Hobby Horse

When I was a little girl, I took horseback riding lessons.

Every week, I was driven up to a private ranch and I was taught how to ride a horse. Yes, my family was fairly well off, and we traveled a lot and I saw a lot of live Broadway shows and we visited lots of museums and such. I know, I was a very privileged child, I am well aware. That doesn't excuse the fact that I grew up in an extremely abusive household, though, and for a good while, horseback riding was my escape from that. But even before I started riding horses for real real and not for play play, I was given a hobby horse.

It was made out of dark blue denim, and it had red pieces of string for hair. It had nice marble eyes and a rein and everything. My grandfather, I was told, had made this for me personally by hand, but who knows how true that actually is. I don't wanna say he couldn't have, and he certainly loved me enough to maybe have done such a thing, but I never got any factual information from my family about my family, so, I have to take everything with a grain of salt, so to speak. Either way, I loved this goddamned thing, and hell, just a few weeks ago, I was in a thrift store and found one for a few bucks (heh, horse humor) and bought him on the spot.

But thinking about Hobby Horses makes me also think about what an odd toy it really is.

I mean, I sort of get it. Back in their heyday (more horse humor! cause, ya know, it sounds...like...hay), I can see why they might've been extremely popular among children. Because kids just didn't have a whole lot of cool stuff, frankly. Before the 60s or 70s, kids toys really sucked, man. I mean, they sucked as toys. As artistic collectible pieces, decorative pieces, they're really neat. So I could see why they'd garner such a neat reputation. Plus there was always a big western fad going on, especially in the 50s, and every kid wanted to ride a horse, chasing after their friends, so yeah, I get it. I really, genuinely do. But by todays standards, it's a shock it's survived as much as it has, quite frankly. In the age of kids barely even playing with toys in general, when they have a million interactive digital devices to entertain themselves with constantly, the concept of the toybox has become increasingly outdated, I think. Which is a shame, honestly. I know toys aren't fully obsolete, but I think we're slowly getting there. But even then the toys that are popular now are likely the same kinds of toys that were popular for the last 40 years. Toys based on pre-existing IPs (cartoons, comic books, etc), or generic dolls and action figures, or board games even.

Not a hobby horse.

I'm just surprised they still sell these things in stores, like Walmart, of all places. Fun fact! Apparently they've been around since 1818 - by a London coach maker, oddly enough - or possibly earlier, and feature in the worship of Rajasthani folk deity Baba Ramdevji! I have no idea what any of that means, because, despite my upbringing, I'm still a fairly uncultured swine apparently.  I guess I could see these being popular with kids who like horses, and are still young enough to play pretend, I suppose. But what's even weirder are the kids who compete in hobby horse competitions. That's pretty awesome, not gonna lie. I think the thing I personally like about the hobby horse is just how artistic it allows the person making it to be, and the fact that anyone can make one. This means you get a TON of variety, and that's really cool. Unlike other toys, which are often mass produced and all look identical, you do have the chance of finding some unique and original hobby horse designs, and that's really exciting.

I don't have that hobby horse from my grandpa anymore, so one could say he's been put out to pasture. But thankfully I do have this new one from the thrift store, who I've appropriately named Mr. Buttons, and he's a more than excellent replacement! They're a really cool, interesting, artistic toy and I'm glad to see that they still have a place in todays modern world, whether as a plaything or used for goofy competitions. Either way it's nice to see something so old still thriving, especially in unexpected ways. It's a really unique toy that has somehow stood the test of time, and it's a personal favorite as well, so it makes me happy to see them still being sold in big box stores like Walmart. So here's to the hobby horse, who will continue riding right up til the very end. Hi Ho Silver, Away!