ONE of the simple pleasures of childhood is pretending to gallop on a horse.

As a child I often “galloped” around the garden clicking my tongue to make a hoof-clattering noise, with the hood of my coat invariably hanging off my head to create the effect of wind rushing through my hair.

And it seems I’m not alone. A quick internet search turned up various children’s rhymes and games involving imaginary galloping, and there’s even a Facebook site called Pretending to be a Horse.

“Why walk around normally when nobody can see you? Gallop like a horse,” says one post. It was watching her two young sons racing around together that ignited a spark of inspiration for Ilkley mum Ellen Clarke.

“They were always running around bumping into things. It occurred to me that it’s a very primal thing for children to want to ‘gallop’, it’s a feeling most of us remember from childhood,” she says.

Juggling a publishing career with bringing up her sons, it was several years before Ellen turned her idea for an equine-inspired toy into reality.

Simply called ‘My Horse’, it’s a twist on the traditional hobby horse. The cloth head of a horse comes with a cloth saddle that is tied around the waist, and the child can ‘wear’ it with additional costumes and accessories.

As well as being fun, Ellen says the toy has educational value, helping with literacy, numeracy and history studies.

“Safety was very much in mind when I designed My Horse, I saw it as an improvement on the old hobby horse,” she says. “Hobby horses are basically sticks, which I always thought could be quite dangerous as children can easily trip over them or hit each other with them. My Horse has no stick or straps, and no little plastic eyes to come off.

“It’s a cushion made from soft material that fits around the wearer’s waist and is safe, comfortable and fun to gallop with. It also has a swishy tail, which a hobby horse doesn’t have. It comes with fun accessories and it’s not gender specific.”

The horses are made from hard-wearing corduroy and the designs are racehorses, Calicos, showjumping, medieval-style jousting, and satin unicorns, with a reindeer mask introduced last Christmas. Accompanying toys include painted felt jumps, rosettes and trophies as well as knight, Roman centurion, Viking and jockey helmets and costumes.

The toy was trialled at Guiseley Infant School in 2011 and has since become popular with schools and nurseries.

“It fulfils numeracy and imaginative play requirements in the National Framework for Early Years,” says Ellen. “The racehorse adds a fun element to numeracy learning as children recognise, order and match numbers on the horses, helmets and jockey jackets.

“Schools have ordered them for sports days, and one school requested 20 unicorns.

“The Roman, Viking and knights’ horses are also useful for history teaching. I’ve been talking to nursery managers and teachers, and I’d like to expand the educational use.”

Adds Ellen: “I started off taking the toys to trade fairs and aiming them at children’s parties, I hadn’t planned on it being an educational toy.” Her designs are also popular with equestrian groups for younger children, says Ellen, who showcases them at equine events, toy fairs, and ‘fairy festivals’.

The Toy Horse products are all handmade by Ellen, who came to toy-making with no background in textiles or design. Originally from Missouri in America, she married an Englishman and moved to the UK, settling in Ilkley. With a degree in journalism, Ellen worked in publishing in Edinburgh then worked from home as a freelancer.

“I used to make things for my children and their schools but I never expected to make a career out of it,” she says. Initially she started designing and making My Toy while working in publishing, but then the business took off and now she’s looking to expand.

And My Horse isn’t exclusively for children - there is a range for adults too, with the largest size fitting a 36in waist.

“We all remember pretending to gallop as children. Like many children, I never got a real horse so it’s the next best thing. It’s a stress-busting thing to ‘gallop’ around the living-room – whatever age you are!”

l Email myhorse07@gmail.com or visit myhorsetm.com for more details.