ULIP HORSES OF ENGLAND

This company makes hard rubber model horses that have plastic fiber manes and tails that can be brushed. Aimed towards children, Julips are usually sold in sets that include jumps or a stable, fences, or other things for kids to play with along with the models. Inexpensive in England, they are pricey in the United States due to importation costs.

Keren GM reports: Lavender Dower, who founded Julip Models in London in 1947, died in February 2004.

Photo Credits: Appaloosa Family: Photo provided by Julip Horses of England.

Laura Bond provides a link to the Julip Archive (managed by Elli Garnett) shares this information about the company: "Hello, some info on Julip models for you. There are 2 types of Julips, the Horse of the Year range which is the "toy" range and was started in 1989, first made of solid rubber and now from solid plastic, and has a range of accessories, stables, riders etc available also. This is the range aimed mainly at children. And the originals which are the handmade latex models and have been made since the 1950s, first with natural fibre manes and tails and now with synthetic hair. Originals animals are also made (dogs, cats and a fox; also there used to be doves but these are no longer made; donkeys and donkey foals also used to be made but no longer are). There also used to be a variety of handmade child and adult riders in various styles (including a huntsman, sidesaddle rider and eventing rider) and accessories such as sidesaddles, harness, pony carts/traps, a hay wagon and a gypsy caravan made in previous decades (most examples tend to date from the 1970s) but these are sadly no longer made either. Originals are made in a variety of different moulds. There used to be many more types and breed of horse and pony available but now the range on offer is less varied, as many of the moulds have worn out and become unusable. Oh and I'd like to point out that this statement "Inexpensive in England, they are pricey in the United States due to importation costs" isn't exactly true. The HOTYs are fairly pricy for what they are (i.e., mass produced models, especially when compared to similar sized models like classic Breyers) but the originals especially are quite expensive new (around £45-50, whilst vintage ones have been regularly making well over £100 and even up to £250 on ebay lately. Also the originals are not really aimed at children, both because of the price and because they are classed as dolls house accessories and not suitable for under 14s due to the wire in their legs to enable them to be posed. Most originals collectors are older children or adults, especially the collectors of the vintage models. Oh and the first Julip horses were handmade from chamois leather in the mid to late 1940s before the latex models replaced them." Thanks, Laura.

Fleabitten grey Arabian Stallion
Photo provided by Lil Brooksby. Arabian Champion mold.

Bay Arabian Stallion
Bay catalogue Arab Stallion from 2006, called "Bantry Bay" in catalogue. Shown as "Al Ahmar" by owner India Jones.

Chestnut Arabian mare, foal
Wizzy, a chestnut arab champion (sold in the Julip catalogue recently as Gypsy Moth) and Sascha, an older style foal or yearling, probably from the 1970s. Photo provided by Laura Bond.

Dun Arabian Stallion
Amber champagne horse in the arab stallion mould, dating from the 1970s (this mould is still in use but newer ones tend to be much finer in build), his name is Luka. Photo provided by Laura Bond.

Chestnut Arabian Stallion
Arab mare and side saddle rider from Julip of England. These are dated to the 1970's and are in excellent shape for that time period. Owned and photograped by Melodie Dowell.

Arabian Champion in dun
Known as "Malteser". 2006 release. Photo provided by Kim Watson.

Arabian Stallion in bay
Known as "Sparrow", 1980 Arabian Stallion. Photos by Melodie Dowell.

Dandelion, Chestnut Horse of the Year
In working herder Arabian costume by Melodie Dowell. Photo by Melodie Dowell.

David and Dandelion, in box (#1402) . Designed by Annabel Levaux Davies. Made in China. Photo by Melodie Dowell. From back of box: Ten things you didn't know about Julip Model Horses Julip models have been galloping into collector's homes since 1945. WOW! Early Julips were made of chamois leather, with lead wire in their legs. The first Julip shop was at 18 Beauchamp Place in the heart of London's Knightsbridge. The highly collectable latex Julip Originals were created in the 1950's. They are still carefully hand made the same way today. In 1989 the immensely popular 'Horse of the Year' range was launched. Many Julip models are based on real horses. In 1997 Julip made a white horse called Mousie in memory of Julip Director Annabel's own pony. In 1995 Julip celebrated it's 50th Anniversary with a limited edition model and a party covered by Hello! magazine. Forget meeting rock stars and trips to Disneyland...in 1999 Julip were asked by the Make-a-Wish Foundation (who grant the wishes of very ill children) to make a Julip horse to one of the children's designs. In 2000 Julip made a model of ILPH Bob the Cob who went on to become the equine ambassador to the world's largest equine charity the International League for the Protection of Horses, the ILPH. In 2001 Julip finally caught up with cyberspace and launched their website www.juliphorses.com.

Roan Arabian Champion
Roan catalogue model Arab Champion from 2006, called "Malteser" in the catalogue. Shown as "Scarletta", Ruby's mother (foal belowe) by owner and photographer India Jones .

Chestnut Arabian
Arab from 1987. Letter P in mouth. Image by Melodie Dowell.

CM'd Arabian Champion
Twilight's Last Gleaming is a dun Lusitano, he's a Julip Horse of the Year plastic arab champion (made/sold in the early 1990s) customised by myself, Laura Bond, to a dappled yellow dun in 2004. Photo and information provided by Laura Bond.

Black Fell, Spotted Pit Pony
Jack, a black fell pony dating from the 1960s (I believe) and Mitka, a spotted pit pony who dates from around 1995. Photo provided by Laura Bond.

Black Pit Pony
Produced in 2007. Called PoPoPitiful Me. Photo by Melodie Dowell.

Chestnut Pony
Ford Prefect is in the Connemara mould and dates from the early 1980s. Photo provided by Laura Bond.

Bay Welsh Pony (Sect B)
Shown as "Tomos". Owner notes: dates from 1969, and is an Welsh pony. He is very rare because I have only seen one other on ebay before, and that one had been rebuilt and repainted. Mine is original. Image provided by Dawn Harrison.

Smutty Palomino Welsh Mountain Pony (Sect A) and Palomino Welsh Pony (Sect B)
Equinox and Solstice are a welsh mountain pony (the dark palomino) and a welsh pony (palomino), both dating from the very early 1980s. Photo provided by Laura Bond.

Bay stallion, mare and foal
The bay family is Bracken (from 2006, sold as Barney in the catalogue) in the family horse mould, Doubting Thomas (from around 1995) who is a cob stallion and a current mould foal named Cracker. Bracken is the one on the left of the picture, Thomas is on the right. Photo provided by Laura Bond.

Bay family pony
Klaus is an early Julip Horse of the Year model in the "family pony" mould (sold in 4 colours - brown, bay, black and chestnut, he's an example of the bay one). He was made & sold around 1990. Photo and information provided by Laura Bond.

Dapple grey Welsh pony
Katie - a dappled grey welsh pony (the current mould welsh pony), a portrait model based on a real pony, made in 2006 (the dog pictured with her is NOT made by Julip). Photo and information provided by Laura Bond.

Fleabit grey Welsh pony
Fleabitten grey special order New Forest Pony from 2006. Shown as "Archie" by owner and photographer India Jones.

Chestnut Dartmoor pony
Chestnut special order Dartmoor from 2006. Shown as "Danny" by owner and photographer India Jones.

Piebald New Forest Pony
Piebald catalogue New Forest Pony, called "Smudge" in the catalogue. Shown as "Toad", Frog's mother (foal below), by owner and photographer India Jones.

Liver Chestnut Jumping pony
Liver chestnut portrait model Childs Jumping Pony from 2006. The Childs Jumping Pony mould is an old one but is still used today, but it is not 100% certain at the moment whether it is any longer useable. Shown as "Henry", a portrait model of her old pony, by owner and photographer India Jones.

Bay and Buckskin/Dun Quarter Horses
Karamazov (dun) and Raskolnikov (chocolate brown) both dating from 2005. Photo provided by Laura Bond.

Dapple grey Quarter Horse
Ghost is a dappled grey quarter horse dating from the early 1980s. The pic show how much larger the older quarter horses are than the newer ones (such as Raskolnikov and Karamazov already pictured). Photo and information provided by Laura Bond.

Chestnut Quarter Horse Stallion and Foal
New mold Quarter Horse Stallion and new mold foal. Image by Melodie Dowell.

Chestnut vintage quarter Horse
Vintage Quarter Horse from 1980. Images by Melodie Dowell.

Brown blanket Appaloosa mare and foal
The mustang and foal are a appaloosa mare named Sierra's Legacy and matching unnamed yearling. the mustang is the same mould that was used for the family ponies early on in the Horse of the Year range (but those were made of solid rubber not latex). Photo provided by Laura Bond.

Grey blanket Appaloosa
Julip Designer Appaloosa Horse from Helen K. Moore. This line of Designer horses was started in 2007. This is the Dressage Horse mold. Image by Melodie Dowell.

Black pinto
Designed by the Julip Artist Helen K. Moore. New Designer Horses. 2007. This is a Paint horse on the American Quarter Horse Mold. Image by Melodie Dowell.

Bay Thoroughbred
Red Night is a bay Thoroughbred dating from the 1980s. Photo provided by Laura Bond.

Blue roan Thoroughbred, Terrier, Cat
Rasputin - a blue roan horse in the older Thoroughbred mould, probably dating from the early 70s. Repaired (perished latex on legs rebuilt and damaged paintwork redone) and rehaired by me in 2006. The dogs pictured with him are an old terrier and cat made by Julip. Photo and information provided by Laura Bond.

"Skewbald" Family
The skewbald family is Rosso the quarter horse (2006), Scarlet the yearling (2006) and William Lee the hunter stallion (sold as Jigsaw in the originals catalogue in 1995). Photo provided by Laura Bond. Curators' note: Skewbald is the term used in the UK for a non black pinto pattern (so bay, chestnut, grey, roan, etc.).

Dun Family
Dun family horse portrait model, made in 2007. Her name is Becky. Image provided by Pip Williams.

Chestnut pinto hunter Stallion
William Lee, the skewbald hunter stallion from around 1995. Photo provided by Laura Bond.

Palomino MoodancePalomino special order Moondance Mould from 2006. This mould was cast from the Horse Of The Year version. Shown as "Allegra". Photo by India Jones.

Polly and Pandora, in box (#1404) HOTY in Skewbald (chestnut pinto). Designed by Annabel Levaux Davies. Made in China. Photo by Melodie Dowell.

Bay Handy Hunter and HotY Rider
Fyodor is a bay handy hunter dating from the 1970s. The rider pictured with him is an example of a Julip Horse of the Year rider from the mid 1990s. Photo and information provided by Laura Bond.

Black polo pony
Na'Sus is a black mare in the polo pony mould,
probably dating from the 1970s. Information provided by Laura Bond. Photo and owned by Melodie Dowell

Bay Irish Draught
Dark bay special order Irish Draught from 2006. This mould was cast to be the new Horse Of The Year one but has not yet had any models in the HOTY range released from it. Information and image provided by India Jones who shows this horse as "Champagne Supernova".

Chestnut Dressage Horse
Chestnut portrait model Dressage Horse from 2007. This pony is a portrait of a pony I used to know and ride who sadly died in a road accident. Information and photo provided by India Jones, who shows this horse as this "Crackers".

Chestnut Dressage Horse
Chestnut Dressage horse from the new mold Lippizan. Ordered in 2007. Photo by Melodie Dowell.

Grey hunter
Pale speckled grey catalogue Hunter, called "Cotley" in the catalogue. This is the largest of the current Julip moulds. Information and photo provided by India Jones, who shows this horse as this "Star Sailor".

Julip Cob Stallion
Photo provided by Lil Brooksby.

Gemma
Lil reports this piece is more than ten years old. Photo provided by Lil Brooksby. Welsh Cob mold.

Flame
2006 release. Photo provided by Kim Watson. Welsh Cob mold in flea bit grey.

Chestnut farm cob
Tolstoy is a bright chestnut farm cob made within the past few years (I'm not certain of his exact age), he was sold in the catalogue as "Flash". Photo and information provided by Laura Bond. (Picture is out of focus, but you get the idea.)

Black farm cob
Farm Cob. Made in 2007. Known as "Just About Midnight". Photo by Melodie Dowell.

Cob Stallion in bayThis horse was purchased in Ireland in the 1970's. He was called simply "Cob Stallion", but there has been much debate over that among Julip Club members. He's very rare and hard to identify. Photo by Melodie Dowell.

Grey donkey
The donkey is named Zoe, she probably dates from the 1950s or very early 1960s as the style of her eyes is much different to later models. Photo provided by Laura Bond.

Zebra
Zebra from the designer Helen K. Moore who started her Julip Designer horses in 2007. This is the male Zebra. She also made a family and a mother and baby. Photos by Melodie Dowell.

Yearling in fleabit grey2006 release. Known as "Lightning". Photo by Kim Watson.

Yearling in brownDark brown special order Yearling. Shown as "Shakes" by owner and photographer India Jones.

Brown 70s/80s foalChocolate brown portrait model 70s/80s Foal from 2007. Shown as "Jessie" by owner and photographer India Jones who comments: This is a portrait of a Foal I used to know who was also involved in Crackers' road accident. This is an old mould, but Julip found it lying around and recast it recently, so it is available for special orders now.

Roan foalRoan special order Foal from 2007. This Foal is painted in the colour of "Malteser" who is a catalogue model. Shown as "Ruby" by owner and photographer India Jones.

Black pinto "pieblad" foalPiebald catalogue Foal from 2006, called "Smartie" in the catalogue. Shown as "Frog" by owner and photographer India Jones.

Back to Josef Originals

On to K

Up to J

Return to the Model Horse Galleries Home Page