Wooden Rocking Horse

Rocking Horse History

Information about rocking horse history. Discover the selection & styles, from near and far, of this ageless artform...as well as a functional toy! 

Rocking Horse History

A rocking horse is a child's gateway to dreaming and a source, unrealized to them, of relaxation. And there is a vast rocking horse history behind the toy.

Rocking horses first appeared as hobby horses in Persia and ancient Greece around 400BC. Hobby horses were nothing more than a stick with a make-shift horse head on one end. In the 1300's wheeled horses were made for boys to play at jousting so as to imitate the knights they saw on festival days.

The true 'rocking horse' came into being in the early 1600's. Most believe that the first rendition was copied after a cradle. Again, a calming effect for children. It was a half-circle in shape with sides to keep the child enclosed with a very simple horse head replica attached for decoration. It wasn't until the 18th century that the rocking horse we all recognize with the bow rockers came into being in England.

Most believe that the wealthy bought these toys for their children to instill riding skills at a young age. Some even taught their daughters from an early age to ride side-saddle on a rocking horse. These were highly elaborate rocking horses, stylized to look as lifelike as possible. Many even had real horse hair and manes.

With the eighteenth century, and the advent of the industrial revolution, rocking horses became available to the 'common man' and children across America were able to enjoy this toy previously reserved only for the privileged. In the 1880's a company in America patented the swinger rocker. Whereas the bow rockers are more nostalgic, the swinger rocker keeps the horse from moving across the floor, and is therefore much safer.

Today, the rocking horse has evolved from a stylized wooden replica of a horse, to a wide variety of animals made from everything from wood, to hard plastic, to fake fur. What does your child love best? Dogs, bugs, cats, trains? You can get them all in a rocking form.