Rocking horse

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A couple of examples of rocking horses.

Not all rocking horses must be shaped like horses.

A rocking horse is a child's toy, usually shaped like a horse and mounted on rockers similar to a rocking chair.

Precedessors of the rocking horse may be seen in the rocking cradle, the tilting seats used during the middle ages for jousting practice as well as the wheeled hobby horse. The toy in its current form did not appear before the 17th century,^[1] though some conflicting sources note medieval manuscripts including references to carved rocking horses, presumably of the toy kind.^[2]

From the 1800s onward rocking horses became more commonly considered as child's toy. Mostly the domain of hobby woodcrafters, and ranging from relatively crude to finely ornamented and the toys of future kings, it was not until the late 19th century that the production became industrialised.^[2]

In 2006, the Guinness Book of World Records certified Cindy and Les Hartness of California as having the largest hand-carved wooden rocking horse on record. This rocking horse was built in 2000 and is 7 feet 8 inches tall and weighs 1,200 pounds. It can be seen at renaissance faires, where up to 4 adults can ride it together at one time.^[3]