I recently wrote about the new LEGO horse that comes with LEGO Lord of the Rings theme and also posed it with some older horses. I decided to complete the portrait with a fuller complement of LEGO horse generations and riders I (and my son) have.

From old to new, here are the generations:

I posed the horses over the same background I built when I was replicating the minifigures from the 6080 King’s Castle, for that faux 1980s LEGO look and feel. Also note my progress, I found parts for the 1984 Lion King! From the left:

Note the classic LEGO Space helmet on the first knight, with a special moveable visor, and see how the 1984 black horse has simpler eyes than the white (this changed in 2010). Also note the dark ages effect: We have no Castle, Knight’s Kingdom, Ninja figures or the like from 1989-2009. Of course the horse pieces used in those themes were the same as the 1984, 1986 and 2010 horses are, but some prints and accessories were different.

Note: You can click the images for larger versions.

Brickipedia features nice write-ups on the histories of LEGO Castle and the LEGO horse. If you haven’t already, you may also want to check out my picture comparison of castle LEGO building instructions from 1978 and 2010. The last link shows how the 1978 classic castle brick-built horse is put together.