Ok, I know I was curious and I figure there are others who haven't been able to get any sets with the new horses in them; here's a comparison so you know what to expect:

Side by Side I give you the New and Old Lego Horse:







The biggest difference I see, outside of the 'shapely' design is that the new horse Does stand on it's back legs without assistance and it's head is wider than the older one.
The saddle is the same, the horse's blanket fits the same.
So there you have it!

You can be sure that my Lego stables and kingdoms will have both designs ... after all the new one can be for speed, while the old one for endurance. I think they'll work great together.

Thanks for the pic comparisons mC! Also, I got a chuckle out of the pic of them both on their hind legs.

As for the new horse, it's kind of funny; I remember reading somewhere that part of the change was due to the target demographic calling the classic (it just seems mean to call it old) horse baby-ish, yet the new one looks more cutesy to me. That said, it's nice to see that on it's hind legs it can stand well even when not on studs.

:o)

Btw: the 'classic' horse is standing using a hinge block. It's back legs spread isn't far enough apart to give it stability. But, done right not many people will notice!

Thanks for the pictures. My biggest hope is that they 1) pepper these among all themes so that they become widely available and 2) give them the proper palette and variety they should have given the classic horse all along. This is one of the things that made me so irritated with LEGO for so many years.

Yeah, I noticed. That's why I got a chuckle out of it. I've also never seen that done so it was pretty cool to see.

@QBlade: agreed there is so much potential

@Machetero: :o)