The Wooden Horse on Wheels
This mythical creature of the Soviet kids’ childhood, something between a Centaur and a bicycle, has come into being within a Soviet manufacturing industry driven by an overpowering desire to “give all the best” to children. Most brilliant minds of the Soviet scientists were working on the creation of the ideal cross-breed. The mutant was officially labeled a “Pedal Horse” and its large-volume production was finally kick-started by the end of 1950s. It became very popular quite fast as it was really exciting to own a “real” horse that could move around in the street, a horse more real than a wooden rocking horse.
The Pedal Horse
However, it took some time for the children to get used to the idea of pushing the sticking out pedals instead of just pushing off the ground, and it took a lot of strength as it was quite hard to turn pedals that were stiff and clumsy. Rare muscular kid could manage the distance of a few meters without getting exhausted or falling down as the whole structure was also uneven. Still, it was so much fun!
The Pedal Car
But what could be even better than having your own horse? Of course, having your own car! The USSR was producing a large variety of pedal cars for children, in each specific time trying to reproduce the actual model of a popular car. Here are some of them.
Blue pedal car – Resembling ‘Zaporozhec’
Red pedal car – Resembling ‘Moskvitch’