Rocking horses – Myth and Legend

Interestingly enough the history of the rocking horse stems right back to the middle ages, and when we look back we see that they were a far cry from being the adorable play thing that queen Victoria assigned her royal approval to in 1851 . No, the rocking horse has noble roots having once been a training tool for knights and warriors who wished to practice sword fighting and jousting

The Joy of Rocking Horses Inspired the World

It was in the early 18th century that the rocking horse lent its inspiration to German and British toy makers whose hand carved rocking horse designs not only shone brighter than anybody else’s, but have remained the basis for all rocking horses that are made and collected world wide today

The Traditional Victorian Rocking Horse Becomes Complete

It was an American innovation back in 1877 that did away with the traditional image of a bow stand on rocking horses. The american swing iron design lent its self more favourably towards the notion of safety and convenience. The English quickly adopted the swing iron concept, seeing its great potential. For a start, bowed rocking horses stand an extra metre or so long than the static swing design. A British patent was awarded to famous British rocking horse maker Herbert Haddon in 1880. Rapidly the safety or swing stand became the standard on all rockin horse design as it is today


What Makes Sprout Rocking Horses So Special?

Here at Sprout we are proud to present you with our Somerset made traditional rocking horses that are produced using Victorian techniques and top quality materials. Every rocking horse is hand carved, and carefully designed in our Somerset workshop so that every horse is unique. All of our rocking horses are lovingly decorated using real horse’s hair, real horse accessories and top quality finishes [more]

Your traditional rocking horse will be accompanied by its own special care pack which can be personalised for the recipient. Included is the rocking horse’s ‘birth certificate’ as well as full care instructions so that your valuable investment can be loved and appreciated for many generations to come. Imagine the delight in seeing your children’s children playing with the same hand carved rocking horse, enjoying the same gift that has received so much love for so many years.

Why Are Sprout’s Hand Carved Rocking Horses Magic?

Using traditional methods and special attention to detail we believe that the myths and legends of the rocking horse live on through the beautiful new designs that our Somerset workshop produces. Imagine the places you could go on a magical rocking horse, image the battles to be fought, the mystical places to be explored. There are no limits to where our rocking horses could take you and your child, one thing we do know, is that you will never look back.