Twisty Tail was one of three earth ponies made available in the Brush and Grow Pony set, which was first sold in North America in around 1988. When the set was issued in the UK and Europe, however, Twisty Tail was sold in a different pose. However, in around 1990-1, the now-defunct store Woolworths, which often carried My Little Pony toys through the eighties and nineties, imported boxed versions of the Brush & Grow Ponies and sold them as 'store exclusives'. This means that both versions of Twisty Tail were available in the UK.

The American boxes stated that ponies were made in Hong Kong. These boxed versions were probably surplus stock purchased by Woolworths from an American supplier as clearance, and this may explain why Hong Kong Brush & Grows are so common here. I actually never saw a carded Brush & Grow in stores where I lived, so it is possible not all store chains in the UK carried them.