From Early Stories to Today · Drawing 31
The rocking horse
Around 1910
This wooden horse travels in your imagination! Its curved runners let it rock back and forth while staying in one place.
Look together
Where would you go with this horse?
An idea to try
Your child invents a destination for the horse and draws what they would discover there. Share an imaginary game you enjoyed as a child.
For the adult reading along
A little more to discover
The McCord Museum has presented a rocking horse dated 1910 among its historical toys. The object brings history close to play: collections preserve more than adult tools and major events. They can also offer clues about objects that accompanied childhood moments.
This colouring-page horse is an original, imaginary toy. Its curved runners suggest movement in place, while pretend play can travel far. Ask where your child's invented horse would take them. The date is based on a preserved toy, not the invention year of all rocking horses or a description of every child's experience at the time.
Sources and context
These links lead to other websites. Explore them with an adult. Source titles appear in their original language; some linked pages are in French.
Source review: 2026-09-12. Illustrations simplify places and scenes; they are not historical documents.