When you were younger, what age did you 'outgrow' your ponies?

[LadyMoondancer]

I chose "8 - 12", but it would have been on the 11 or 12 end of things.  IIRC, 5th grade was when peers would start heaping scorn on you for being involved with anything "kiddy-ish."

I actually sold almost all my original ponies at a garage sale around that time, which I deeply regret now.

[Taffeta]

I stopped playing with them in 1993, when I went to secondary school. They went into the attic then, but my sister was younger and still had hers down, and I did still like her ponies. But I didn't play ponies at that point.

Then I got back into them in around 1994/5, wanted my ponies down...so I didn't really have a long hiatus. I stopped collecting in 1993 (age 11) and started again in 1995 (age 13) .

I totally blame my sister But it's not something I regret, since we discovered carboot sales in 1995 and never looked back.

(I miss the carboot sales of the 1990s, with SO many ponies everywhere!)

[DalaPony]

I'm not sure I ever outgrew them. Fortunately my mum liked that I was into ponies and never tried to make me get rid of them, so I managed to hang onto my childhood collection. I would play with them from time to time into my early teens because it was fun and relaxing. Even when I wasn't actively collecting I never quite lost the bug, and would still buy ponies that I found for sale in second hand shops. When g2 came out I picked up a few of them for old times' sake, even though I was an adult by then!

When I found that you can get ponies on eBay I was happy to start collecting again. It reminds me of the good old days, collecting ponies with my best friend 

[NigheanRuadh]

I said 15-18, although by that point, I was playing with them only very occasionally.  I played more with my Barbies and model horses at that time.  I never got rid of them, and I don't think I even packed them away.  I just didn't play with them very much.  Then I went to college and had no time for playing anything (music major, so I had to practice hours a day), and I moved to another state as soon as I finished my degree.  My mom boxed up my pony collection (except for about five of them; not sure where they are) and brought it to me years later when she came to visit.  At the time, I thought, "What on earth am I going to do with these??" and just put the box in a closet.  I don't think I ever had the idea of getting rid of them, though, so I still have my childhood ponies.  I started adding to them last year. 

[Ribbs]

Never, I've always collected ponies. I still make a beeline to the toy aisle of any and every thrift store searching for g1's. I've thinned my herd and sold most of my super valuble ponies, but otherwise I have never not had ponies in my life. I can't imagine not collecting.

[MoondancerMilkyWay]

going to have to go with whatever ponyqueen said since we collect together.
There was a time I didn't want to acquire more ponies for myself in my early twenties because I had just lost *everything* that was in storage (all my vintage LPS, other childhood toys, family mementos and then some...the ponies were safely with my sister.) during that time, I bought ponies and gave them to my sister.
it took me a little to get into G4, though I was still at the stores thinking "gosh, that thing is pretty cute. do I want more?" eventually I got over it and became a hoarder, I mean, I became a collector again.
Now I proudly house the Auxiliary collection and just last weekend spent the whole weekend thrift shopping - I was rewarded for my efforts as well!

I'm sure I'll get whomever comes next as well.

[Sunset]

My ponies got put into the back of my closet somewhere in my pre-teens.  But not for long!  Finding other collectors on the Internet when I was around 17 was when I pulled them all back out and started actively collecting.

[Iceglider]

I stopped playing with them when I was 20 I think. 

My sister and I played ponies as young kids then when I got to be around 14 or so the G2 ponies came out and my first grade twin sisters bought some so they could finally play with us. I also had discovered Ebay and found that all the ponies from the few episodes of the old show we had actually existed! So we all (especially me) started collecting all the Big Brother ponies and continued from there. I found the MLPTP and other sites and then G3 came out and the arena started!  I still have all my ponies, some on display.  We kept playing until we went to college and even played some on breaks, until my parents moved and my little sisters' ponies got packed away. My littlest sisters stopped playing with them when we were gone. They were 12-13 years old at that point. None of us has gotten rid of any, one of my sisters had kids and they inherited all her ponies except for a few rare ones she keeps.

[Wardah]

My main collection as a kid was LPS. Now my parents believed in us having to share our toys so they all just ended up being my sister's. Unfortunately my sister was always losing things and probably lost most of them. I stopped getting toys as gifts when I turned 13 tho I would often admire and goof around with my sister's toys when nobody was looking since we shared a room. And a lot of the toys I helped my grandma pick out as gifts for my sister were things I wanted. When I first moved out I would go to yard sales to get knick knacks (I had decided ceramic kitties was going to be my "grown up collection") and somehow ended up getting a couple of newer LPS and G3 ponies because they were cute and then I discovered the online collector community and ooops now I collect lots of toys.

[Miniature Sheep]

Well my dad got rid of my original collection (so many beautiful G1s *crey*) without me knowing when I was about 10. I collected some G3s when they were new (I was about 12/13 then) but pared that right down to just my favourites a couple of years ago; given the lack of space in my current digs, it didn't make sense for me to keep ponies I wasn't overly attached to. Also it's better for them to be chillin' with someone who will really appreciate them.
As for the G1s, I've replaced most of my old favourites, but Pink Dreams and Sleepy Head are proving to be a bit of a challenge. The old herd must be reunited!!!

[Barnacle_lady]

I was 14 when I had to move out and I wasn't able to take my ponies with me. And where I came to live then there was no "emotional room"  for them. So my grandparent kept them for me aside until I took them back.

[MoondancerMilkyWay]

I hear you, Taproot!! There are a few ponies that I will continue to hunt down forever. Like Blueberry Baskets and Puddles and Peaks. I think Salty was their dad in my world growing up, even though I never owned him.
I have him now (YAY!) along with lil Honey Pie, so just need Blueberry butt and the twins.

On a side note, I have an extra Pink Dreams....

[HelloGoodbye]

I was little right when G3 came out, and I collected ponies right from the first ones to come out to the very end of the line.  Then, I did get some G3.5s, but not as many since there wasn't a lot of variety.  I did really like the Newborn Cuties, and I wish I got more of them than I did because I think they're really cute.  Now I collect G4, but I'm mostly focused on G1 right now!  I still get the other generations periodically, but G1 is what I'm really actively working on at the moment.

I can't really remember an exact time when I stopped playing with them.  Even as a very young kid, the way I would play was mostly just to set up elaborate scenes for my toys, whether it be ponies or Breyers.  In a way, I guess I still do that when I set them up for photographs so I guess I never really stopped after all 

[Mirnyj]

I still haven't. 

[lunar_scythe]

I put "Never"; my little sis is 9 years younger than me, so even when my mom thought I needed to stop playing with ponies, I still played with them with her.   I think I was around  17 or so when I 'gave' them to her officially, but I'd still pick them up at yard sales and so on, supposedly for her, but *I* was the one that went through and brushed their hair and so on, still!