The term hobby horse is used, principally by folklorists, to refer to the costumed characters that feature in some traditional seasonal customs, processions and similar observances around the world. They are particularly associated with May Day celebrations, Mummers Plays and the Morris dance in England.

1. •Hobby horse as term
•A brief history of hobby horse
•The different using of the name hobby horse

2. Hobby horse is referred to the costumed characters that
feature in some traditional customs, such as; May Day
celebrations, Mummers Plays, around the world.

3. And one amang, an Iyrysch man,
Uppone his hoby swyftly ran.
JOHN BARBOUR, The Bruce(1375)

4. Hobby horses were popular in Ireland in the Middle Ages
and are associated with Morris Dance, English Mummers and
Minstrel groups.

5. Hobby horse took their name from the Irish breed and are
still seen as a part of the English folk tradition.
English people celebrated ‘Obby Oss Festival ’ by dressing
as hobby horses. This custom dates back to the 16th century.

6. • A loose woman or strumpet: William Shakespeare used
this meaning in Loves Labour’s Lost(1588)
“ Cal’st thou my love Hobbi-horse? ”

7. • A child’s nursery toy

8. •A dance: similar to the stage antics of the mummers’ horses.
“Women like these that danced anciently the Hobby-horse in
Country Mummings.”
RICHARD LASSELS, The Voyage of Italy(1668)

9. •A wooden horse fixed on a ’ merry-go-round’

10. •A velocipede : on which the rider proceeded by pushing
the ground with each foot alternately; also called a
‘Dandy-horse’.