Welcome to our new feature!
Spotlight on: Spanish Piggy Ponies
[img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352307&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img]
Minty courtesty of GYPSYWILDFLOWER - thanks!
One of the more curious additions to the My Little Pony universe can be found in the form of what have affectionately been named \"Piggy Ponies\". These strangely adorable ponies are unique in the world of variants and often provoke a love them or hate them response.
For a long time, they were thought to be bizarre fakies based on the early collector pose issue, simply because they looked nothing like any other MLP we knew about. However, then came the discovery of a number of Piggy Ponies mint on card, thus proving that they actually were real. The name \"Piggy Ponies\" is partly a hold over from the time when they were more a source of amusement, and it relates to the unusual shape of their body, which makes them look chubby, and their defined hooves.
What makes them so special?
Pretty much everything! Piggy ponies are the only adult ponies to have beddy-bye eye, similar to the babies of the normal US issue. Most have painted eyelashes as well, but it is possible that some were born without this feature. They also have a very different body shape from any other pony (as shown below), which is much more squishy than the standard issue.
[img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352321&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img][img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352303&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img][img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352301&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img]
(Thanks to Ahrian for Snuzzle, Escarchita for Lemondrop's eye and leaper for Cotton Candy's eye)
Unlike many other foreign variants (though not all!), piggy ponies have completely smooth flat feet with no markings on them. Their hooves are also distinct.
[img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352305&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img][img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352309&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img]
(Thanks to leaper for both pictures of the feet)
Piggy ponies do have quite long hair which is generally silky. The fibre is thicker than on normal hair, more like the Peruvians or Brazilians, but unlike them, it is not prone to dryness.
While some of the piggy ponies are clearly based on existing collector pose ponies (e.g. Cotton Candy/Pinky and Snuzzle/Loly Pop), others simply borrow the colour scheme (e.g. orange pony with yellow hair and red fireworks symbol/Rayito) or symbol (e.g. off-white pony with yellow hair, but Bluebell's symbol/Cielete), while others seem to bear even less resemblance to any known pony (e.g. white pony with blue hair and blue clouds symbol/Algodoncete).
[img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352313&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img]
Thanks to leaper for Algodoncete
What ponies are there?
Algodoncete White with blue hair and blue clouds on rump
Blossom (Bubbles?) Pink with blue hair and bubbles on rump
Butterscotch 1/Melocot Beige with beige hair and orange butterflies on rump
Butterscotch 2/Melocot Beige with beige hair and bluebutterflies on rump
Cielete 1/Azul Celeste (Bluebell) Off-white with yellow hair and purple stars on rump
Cielete 2/Azul Celeste (Bluebell) Off-white with lilac hair and purple stars on rump
Cielete 3/Azul Celeste (Bluebell) Off-white with lilac hair and pink stars on rump
Fresita Pink with white hair and strawberries on rump
Lolypop (Snuzzle) Very similar to Snuzzle, grey with pink hair and pink hearts on rump
Manzanita/Menta (Minty?) Green with brownish hair and green clovers on rump
Manzanita 2/Menta (Minty) Similar to Minty, pale green with white hair and green clovers on rump
Orchidea (Blossom) Similar to Blossom, lilac with lilac hair and white flowers on rump
Peachy Peach with pink hair and pink hearts on rump
Perla (Cotton candy 2?) Peach coloured with white hair and pink blobs on rump
Pinky/Rosado (Cotton Candy) Very similar to Cotton Candy, pink with pink hair and white blobs on rump
Rayito (Applejacks colours) Orange with yellow hair and red fireworks on rump
Suspiro (Lemondrop) Similar to Lemondrop, yellow with lilac hair and lilac drops on rump
Where were they sold?
Piggy ponies seem to have been sold only in Spain, however, there are reasonable numbers to be found across Europe, perhaps due to Spain's popularity as a holiday destination. This limited release has however resulted in them being hard to find on the secondary market, even in Spain, and they can command a high price.
How were they sold?
They were sold on cards that on the front appear to be very similar to those used in other countries for some of the early ponies.
[img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352311&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img]
Thanks to leaper for the MOC pic!
However, the back of the cards are very different. One pictures twelve piggy ponies along with their Spanish names, though it does say that products may differ from those pictured. There is also a second card which features only six ponies (the six collector pose ponies it would appear), on which they do have different names. Variants of the same pony were sold on the same card. Both cards are pictured below:
[img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352299&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img][img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352296&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img]
Thanks to EtoileBleue for the scan of the first card, and Escarchita for the second!
The one exception to this is the Piggy Pony resembling Peachy, which was sold with early issues of the Spanish Grooming Parlour (Salon de belleza) and was never sold separately.
How much do they cost?
It does really depend on which piggy pony it is, but if you get a loose one for less than $100, you've definitely got a bargain! Cotton Candy (Pinky) and Snuzzle (Loly Pop) seem to appear the most often, and tend to go for $100-160. Generally expect to pay around $200.
There are MOC Piggy ponies around, but they are even harder to acquire than loose ones, so expect to pay a minimum of $300 and most likely higher than that.
Trivia
- Ponywear sold in Spain at this time was specially designed for the feet of Piggy Ponies. Sets include the Royal outfit and the Roller Skating one!
[img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352319&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img][img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352317&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img][img]http://www.mlparena.com/gallery2/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=352315&g2_serialNumber=1&g2_GALLERYSID=d5144edc85d007805c45a44954399110[/img]
Many thanks to Escarchita for the pictures of the shoes!
- So far, it appears Cielete/Azul Celeste (akin to Bluebell) has the most number of variations, with three.
- The factory was based in Valencia
- Piggy Ponies were first made in 1983
- Piggy ponies are the only adults anywhere to have beddy-bye eyes.
- There are 17 different known piggy ponies
- Few of the piggy ponies based on collector pose ponies were ever remade. The exceptions to this are Peachy and Lemondrop, who both acquired NC versions as well as extra variants. Rayito could also be considered an exception, for her colours were used for NC Applejack, but the symbol was different.
- All piggy ponies came with a plain comb and a ribbon, much like the early collector pose ponies elsewhere
Useful weblinks:
Escarchita's Spanish Ponies site
My special thanks to Escarchita and DreamBeauty for their help with information, and to leaper, GYPSYWILDFLOWER, Escarchita, Ahrian and EtoileBleue for the generous use of their wonderful pictures! 
If you find any mistakes in this piece, please let me know so I can correct them 
So go ahead and show of your piggy ponies, or if you're like me and aren't lucky enough to have one, just tell us which is your favourite!
(edit to add water marked pictures love pkw )
