Conference moira::parenting_v3

    I vote for the old-fashioned wooden ones (motion by babypower!).  I
    agree with you about the springs.
    
    Alex is almost 7 now and she *still* enjoys her wooden rocking horse,
    which I got when she was 11 months (Christmas of '85) with "Pampers
    (or maybe Huggies) points" from their catalog.  I think I had to pay
    $45, but comparable horses were then around $75.
    
    I really hovered close to Alex when she was on the horse at first, but
    then she learned to hang on tight, and it wasn't long before
    she was rocking it hard enough for it to "travel" across the living
    room.  Ride 'em cowgirl!
    
    Leslie

    I vote for the wooden rocking horse too. We bought it for his first
    birthday, which was a week after his first Christmas.  He still at
    almost 5 uses it, plus I figure we'll pass it on to his children.  We
    used it when he was almost 2 as a "prop" in the pictures we took to put
    in the Christmas card. Let me say it looked adorable.
    
    We bought it through Sears catelog, it's a polished light oak color,
    has leather reigns, and tan yarn mane.  If I had to change only one
    thing on it, I would put something on the back of the rockers, he tends
    to go too far back and tip over.  Maybe a wedge of wood or piece of
    dowel.
    
    Lyn

    We have one of each - a big plastic one with the springs and a metal
    frame, and a wooden one.
    
    I vote for the wooden one for lots of reasons.  
    
    - It looks MUCH nicer!
    - It can stay in their room for more years w/out looking like a 'baby'
      toy
    - The plastic one moves when they ride it, and jumps off the ground to
      the point that it's almost tipped over.
    - Jason got his fingers caught in the spring when he was a baby
    - The wooden ones take up less space (no big frame)
    - The wooden ones don't "squeal" from the springs (STOP that horrible
      noise, PLEASE! (-:)
    - You tend to have more options for height w/ the wooden ones
    - Assembly is usually quite a bit easier (though more permanent cuz
      they're glued).
    - They pass down very nicely
    - The framed ones tend to be tippy as the child tries to climb on, and
      a LOT higher than you might feel comfortable having your little one
      bouncing (at least for us).
    - Jason constantly smacked his mouth/teeth on the mane of the plastic
      one from bouncing - not a concern w/ the wooden one.
    - If one sibling tries to pull the other off, the wooden ones won't tip
      over (at least not NEARLY as easy!!).
    
    ....and I'm sure there's more reasons.  When they ride the plastic one,
    I watch with dread, waiting for one of them to get hurt - and they
    usually ride it till they do get hurt.  When they ride the wooden one,
    I watch, and it's neat to see their imagination come flying through,
    thinking that they're cowboys. 
    
    One drawback to the wooden ones, is if little fingers/toes (or big
    ones!) get run over by the rocker part - it **REALLY** HURTS!!!!!!!!!
    
    Have Fun!!  ... and allow yourself plenty of time for assembly!
    
    Patty

There are wooden rocking horses that are constructed such that the body of the 
horse rocks (predominantly back and forth, but somewhat up and down also), but 
the base remains stable, and I like these better than the traditional type 
mounted on rockers (which as an earlier note stated can tip over, or smash 
fingers) or the spring type.  We had a spring type, and never had a problem 
with tipping or pinched fingers, but then it didn't get used much.

The body of the horse is attached at four points to members that also attach 
to the base.  The attachment points of the members to the base and the 
members to the body are contructed such that they pivot.  

Clay

    My parents have one that is over 30 yrs old, with the springs at each
    of the 4 corners. FWIW, Ryan's been using it since he was 12 months,
    and never got his fingers pinched or stuck. 
    
    

    Carol,
    
    I just got a fisher price, I think, for our friends little girl. It's
    all plastic, with a material mane, and no springs. Chris, our son, 
    loves it, and he is 1 year and 3 months. I would definitely like to
    get one for him. I know that some of the kids in daycare are alot 
    older and they still use it too.
    
    Sheila
    

    The one we have for Brian (4 3/4) and Neil (1 1/2) is one of the
    plastic ones with springs.  They both love it and we haven't had any
    problems so far.  The springs are covered with thick plastic casings so
    that fingers can't get pinched.  The base sticks out for about 2 feet
    both in front and behind the horse, so it's very stable.  The one we
    have is made by Flexible Flyer.
    
                                              Tracy

    My daughter received a wooden rocking horse from her Godmother for
    her first birthday this year.  It's a pretty nice one and was bought
    at the Burlington (MA) Mall.  She has the same one for her daughter.
    Anyway, it cost under $50, which is pretty good for a wooden horse.
    
    Mary
    

    Our daughter has the plastic one with the springs, she's two now and
    really put that horse to the test. No problems with getting fingers
    pinched, just a few falls getting on and off of it.
    
    BTW: On the 'for sale' board in MK01 there is a picture of a handmade
    Rockinghorse for sale. It looks real nice in the picture, I'd love it
    for my daughter, but the asking price is $200 or BO. It is gorgeous
    though and probably cost $300+, I am not advertising it for anyone, I
    don't know the person selling it either.
    
                                Jeff

    Thanks for all the replies.  I hadn't even thought of a good old fashioned
wooden rocking horse until you all reminded me.  We ended up falling in love
with a nice wooden horse we found at Spags.  for what it's worth, the wooden 
horses at Spags are between $40 and $80 depending on the size.

- Carol