Horse Crafts For Kids

Horse crafts for kids.

Below are instructions to make a model horse barn.

( by Jayne Pedigo)

To make our basic stables, you will need the following items:

- One cardboard box large enough to hold the required number of horses. You can use grocery boxes for larger models, shoe boxes for smaller models.

- Sharp scissors with pointed ends - good for cutting holes for windows and doors.

- All-purpose glue.

- Pencil and ruler (for marking doors, windows etc.)

- Acrylic paints from a hobby shop, with different sized brushes.

If wanted, you can purchase paper with brickwork, wood or tile patterns for added realism.

To start out on your horse craft, decide how many stalls you want in your stable.

Using your ruler and pencil, mark out the doors and windows (don't forget a tack room and a feed storage area if you want them).

Also using your ruler and pencil, mark how high you want the stables to be.

In order to make the roof slant in a realistic way, make the wall at the front higher than the wall at the back and slant the side walls down between them.

Using your scissors, cut carefully around the box where you have marked your roof height.

You can use the lid of the box, or an extra piece of cardboard if the lid is not suitable, for the roof.

As the roof will be off most of the time you are actually playing with your stables, it usually just sits in place on the walls when the stables are not in use.

The traditional Dutch doors - the type where the top half opens to allow the horse to look out - are the easiest to make.

All you have to do is cut along your markings at the top and bottom of the door and along the right-hand side.

Carefully score the cardboard (using your ruler and scissors, mark but don't cut) along the left hand side of the door so that it opens and closes easily.

Don't forget to cut it across the middle so that each door has a top half and a bottom half. Leave the tack room door as one piece.

You can use the extra pieces of cardboard that you trimmed off of the walls (or any other cardboard) as partitions within the stable.

Measure the size carefully and add little tabs that you can fold over and use to glue the partition to the outer walls.

The partitions between the individual stalls need not be full height, but the one for the tack room should be the same size and height as the side wall.

Once you have glued the partitions and walls in place, you can decorate your stables any way you wish.

If you are going to use brick or some other patterned paper, cut it to size before gluing it in place. The roof can be painted or papered. Once you have done your papering you can paint the doors.

The finished stable is now ready for its occupants!

You can improvise with accessories...

For example, thimbles, or even the tops of tubes of toothpaste, make perfect buckets.

Depending on the scale of your stable you will be able to find all sorts of things around the house that can be painted and put to use in your new stable.

More horse crafts for kids to come in a few days. Do you have any good ideas for horse crafts for kids?

Share them with us. Fill out the form with your ideas and we will post them up on our website.