The (Sinister) Playground Rocking Horse

It may not look that evil, but it wants you hurt. In the danger-filled playgrounds of old, the metal rocking horse was one of the most sinister of all, and many people still bear the scars (including the person writing this). The designer was sadistic to the core and deeply disturbed. Broken this, busted that, some appendage bent back in odd ways, more than a few bloody noses, a cut requiring stitches and a day or two later you’d be back for more.

On a blistering summer’s day, those metal slides in back might get as hot as a baking pan fresh from the oven, but otherwise pretty benign. The dangers of the rocking horse were inherent to the design, and deliberate, but never obvious. You never saw it coming. It targeted the soft-spots, the face, wrists and shins. Who doesn’t have a chipped tooth from a run-in with one?

Did the designers hope to make an adult of you or did it perhaps satisfy some a twisted fantasy? Let the little devils suffer! While it appears they didn’t bother themselves with trivial matters like safety back then but, or were just sickos, we think there’s something more. There’s a life lesson here.

Let overzealous kids test the limits and if they walk away from it, they’re ready to take on the world. Survival of the fittest. Prepping you for tough times ahead, as an adult was perhaps the intent all the long.

By our our accounts most playground rocking horses have the form seen here and usually only differed in the number of seats. It’s more fun getting hurt with friends! We’ve seen lesser and greater number of sitting positions, but otherwise they look the same. While absent from modern playgrounds, you might find some in out of the way places. Like here in little Burstall Saskatchewan.

We posted this photo on Facebook and share the following comments: “….You could hear the clunk clunk of kids playing on it a block away.” – Jo Tennant. “Never wanted to sit up front cause for sure you were gonna bash your face on that horse’s head. Think it was meant for that!” – Patti Crews-McMorran (bingo – they wanted you maimed). “My son got a broken collarbone from the horse .” – Debra Leicht.

SK is Awesome…
Riding the Rails in SW Saskatchewan – Part Two and Riding the Rails in SW Saskatchewan – Part One.
Brownville School.
Forgotten Prairie: Fusilier.

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Date of adventure: August, 2024.
Location: Burstall, Saskatchewan.

The playground rocking horse wants you hurt.