Toy Rocking Horse - article by Whimsical Wire Articles

There are many things that seem like they are classics. Things that we grew up with and our parents grew up with, I guess that is why some things are called timeless, they provide such good memories for us that we want to pass this on to our children. This also helps keep at least one or two toys from being electrically or battery charged.

A toy like this has survived in my family. It is the toy rocking horse. This is a ride on toy that many generations have experienced. I had a wonderful toy rocking horse that my grandfather made for me. My mother’s father was a carpenter. In addition to building and remodeling homes he made toys and toy furniture for the grandchildren. The interesting thing is that he often picked rather strange colors to paint the projects. He made me a small table and chairs to use in the play room. He painted the table a bright aqua color. Grandma stenciled flowers on each corner. The chairs were painted bright red. The set made a bright addition to the play room; however we were not sure why he picked such wild colors. My toy rocking horse was left as natural wood which was stained a honey oak color. The mane and tail were painted on in a dark brown. Grandpa made many of the rocking horses through the years. Once he retired from building houses and had more time he made them more elaborate. The ones that the great grand children received included manes and tails that were made from combed rope. My grandfather would drill small holes into the area where the mane goes and then would tread through pieces of rope. Grandma would unravel the ends of the rope and comb it to create a mane. A bigger hoe was drilled in the back of the horse for three ropes to be strung through to create a nice bushy tail. The toys are very sturdy; I think most of us have kept them through the years. I am glad that I kept mine because my grandfather passed away before my children were born. They can still share his craftsmanship by riding on my rocker.

I think this rocking toy has lasted through the years because there is something very soothing about the rocking motion. It is one of the first ways of teaching a child a self soothing activity. My daughter would rock on her horse for a few minutes before bed to help make herself sleepy. Now that she is pregnant with my first grandchild I am going to re-stain the horse and give it to her for the nursery.

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