Garage Sale Find: The Wonder Horse

I came across this wood rocking horse that was too cute to pass by at a garage sale recently in Elmhurst.  I took a photo of it and texted it to both Nat and her Mom - who is kinda *into* horse stuff.  Either way, I was going to buy this thing.

Nat's mom raised her hand and this awfully cute red Wonder Horse has found a new home in Naperville for a whole generation of grandkids to ride on.  The price was too good to not put this into our van.

In poking around on the web about what exactly this thing is, I came across this story about The Wonder Horse and the history of the company who made/make it:

Children of the 1950s remember the most popular horse from their childhood: the Wonder Horse. The all-wood painted horse was supported on a wooden frame by metal springs. The child rider could bounce up and down.

The Wonder Horse was made by Wonder Products, now located in Bossier City, La. The company made its first horses in 1949. It continued making the same type until 1959, when it changed to a metal frame. In 1952, Wonder also made vinyl horses on a black wooden frame. The company still makes plastic horses.

Thus....we can date this thing to somewhere between 1949 and 1959.  Also, if you want to go down a vintage rocking horse wormhole, head over to this Facebook page for Wonder Company former employees where they're sharing all sorts of photos of cute rocking horses.