Introduction: Replacement Bands for Today's Kids Rocking Horse or Rocking Zebra

By
About: Hi.

I own a Rocking Horse made by Today’s Kids.  This was a hand me down to my kid from an older cousin, so it is about 7 years old. The rubber bands that allow it to rock were in pretty bad shape, and one of them broke while my child was riding it.

The manufacturer is out of business and replacement rubber bands cannot be found.

This instructable will demonstrate how I made replacement bands out of bungee material.

DISCLAIMER:  This instructable just documents what I did.  I do not recommend anyone do this.  Please don’t do this yourself and especially do not allow a child to use a rocking horse or zebra that has been modified.  These bands have not been tested for safety or performance by the manufacturer or anyone who knows what they’re doing.  I cannot be held responsible for any injuries or deaths that result from someone attempting to perform the steps outlined here.

While I have tested the outcome personally (I weigh 200 lbs) and my child has ridden the horse without failure, I am not a toy manufacturer and therefore do not recommend anyone do the same.  I did this solely for decorative purposes only, so that the horse looks presentable.  I do not allow or recommend anyone ride the horse.

Step 1: Materials

  • Heavy Duty 32” Bungee Cord
    • My hardware store sells this by the foot, but they were out of stock so I just took a pre-made one apart.
  • Hog Rings (2)

Total Cost: @$4.00 per band

Step 2: Take Apart Bungee Cord

If I had bought bare cord, I would not have needed to perform this step.

I needed bare bungee cord, so I had to remove the metal hooks and metal rings that held the cord together.

I slid the metal hooks down to expose the metal rings that hold the cord together.  I broke the rings by squeezing it in vice back and forth until it broke.  The hooks can then be removed easily.

Step 3: Loop and Secure

I made a loop at the end of the cord using the last 5” of cord.  Then I secured it using the hog ring.  I had to squeeze the cord with pliers so that the ring would slide over it.  Then, I closed the ring with pliers.  Repeat on the other end.

Step 4: Remove the Old Rubber Band

I removed the yellow end pieces from each foot peg (there are screws holding them in place). Then, the rubber band easily slid off the peg.
After the band is removed, the end piece is put back in place and screwed back in to the peg.

Step 5: Attach the Bungee Cord

I stretched the loop of one end of my custom cord over the yellow end piece on the horse side.  Then I looped the cord over the opposite peg, came back and looped around the horse side again, and finally stretched the loop of the other end of the cord over the yellow peg on the frame.

Step 6: Repeat As Needed

Originally, I only wanted to replace 1 broken band.  But in testing my repair, I put as much weight on the horse as I could to see if it would fail.  I wound up breaking another of the original rubber bands.  So, I replaced all the bands with bungee.