls, weirdly) were both capital-H Horse Girls. I was a horse girl cultural appropriator. I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve ridden a horse (but hey, I have done it!) but I accepted all the trappings of horse girl culture with aplomb.

So you’ll forgive me for being a bit excited when I was doing my annual autumn style browsing and noticed quite a few horse motifs. And not just literal horse imagery, but also a proliferation of equestrian style – chore coats, riding boots, bit-shaped hardware, plaid blazers, the works.

Is it a tradwife dogwhistle thing? Highly possible. Am I still very into it? Yes absolutely. Without further ado, here are my picks for Horse Girl Autumn. Giddy up!