Approximate Time: 1 week, on and off
This horse came from the older style rocking horse set with springs that the child rocks back and forth on. I didn't know how I was going to transform it into a carousal horse, I just knew I wanted to try it.
I removed all the hardware until the horse stood on it's own. I then sanded the entire horse until I had it down to it's original plastic color, which in this case, was white. I had never done this before so the entire project was "learn as I go".
With a light grade of sandpaper, I rubbed all the scratches and dings until they virtually disappeared. This type of horse is attached to a frame so it already had holes on each side of the head (where the handles were) and a large hole in the stomach area (where it is attached to the frame). It was also equipped with metal stirrups and I saved these to reinsert. They were dull from wear so I just painted them silver to shine again. I covered the holes on the sides of the head with two metal disks that were the perfect size (They are the western type you use making raw hide beaded keychains).
I primed the entire horse and then painted it. I was very pleased with the results and gave it two coatings of varnish.
I took a wood closet pole I already had and screwed a finial to one end. I then painted the whole thing gold. I drilled a hole in the center on top of the horse to insert the pole. I had flat metal brackets in my garage "what-nots" collection and used them to attach pole to bottom of horse. I just bent one end up and screwed it into the pole. The other end of the bracket, I screwed into the inside of the horse, using small bolts and nuts. It was sturdy and firm.
I wanted to place the horse on my screened-in back porch and decided to use a cedar planter I had hanging around in my garage. It was heavy and sturdy and worked well. I drilled a hole in the bottom, halfway down, inserted the pole and screwed it to the planter.
I change the flowers in the planter to go with the seasons and holidays. Keep your mind open to items others discard. It's true that one man's junk is another's treasure!
By Mary from Palm Coast, FL
By
03/06/2011
That is so neat! To be able to recycle your child's rocking horse and keep it around after your child is grown is neat. Even finding one on the curb is great. Lets all start looking at every ones junk. LOL
By
02/26/2011
Thank you all for your feedbacks. Hope someone comes across one of these and gives it a try. Would love to see it!
By
02/24/2011
What a great idea! Now I'll probably never see one of these at the curb again, now that I know what to do with it! LOL! Thanks!
By
02/24/2011
Mary, I am sorry, I see you have all the info I was asking about in your article! I guess I was so enthralled with the horse, I forgot to read what you wrote! Thanks so much for sharing!
By
02/24/2011
How creative to think of re-purposing a child's rocking horse into a carousel horse! Did you paint the horse? If so, what did you use? Is it a drapery rod that you used for the pole? How did you secure it into the planter? Again, thanks for sharing a lovely way to keep something out of the landfills and into something useful and beautiful!
By
02/22/2011
You certainly did a great job Mary. This looks just as professional as anything I've ever seen. Really beautiful.
A big Thumbs Up for you and thanks for sharing with us.
MisMachado
By
02/21/2011
Thank you maphisx7 and MCW!!! I was thrilled I figured it out and happy with the results. It's amazing what one can do when they are determined to find a way!
By
02/21/2011
I love Carousel Horses. This one is so very pretty. How lucky you were to find it. Great job repainting and making it into a beautiful work of art.
Gem
Like ThriftyFun on Facebook
