How to Create Horse Arts

Most children love horses. You can turn this fascination with horses into craft projects for the entire family. Children can learn how to make horse jewelry, stuffed animals or clothespin horses. Most of these crafts are inexpensive and easy to learn. Pick a project that is appropriate for your child’s age.

Horse Pin

Create horse pins by using the thin, colored foam or cork material available at most craft stores. Purchase either stencils or cookie cutters in the shape of horses. Try to get a variety with some showing galloping horses or horses in a jumping position. This will give your child more to choose from.

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Purchase decorative items like sequins, buttons or jewels to glue onto the foam, along with a pin back. Using the stencils or the cookie cutter, allow your child to trace the image onto the foam. When done, cut out the horse. Let your child decorate her horse with markers or the decorative items. When she is finished, allow it to dry. Glue the pin back onto the foam.

Clothespin Horse

This craft is recommended for older children, preferably age 6 and up. Paint three clothespins. Two sections will be the legs so your child may want to add hooves to the feet. Let dry. Glue the two clothespins with the hooves sections on the bottom together so that the leg sections are pointed downward. Glue the other pin to the front of the horse’s body, so that it faces in the opposite direction of the other two pins. This will give it a little distinction from the rest of the body and make it look like ears.

Let dry. Add yarn as hair, wiggle eyes and felt for the nose. Your child can also add additional decorations if he wishes. Just a warning with this craft, the ears will be as long as the clothespin. Parents may want to cut down the size of the ears if they feel like they do not look right.

Horse Stuffed Animal

This project is recommended for older children since there will be sewing involved. Either buy a pattern or use a coloring book page as a guide. Lightly punch holes through the page until it creates a light marks on the material. Using a cloth marker or pen, connect the marks until they re-create the pattern. Cut out the pattern. You will have to do this twice to create either side of the horse.

Line up your pattern and use pins to hold it together. Either hand-sew or use a sewing machine to sew the two pieces together. Match up the pattern so that the sections correspond, i.e. ears to ears, hooves to hooves, etc. Whatever section will eventually become the outside will be on inside. Sew the material together, but leave one 4- to 5-inch side open. Flip the material inside out. Allow your child to decorate the outside of the horse with markers or jewels. Once done, stuff it with some filling cotton. Sew the rest of the horse together.