Rocking horses for children in need

20 years ago, Ed Kane bought a rocking horse for his young daughter from an upscale store and for a lot of money.

“It was crap.“ Kane said from his Roanoke County studio.  “I knew I could do better”

Inspired by the wild ponies of Corolla on North Carolina’s outer banks, Kane has been pumping out 300 horses per year ever since.  But for Kane, making an old product better was not enough so he started donating horses to children around the world, many of them to the children of America’s fallen warriors.

Of those 300 horses, ten percent find their way to children in need.  Sometimes that child is found while watching the news, but most of the time, the donated horses go to children of fallen veterans like that of Specialist Joshua Munger.

Munger, from Maysville, Missouri, was killed in 2005 when an explosion tore apart the vehicle he was in leaving behind a wife a young son.

“Colton, just three.  He loves his daddy… he’s proud of his daddy.“ says Kane.

It is those children that drive Kane, 55, a man who says if he were younger, would gladly trade places with those serving overseas.

“You know you can’t bring his dad back.  The child knows that, the child knows he can’t bring his dad back.  And when you get these pictures back of that child laughing on his rocking horse… that’s all there is.  It doesn’t get any better than that.“

Kane says he is currently working with Congressman Bob Goodlatte’s office in hopes of getting a grant that will allow him to increase production to eventually meet the needs of all the children of fallen servicemen.