Amish Originals Furniture Co.: Our Horses Rock

The presence of horses in children’s play historically parallels the presence of horses in our lives. Evidence stretches as far back as 400 BC in Egypt and Greece, where literature describes children playing with hobby horses.

In the 16th century a simple, log “barrel horse” became popular.  As woodshop tools and technology developed over time, carved wood rocking horses evolved into the art form of the bow-style sculptured horse. Borrowing from cradle design, the bow-style rocker, developed because it was resistant to overturning during kid-powered play.

In the late 1700s into the mid-1800s, rocking horses were the work of master craftsmen. The rocking horse became a toy for children in affluent families. Each horse was detailed to include real-horsehair mane and tails, leather saddles with stirrups, reins, glass eyes, facial expressions, and iron horseshoes.

Family rocking horses were passed down from generation to generation.

In the 1850s, the rocking horse hit a popular peak when Queen Victoria toured a rocking horse workshop and picked out a dapple grey rocking horse for her children (she had nine kids!). The dapple grey rocker was even packed along with family belongings for vacations.

In the mid-1800s European craftsmen immigrated to America and started their own rocking horse workshops. Hand-crafted rocking horses became popular with the post-Civil War emerging middle class. Many of the major craftsmen moved away from rocking horses in the late 1800s, finding more money in carving carousel horses.

Rocking horses were mass-produced for the first time starting in the late 1800s. Consumer interest in the everyday rocking horse carried forward into the early 1900s, but with workers called away to service in World War I and then the austerity of the Great Depression, demand for rocking horses pulled up short.

In recent years, there’s been a resurgence in interest in imagination and kid-powered toys, including hand-made rocking horses.

Today, our relationship with horses is essentially recreational and very individual, and children relate to their rocking horses the same way. Master rocking horse craftsman, Mark Stevenson observes, “There is something magical about rocking horses that’s missing in today’s toys. A rocking horse frees a child’s imagination. A child can jump over the moon and be back in time for supper. He can soar across the Grand Canyon, chase down and capture the bad guys — and always win the race.”

A child’s independent play on a rocking horse sparks imagination, expression, self-motivation, and self-esteem. Kid-powered ride-on toys, like rocking horses, help develop motor skills and sense of balance; riding a rocking horse engages the skeletal structure and mind-body connection. Activity habits established at a young age carry forward and ease physical transition to tricycles, bikes, skateboards, roller blades, and regular physical activity.

Both kid-size and over-sized rocking horses are used in physical therapy, rehabilitation, and occupational therapy.

Modern hand-made heirloom-style rocking horses can run as high as $25,000 for, say, your own life-size rocking Secretariat or Zenyatta.

Rocking horse tidbit: As a child, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sanded rocking horses for spending money at a workshop in Abilene, Kansas.

The Amish culture maintains a traditional, purposeful relationship with the horse.  Horses provide transportation and power the work in the fields and on the farm. And, Amish Originals Furniture Co. features a selection of Amish-made, kid-powered, classic painted and natural solid wood, bow rocking horses.

Our herd includes horses with:

▪ A wood saddle seat (padding option available).

▪ Wool yarn mane and tail.

▪ Bridle, eyes and leather ears.

▪ Foot rests and handles.

▪ Horizontal supports between the rockers.

▪ Natural oak horses are 13-1/2 inches wide, with seat heights at 13-1/2 inches, 17 inches, 22 inches, or 27-1/2 inches, standing up to 40 inches high.

▪ Custom hand painted horses are 12 inches wide, with a 17 inch seat height, standing at 25 inches high.

▪ Custom hand-painted horses can be personalized and feature hand-painted image options from soccer balls to butterflies.

▪ Also, ask about our 3-in-1 high chair – it’s a high chair, a play table, and a rocking horse all in one!

Right now, a limited number of rocking horses are available to Take Home Today at our 38 N. State location.

To read more about rocking horses:

Smithsonian Magazine
Stevenson Brothers
Hennessy Horses
Rocking Horse Emporium

Nehushtan Antiques

Pictured: Look for our life-size (display only) rocking horse in the window of our 38 N. State St. location during the holidays and rocking horses from our collection.


Photo images: ©2010 Amish Originals Furniture Co. All rights reserved.