The Rocking horse was made from a Kit provided by West Sussex Woodencraft. The kit was comprehensive in containing all the items required, including, pre cut wood, leather, glass eyes, everything in fact except for paint and tools. Being a wooden horse you could have left it bare wood if you so required.

I found that the instructions were very poor. They have made an effort but without the aid of illustrations their guidance is not very clear. I had to obtain a few books from the Library before I felt confident enough to complete the carving. The horse is partly shaped in that the legs and head have the outlines cut but once glued to the square body block there is a lot of carving to do and the instructions assumed that you knew what you were doing.

The instructions for the harness were also confusing as technical terms, like martingale, were used and would mean little to most people. Paper templates were provided for the saddle parts but again illustrations of how it all fitted together would have been helpful. Due to the size of the upholstery pins I found it easier to drill a small hole in the required location and then to push them in rather than try to use a hammer.

I used one of the horses from the library book to base my paint work on. The model is therefore a modern horse based on a traditional design rather than a family heirloom.

The swing base is straightforward to make but as it is made from two different woods it does need to be painted or stained. This should be done before gluing together as the stain will not penetrate the glue.