When my first daughter was born in the summer of 2019, the closest thing I could find to horsey clothing for babies was a little jumper with a unicorn on it and a sleep vest with a clipart pony.
They were nice enough and I bought both, but it wasn’t exactly what I was looking for: something with a proper horse on it. So when Steph from Stag & Steed’s email dropped into my inbox shortly before Christmas 2023, with the words ‘equestrian-themed baby wear’ in the subject line, she had my attention.
Steph founded her clothing brand at the end of 2022 after struggling to find classic and neutral baby clothes with horses on it that would sun all tastes. She specialises in equestrian-themed babywear and has found a real gap in the market.
“I wanted to create something alternative to the norm of cartoons and sparkly unicorns,” she says.
Having just had my second daughter, I gladly accepted a white babygro, jumper and t-shirt (both grey) for her to wear at the age of 12 months. I think this makes her Your Horse‘s youngest tester!
First impressions
At first sight, I loved the design of this baby wear range. There are three bay horses in an arch, the first horse taking off, the second jumping and the third horse landing, as though jumping a fence that isn’t there.
It’s the same horse design on all three items.
“Look, real horses!” I excitedly told my partner, who isn’t remotely interested in horses but was pleased not to have to dress his youngest daughter in another piece of clothing that was pink, glittery and had unicorns on it.
Stag & Steed babygro
The babygro is white, in fabric that feels soft and warm enough to keep a small baby cosy in winter (which is when my daughter first started to wear it).
It was her most-worn babygro for five months before she outgrew it (it is available up to size 12 months) and it washed well.
The horse design is still sharp and easy to see; the white still looks as good as new. There were a couple of occasions where it had a double wash in the machine to help get it clean around the legs after, ahem, a leak (if you know, you know).
This is personal preference, but I prefer babygros that unbutton straight down the middle from top to bottom, because it is a lot easier to get a squirming baby in and out.
However, I can see that buttons would detract from the design (one button would either be on top of or very close to the middle horse’s tummy) so I can understand why this choice was made.
This babygro buttons up around the inside of the legs, which means you pull it over the baby’s head first to get it on.
Stag & Steed t-shirt and jumper
My daughter has been wearing the t-shirt and jumper regularly for six months in size 12-18 months. Sometimes I layer her up in them on chillier days.
Both are good quality, don’t irritate her sensitive skin in either way, wash well and still look as good as new.
They go up to size 24-36 months — if they were bigger, my eldest daughter would wear them too.
I’d love to see the range available in more colours — at the moment, grey is the only option — and also include different horse designs on the front too.
If this happens, my daughters will have one of each in their wardrobes — I love the range that much.
Value for money
The price tag on all three items is very reasonable:
These would make great gifts, either for Christmas or birthdays, or to celebrate new arrivals. I really think any horse-loving parent would be very happy to unwrap a horsey babygro, jumper or t-shirt from Stag & Steed.
