I know very little about the new My Little Ponies cartoon but, traditionally, My Little Pony is a product aimed toward young girls. Most new-age pony hipsters probably don't even realize My Little Pony was a brand of toys originally, first and foremost. They were aimed toward little girls EXACTLY the same way Barbie dolls were aimed toward little girls and in the exact opposite way GI Joe and Transformers were aimed toward young boys. Go back and watch a commercial for the toys, it's extraordinarily obvious.
As a cartoon, the tradition followed, it was made for girls obviously. When boys were watching TMNT, Transformers, He-Man and shows like that. Little girls were watching shows like Strawberry Shortcake, Rainbow Brite, and My Little Pony. There was a very apparent distinction. Whether or not you want to break social barriers and watch shows aimed toward little girls is one thing but claiming that "My Little Pony" was a product for boys as well as girls is just ludicrous.
What I assume, again, not having seen the new cartoon, is that the creator of this new series injected that sort of humor that "resonates with the whole family" - like Spongebob Squarepants apparently did - so that moms and dads could watch the show with their little girl and not be totally bored to death like they were with the 80s version. After seeing the fan reaction on the internet she'd "confess" to making the show intentionally so both girls and boys can watch it when really I just think you pony guys relate with little girl humor better than boys/men did back in the 80s.