Hobby horse from a lonely sock

Our little guy is an outsider. Literally. The more he can be outside, the better. Staying inside drives him crazy. Running outside, that what he wants to do. Most of the time just that little bit faster than his little legs can cary him. Favourite place to run: the woods.

For some kind of reason that my mummy mind doesn’t quite get, running goes better when you have a stick. Not to lean on, to hold onto. The thicker the stick, the better. So sticks are switched for larger ones in between. Now and then a dog walking past can grab hold of it as well, but that’s another story. Sometimes – yet rarely – the perfect stick is found. In that case, that stick has to come home with us. Of course.

So yes, we are the proud owners of a couple of sticks. And sometimes, they do come in handy. To make a hobby horse, for example.

Making a hobby horse doesn’t take that much time. This one is made of a lonely, lost sock, a stick that was just as lonely, some yarn, some rope, and some felt. And some stuffing, of course.

Its ears and hair are made as described in this pin. Its eyes are felt circles that I sewed on top. The very small nostrils exist of embroidery yarn that’s knotted at the end (and that have already disappeared into the horse. Larger knots next time!).

The stick is from the park near our place.

Our little guy loves it. He’d love to have a whole riding school. So I think our collection of sticks may grow soon. Fortunately, this house does contain quite a number of lonely socks waiting for a new destination.