Rocking Horses

One of the oldest types of toy still around today, rocking horses are renowned for their intricate detail, grand designs and playful terms of use. Something we often see sitting in children’s bedrooms at museums and in images in history books, rocking horses actually first appeared in Europe in the 17th century and have since gone from strength to strength – influencing both indoor and outdoor toys designed for modern day children.

The basis of a rocking horse is simple – a carved horse, traditionally crafted from wood, sits atop a rocking frame which allows the user to side astride the horse’s saddle and rock backwards and forwards to replicate a form of galloping motion. There...