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Quick Guide to Identifying Your Antique Rocking Horse

Below you will find a quick visual guide to Rocking Horse identification.


There are many methods in which experts use to identify a rocking horse. When you know where to look, you can not only find the maker of the horse, but even the decade it was made.
The most common horses we see in the workshop are Ayres, Collinson, Lines and Baby Carriage.
We at the Rocking Horse Works are always happy to help and will use our years of expert knowledge to identify your horse free of charge. Simply send us a photograph in the post or via email and we will get back to you to confirm the identity of your loyal friend. 
In the meantime, have a look at our guide to identifying your horse from the comfort of your own home...

In this guide we have included the most common makers and two other popular manufacturers that are less well recognised.
If you have not managed to identify your horse amongst our examples or would simply like more information on the history of rocking horses and their makers, please don't hesitate to get in touch. Steve or Alison will be happy to help!

Alison@rockinghorseworks.co.uk
www.rockinghorseworks.co.uk
01630 653 194


COLLINSON BROTHERS ROCKING HORSES Of Liverpool,

Circa 1836 to 1990





a) Paintwork
Dappling,dark and bold, a lot of black used.
Bright red garish eyes, nostril and mouth.

b) Eyes.
Upholstery pins were used for eyes.

c) Hair
Mane and tail, both curly.

d) Tack
Red corduroy, used for saddle middle, the rest of the saddle made
from leatherette.
 Bridle, nailed on, many decorative tacks used on dawdle and bridle.

e) Stand
Rectangular linear pillars
Diamond cut out on top of pillars.


BABY CARRIAGES LTD Also of Liverpool,

 circa 1906 to 1963

(Often misconstrued as Collinson Horses)


  


a) Paintwork
Dappling, a lot of bold black used, but in a more patched finer format 
than a Collinson.

b) Eyes
 Glass eyes were used

c) Hair
  curly cows tail hair (as Collinsons)

d) Tack
Saddle has no saddle block
The saddle itself made from fabric, sometimes velvet,
The skirt and rest of tack made from leatherette, sometimes real 
leather was used. The blanket, or numna, made from cotton.

e) Stand
Rectangular linear posts
Rounded ends on the horizontal rails
Brackets, or hinges on top of stand have three holes in
BCL Rambler Transfer on base of stand.

G & J LINES BROTHERS Of London,

circa 1850 to 1931



a) Paint work
Beautiful, subtle face and body painting.

b) Eyes
Glass eyes

c) Hair
Horse hair mane and tail

d) Tack
Leather padded saddle,
Blankets, Classic shape with angular pointed corners.

e) Stand
Beautiful turned pillars, but with indented collar.
Brackets,or hinges have three bolt/screw hole
Brackets sometimes have initials of company engraved on underside.
f) Thistle logo sometimes-included on front of martingale

LINES SPORTY BOY



Special G & J Lines Brothers model
More streamlined features on the head
Featured a removeable saddle and nailed on bridle
Fixed blanket

BRASSINGTON & COOKE (RARE)

Circa 1920




a) Body Shape
Forward facing head
Stocky body
Unusual profiled legs
(They used a Leeway carver)

b) Hair
  real horse hair mane and tail

c) Tack
Leather saddle and padded saddle

d) Stand
Classic pillars, similar to Ayres.
Brackets, two pairs each end.
Horizontal rails, had rounded ends with cut out profile each end.

BARKER Of Birmingham

Circa 1890 to 1947



a) Body
vertical head
simple stocky body shape
shapeless straight uprightish legs.

b) Paint
 basic Dappling

c) Tack
Leather padded saddle, no saddle block

d) Stand
Pillars, thin and un shapely
Horizontal rails had rounded ends

F.H AYRES Of London,

Circa 1864, to out break of First World War 1914






a) Shape
Finely carved and shape, with lovely intricate heads.
Heads often turned to one side.

b) Paintwork
Beautiful subtle Dappling, heads exquisitely painted.

c) Eyes
 Glass eyes always used, beautifully painted and highlighted.

d) Hair
long horse hair used.
 Dapple, light grey and brown being most
Used colours.

e) Tack
Real leather padded saddle
Bridles, made out of leather, occasionally removeable.
The blanket, or numna, made out of cotton edged in white braid.
Blanket cut out in square shape with slightly round corners.

f) Stand
Normally made from pine, with beautiful classic turned pillars.
Brackets, or hinges, have four bolt holes in each.

(Ayres horses were quite often mounted on bow rockers.)
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Our Horses - The Current Collection


  Our Rocking Horses

'The Current Collection' 

 While the tradition of a rocking horse is no lost art, it is a sad fact that the beauty, grace and friendliness is lacking in many present day reproductions. As you will see from our web site our rocking horses combine all these qualities and in particular our rocking horses exude a friendly warmth which is very much commented on by our customers. This beauty and elegance is achieved in part by our artist who insists on hand painting every horse. Real horse hair is used for both mane and tail. Such beautiful horses deserve the best tack and therefore we employ a master saddler from the UK town of Walsall, famous for its saddlery.

Standard Dapple Grey Rocking Horse 

Standard Dapple Grey rocking horses
  • Head straight on
  • Fixed traditional padded saddle
  • Removable bridle
  • Turned posts on stand
  • Varying sizes available 
  • Available on Bows or stand
  • Choice of tack theme, colours and materials. 

Deluxe Dapple Grey Rocking Horse

Deluxe Dapple Grey rocking horses 

  Large Deluxe Dapple Grey rocking horses 
 
Large Deluxe Dapple Grey rocking horses 

 Any child will love this elegant, powerful creature. But it is also big and strong enough for teenagers, or even an adult to ride - and perhaps recapture those forgotten memories of childhood...
  • Removable saddle and bridle
  • Head slightly offset in traditional fashion
  • Superbly defined extra muscle-carving
  • Barley-twist posts on stand
  • Your own initials or motif embroidered on the saddle blanket shield
  • Available on Bows or stand 
  • Varying sized available.
  •  Choice of tack theme, colours and materials.  

 

Pine Rocking Horse

Pine Horse

 The lively, youthful vigour of pine with its light, soft colour and strong gain lends itself beautifully to the wood-carvers art.
  • Barley-twist posts on stand
  • Your own initials or motif embroidered on the saddle blanket shield
  • Available on Bows or stand 
  • Varying sized available.
  • Choice of tack theme, colours and materials. 

 

Oak, Ash, Cherry, Walnut Horses

Oak Horse 

Large Cherry Rocking Horse 


  • The Oak Rocking Horse The wood that went to make Nelson's ships and England's 'Wooden Walls'. Its mellow, close-grained density produces a strong heavy and handsome creature.
  • The Ash Rocking Horse Ash is strong, straight-grained and vibrantly light in colour. Its resiliance makes it ideal for spear handles, baseball bats and plough-beams - and perfect for rocking horses.
  • The Cherry Rocking Horse The warm, dark red heartwood and luscious graining of this tree make it a favourite of many of our north American customers.

 

Race Horse

Race Horse

 Your apprentice jockey can win the Gold Cup by a short head on this magnificent beast.

  • Choice of stand colour 
  • Chice of tack colour, theme and and materials.
  • varying sizes available
  • Choice of hair colours.  

 

Ages Ayres Replica on Bows

Traditional rocking horses - Aged Ayers Replica on Bows

Skilful artisty combined with our usual rigourous standards of construction produce a rocking horse which looks as if it has just emerged from Great-Granny's attic but will last for many happy childhoods to come.

Zebra 

 Zebra Rocking Horse

 We can help you realise a personal and particular ideal of your very own rocking horse - or perhaps something more exotic...imagine yourself thundering across the African Savannah on the back of this splendid zebra showing any hungry pride of lions a clean pair of heels.

Black Beauty


Black Beauty rocking horses
 
"Handsome is - that handsome does"
Anna Sewell's famous equine hero whose biography has thrilled young readers for over a century can be yours to ride through whole new chapters of imaginary adventures.

Pegasus

Pegasus on Bows

 An extraordinary and flamboyant creature flown straight from the pages of Greek mythology. Our pure white Pegasus stands almost six feet tall from the base of its bow rockers to the tips of its gilded wings.

Special Commision

Special Commission rocking horse makers 

Do you own a real horse? Or remember a past favourite? Did your family once own the winner of the Grand National, or merely make grandad's fortune on it?
Alison at the Rocking Horse Works will be pleased to use her skills to recreate your old equine friend working from your description and the photographs you supply.
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All About Us

All About us

We began making rocking horses in 1985 whilst travelling the English canal system in 'Heather Bell', a converted seventy-two foot narrowboat. When the business and sales began to flourish including orders from across Europe, North and South America, Japan, Singapore and Hong Kong, we abandoned our romantic, nomadic lifestyle and gave our rocking horses a secure footing on land.



Set in the heart of the Shropshire countryside - and on a quiet, rural arm of the British Waterways canal system - our workshop has not strayed far from its watery beginnings. We are determined to produce only the most exquisite wood sculpture. England has always been renowned for its carving tradition and we are very proud of the timeless skills of the small team of artist-craftsmen who produce our beautiful horses.


While the tradition of a rocking horse is no lost art, it is a sad fact that the beauty, grace and friendliness is lacking in many present day reproductions. As you will see from our web site our rocking horses combine all these qualities and in particular our rocking horses exude a friendly warmth which is very much commented on by our customers. This beauty and elegance is achieved in part by our artist who insists on hand painting every horse. Real horse hair is used for both mane and tail. Such beautiful horses deserve the best tack and therefore we employ a master saddler from the UK town of Walsall, famous for its saddlery.
The new Rocking Horse Workshop is located in Tyrley Shropshire UK
You can visit the Works at Tyrley Chapel, c/o Tyrley Lock Cottage, Tyrley near Market Drayton, Shropshire, TF9 2AQ
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A Collinson Rocking Horse

A Collinson Rocking Horse

Collinson Brothers Rocking Horses trot in and out of the workshop in need of restoration more than any other, they are certainly the easiest to identify for a number of reasons, in terms of rocking horse making Collinson horses were ‘mass’ produced,  meaning that there is a lot out there. Being so abundant, the horses have a characteristic consistency though still hand painted.

They are fondly recognised for their slap dash but charming appearance, unusual painting around the eyes, in particular their long spidery eye lashes and common use of decorative upholstery pins for eyes, clumsy dappling that covers almost the entire horse and simple square posts on the stands. Another recognisable feature is a cut out diamond shaped piece of wood found atop of each pillar, used to cover up unsightly nails.

The Collinson’s business was established in 1836 in Liverpool. Horses were manufactured through 5 generations, by the same family, until December 1993 when production ceased.
Rumour has it that in 1851 Queen Victoria herself visited the company and hopped on a dapple grey horse, from then on Collinson adopted only this style again etherising the consistency in their work.

As with a lot of businesses, quality is often compromised as we move ever further into a world where mass production and consumerism runs riot.
Before such times, when looking at Collinson horses we can observe much more detailed head and neck carving, leather and leather cloth for saddle materials, glass eyes were used and time was invested in turning pillars for the stand.

After the Second World War however, as we moved into a mechanical age Collinson adopted a number of changes in order to cut down production time and keep up with demand.
Glass eyes became plastic or sometimes wood but most commonly the decorative upholstery pin as pictured above.
They also switched to corduroy saddle seats and vinyl side flaps and cloths. The carving became much more simplified particularly around the head compromising its earlier detail.
When we take apart a Collinson Rocking horse for repair we can observe some major differences from typical rocking horses carpentry.

The overall construction of a Collinson rocking horse is not the most robust and certainly not typical of other English horse producers, for example, instead of using a different stronger wood than that used on the body, Collinson used pine meaning for strength the legs had to be much thicker than those of other makers, the legs were never morticed into the body, they were simply attached into grooves with long nails meaning their legs weaken very quickly, one of the most common problems we see in the workshop is a sad case of wobbley legs. The same ‘hammer a nail in’ technique was adopted in the posts, which again leads to loosening of the structure.
These problems take time but are easily fixed in the workshop, once the wood work has been repaired and reinforced we offer our customers a choice in the painting and finish.
Some customers want to preserve the original paintwork and materials in which case we repair any dents or scuffs to the body and patch up any areas in need to attention holding on to any original tack and replacing it close to completion.

Unlike the prestigious Ayres rocking horses, Collinsons horses are commonly occurring and therefore customers do not always feel obliged to preserve their original appearance. We are often asked to replace the upholstery pin eyes for our own glass eyes, to replace the short curly mane and tail for our own thick horsehair in a choice of colours and to repaint the horses in the style of our own. Here is an example, it can completely change the look of the Collinson giving it a fresh and new lease of life.





We are also often asked to replace the vinyl saddle materials in exchange of a choice of our own leather in which we have a varied choice from tan to dark brown and royal navy to fire engine red.
Every rocking horse restoration is unique and we can provide a full restoration service authentic to Collinson or not, or alternatively we can focus on an area of a horse you feel needs a little TLC.
Don’t hesitate to get in touch with Steve or Alison here at the Rocking Horse Works, we can provide you with further information on Collinsons and even show you examples of our before and after restoration work on these particular horses.

We can also provide you with a free quote. You are welcome to visit the workshop to see old horses being restored as well as new ones being made, if you like, you could bring your rocking horse along so we can give your horse a proper diagnosis or simply email a few photos to us and we can identify your horse and its era.


Or contact Alison@rockinghorseworks.co.uk
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Our restoration service


When that ancient and decrepit old rocking horse is finally retrieved from the darkest recesses of the loft, we can offer it a complete restoration service.
Our comprehensive fund of experience, reference and original working techniques enable us to sympathetically rebuild and restore your rocking horse to the level you require.
A poor restoration can lose a rocking horse much of its charm and value, so should you own, or decide to purchase one, please contact us for information sheets and free advice on the best way to authentically bring the old creature back to its former glory.
Rocking Horse Works never say "No" to a poorly horse. Whether your old friend has been wasting away in a damp shed, or forgotten in an attic, we can have your horse back at pride of place in your home. From traditional wooden Victorian rocking horse to fluffy Pegasus and skin covered horses to fibreglass Haddon horse, no job is too big or too small.
For a free quote on a restoration for your rocking horse please visit 
Www.rockinghorseworks.co.uk

Below are some of our examples 

A lines brothers full restoration 



Lines Brothers Early English Horse and Cart



Barker Rocking Horse
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