12 We Love: Rocking Horses

by Suzanne Milne on 20/02/2014

While a full-size stallion might just be a tad too large for your living room, a rocking horse can be just the right proportions (for your home and your child) and the perfect compromise when it comes to those cries of, “I want a pony”.

Designers these days have come up with remarkable alternatives for the childhood rocking horse, each with its own dashing pedigree

My own childhood memory is of the glorious rocking elephant my parents made for my sister and me. My mother had sewn the skin from the finest of felts, my father crafted the skeleton from some 2×4. I don’t recall just how often I used it, but I know it was a lot. We did all manner of things with it that I wouldn’t possibly allow my own children to do (but that they will do anyway) – dragging one another down the hallway atop the back of our beautiful grey beast, rocking til we almost went over the tipping point. It wasn’t the horse I longed for, but it certainly entertained us.

In today’s round-up, however, there is a rocking horse for every style of room – from the surreal Harry Rocking Stool by Kenneth Cobonpue and the modernist curves of Riva 1920’s Giulia Rocking Horse to the classic rocking horses from Wohnstuecke and the Me Too Rocky abstraction. We’ve even included two additional ‘horses’ – one that looks a lot like a shark, for a little extra bite; the other, our feature image, of Enko Creatio’s Rocking Animal. When we know a little bit more about these last two – and where you can buy them – we will be back with full details.

The question is, which one would your child most like to ride off into the sunset atop of?