Toy horses of various sizes have been a favored children's plaything, probably ever since the domestication of the horse. Toy horses turn up in Roman ruins. Today new handcrafted rocking horses, complete with fanciful "pedigrees" are sold on the Internet for prices ranging in the thousands of dollars. This nineteenth century model was no doubt priced considerably lower when it was made by P. Crandall and Co., New York, whose name is stamped on the underside of the body.

This old darling was well loved before several cracks made it unusable and it came to rest at The History Center in 1957. Nail marks indicate that the ears and bridle have been replaced a time or two. There are numerous nicks and scars on the body, legs, and frame.

The head and body are carved from a single block of wood; its tail is of natural horsehair. The high-backed saddle, reminiscent of knights and armor, is covered with brocade fabric which may have matched the original bridle, reins, neckstrap, and crupper. The present ones are of sturdy cotton webbing. From marks in the wood we can surmise that the horse furnishings may have included a breast-band rather than a mere neckstrap at one time. The soft leather ears are held on with large tacks of a different vintage than those attaching the bridle. The yellow-tan colored body features hand-painted markings in black and red and the rockers and frame are bright green. One wonders if the maker had a particular pony in mind when decorating this one. Was there, somewhere in the artist's life, a buckskin pony with an endearing Roman nose?