Horse (and Unicorn) Food

Technically, this would be a Felt Food post but I really don't 

have time to make felt food unless it's in context. Like the 

donut shop, for instance. All the food in this frivolous post is 

to save horses and unicorns from starving to death. If I've 

learnt anything from being a mother, it is that children always 

know best. Especially when it comes to nurturing. Who else 

would make playdough noodles for Playmobil? Or painstakingly 

cut tiny paper squares to feed paper fish? Or roll paper 

bones for cuddly, polyester Spot/Fido/Whiskers?

Last summer, Emily raided the fridge for real baby carrots to 

set in a bowl for her stick horse. She invited a neighbor over 

to play and taught her to feed real food to toy pets. So when 

I was planning the horses for Emily's school auction, she 

reminded me that they needed food. And to make sure I got 

the right information, she told me what horses ate. 

So we made apples,

carrots

and potatoes

for the horses. (Emily wanted to make oats for them, 

but I talked her out of it). And today she declared herself 

Vegetable Girl and waltzed around the house with 

her basket of harvested produce.

Horse food - check.

Now unicorn food was a different story altogether. 

To begin, making Jewel was tricky on so many levels. For one, 

unicorns don't have harnesses or bridles or reins or whatever. 

They (as far as I remember) run free and aren't much keen on 

people riding them, let alone keeping them in a bedroom 

closet stable. Still, commitment-loving unicorns and their 

Small Girl Owners/BFFs are compatible at least in said 

Small Girls' minds, so I thought it was safe to domesticate Jewel.

And then there was the issue of sustenance.

I mean, what do unicorns eat, if they eat at all? Moonbeams 

and sunsets and rainbow glitter would have been my guess. 

At any rate, Emily would know. 

"Flowers," she told me.

So flowers it was.

Tulips, daffodils, daisies and bluebells

with florists' wire in their stems so they stand up

and make colorful bouquets

or rainbows.

We packed all the edibles in bags 

so whoever brings home a horse or unicorn won't be at a loss 

for snack ideas for their new pet. Unless they have a Small Girl 

at home running the show, of course.

Edited to add: These are not hard to make. But the felt stuff 

is time-consuming because of all the small pieces that need 

to be cut out. I didn't use patterns- I made them up. I had 

a little help with the apples, though. I cut a real Honeycrisp 

in half and traced around the cut surface. Then I cut that 

half into thirds, skinned one of those segment and traced 

the peel to make a pattern! (Yes, cheating, in other words). 

But you can't go wrong with nature, can you?  

See this post for a tutorial on the potatoes.