Horses Appear! Recommended Collection of Nursery Rhymes, Children's Songs, and Hand-Play Songs
Do you remember the horse songs you sang as a child? Gentle nursery rhymes and traditional children’s songs like Uma wa Toshi Toshi and Ouma no Oyako come back to us in quiet moments even now that we’re adults.
Here, we’ll introduce a generous selection of nostalgic nursery rhymes and hand-play songs with a horse theme! They’re perfect for singing together as a parent and child, using in childcare settings, and enjoying in many different situations—so take a look.
You’re sure to find that one song that’s stayed in your memory!
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Horses Appear! Recommended Collection of Children's Songs, Nursery Rhymes, and Hand-Play Songs (1–10)
Spring MeadowNEW!Lyrics by: Hiroo Sakata, Music by: Toshiharu Ichikawa
This is a children’s song by poet-lyricist Hiroo Sakata and composer Toshiharu Ichikawa, a pioneer of educational music, depicting a foal galloping across a pasture.
It sings of a lively young horse running about in the spring breeze, with fresh grasses and flowers sprouting all around.
It has been included for many years in lower-grade music textbooks, featuring a comfortable vocal range and an easy-to-remember melody that thoughtfully draws out children’s natural singing voices.
It is featured in Educational Art Company’s elementary school music textbooks for the 2020 and 2024 school years, with accompanying teacher’s CDs and beginner piano scores available.
Expressing the vibrant feeling of spring through a bright, light rhythm, this piece is perfect for choral singing in early childhood settings as a new season begins, or for family sing-alongs at home.
If your child loves ranches or animals, try singing it together for fun!
Horse's tail, pig's tail.NEW!Lyrics: Hitomi Abe / Music: Naosumi Yamamoto
Broadcast on NHK’s Minna no Uta in August 1983, this song is a humorous children’s tune themed around the tails of a horse and a pig.
Written by Hitomi Abe and composed by Naosumi Yamamoto, it was selected as an outstanding piece in NHK’s Children’s Song Lyrics and Composition Contest.
The story charmingly likens a boy’s puppy-love—teasing the girl he likes—to animal tails, sweetly capturing that childish urge to tug on her pigtails.
Sung by Kyu Sakamoto and the NHK Tokyo Children’s Choir, it became well-loved and was rebroadcast in 2010 and 2015.
There are also covers by various artists, including Seiji Tanaka, and it is widely sung in kindergarten and nursery school choirs.
Its lively melody and catchy refrain make it perfect for parents and children to sing together.
Foal's Rhythm PlayNEW!Monbushō Shōka (Ministry of Education Songs)
This children’s song, which depicts a lively foal moving forward to the chant “Hai-shii, hai-shii,” was included in the Ministry of Education’s Shoka for the Elementary School Reader, edited in July 1910 (Meiji 43).
Its hallmark is the way it expresses the foal’s hoofbeats—pressing on along mountain paths and up steep slopes—through an even beat and rhythm.
Today it is used in early childhood education and eurhythmics as a “rhythm play” activity, ideal for children to walk, run, and stop in time with the piano.
Because changes in pitch and tempo can be expressed through body movement, it’s perfect for group movement play and parent–child bonding time.
By imitating a horse’s gait, it offers a fun way to foster a sense of rhythm.
Horses Appear! Recommended Collection of Children's Songs, Nursery Rhymes, and Hand-Play Songs (11–20)
Horse lessonsNEW!children’s song
This is a very short traditional children’s song themed around horses.
With the chant “Onma-san no okeiko” (“Horsey’s practice”) and simple counting, it’s enjoyed as a movement play activity: seating a child on a parent’s lap to bounce them up and down, or carrying them on the back and walking slowly like a horse.
In January 2008, a roughly 25‑second version sung by Emiko Kobayashi was included on the album Warabe-uta, Nekase-uta: Songs to Nurture Babies’ Hearts and Bodies, and it has since been widely used in childcare settings.
Because the short phrases repeat, you can sing it over and over while watching the child’s reactions, making it perfect for deepening parent–child bonding.
Try incorporating it in a variety of situations—as a warm-up, as an introduction to group activities, or as a hands-on playtime at home.
Horse and boarNEW!American folk song
This is a lap-bouncing play song that babies can enjoy once they have stable head control.
The caregiver sits on the floor with legs extended, places the child on their knees, and sings while bouncing them up and down.
At the end, with the onomatopoeic “paka!” the caregiver opens their legs to catch the child, prompting smiles and giggles.
The lyrics are short and easy to memorize, designed to deepen parent–child bonding while sharing the feeling of riding a horse.
The words and sound effects vary slightly by region, which is part of the charm of a traditional children’s ditty passed down orally.
It’s a staple repertoire at daycare centers and child-rearing support centers, and it was even recorded in 2006 as a children’s song from Saga.
It’s a perfect piece for playful interaction with your baby.
The little cowboy has arrived.NEW!Composition: Hiroo Sakata / Lyrics: Alexis, composed by Tom Tirilin Tom
This song, which depicts a lively cowboy galloping across the vast western plains, was selected in an Italian children’s song contest in 1965 and was given Japanese lyrics by Hiroo Sakata.
It vividly portrays a little cowboy from the cactus-blossoming West riding along on his horse while strumming a banjo.
The repeated “la-la-la” set to a marching rhythm is delightful and makes children naturally want to move their bodies.
It was first broadcast on NHK’s “Minna no Uta” in 1966, and was later sung on “Okaasan to Issho.” In 1991, a single was also released by Ichiro Mizuki.
It’s a perfect children’s song for everyone to sing together with rounds and handclaps, full of energy!
Run, Kotaro!NEW!Lyrics by Kenkichi Ikeda / Music by Kenkichi Ikeda and Nobuo Maeda
Released in July 1970 as a parody of horse-racing commentary, this Salty Sugar track sings out an imaginary derby in a comical, announcer-style delivery.
The lyrics were written by Kenkichi Ikeda, and the music was co-composed by Ikeda and Nobuo Maeda.
Its charm lies in a high-energy arrangement that fuses acoustic guitar, handclaps, and shouted calls.
The song topped the Oricon weekly chart and won the New Artist Award at the Japan Record Awards.
It later became a staple as background music for school sports days, was adapted with new lyrics for the 1996 anime Midori no Makibaō, and was covered in 2018 for Uma Musume: Pretty Derby—remaining beloved across generations.
It’s a perfect pick for enjoying announcer-style singing with kids or hyping up a sports event.