Portland Horse Project

Nice post!!

I have walked past these little metal rings set into Portland curbs more times than I can count and never once wondered what they were for. Which is exactly how Portland gets you: some of the city’s strangest stories are not behind a secret door or at the end of a trail. Sometimes they are bolted into the sidewalk.

Those iron rings are horse parking. Actual horse parking. Back when horses were part of everyday city life, people tied them there while they went into shops or ran errands. The stranger part is that Portland still protects the surviving rings. PBOT treats them as historic, and city guidance says they should be reinstalled when curb work removes them. We are maintaining parking infrastructure for commuters who have not used it in roughly a century. God, I love it here.

Then, in 2005, artist Scott Wayne Indiana looked at one of those forgotten rings and tied a tiny plastic horse to it. He told me the idea was partly about bringing the history back to life, but mostly about making people notice what was already around them — the little things we walk past because we are busy, distracted or staring at our phones.

Portlanders saw the tiny horse and did what Portlanders do: they joined in. People began tethering toy horses to curb rings around the city. Tourists now message Scott asking where to find them. Twenty-one years later, strangers are still tying tiny horses to Portland curbs just because it makes the city a little more fun.

Scott gave me a few places where horses have shown up: the NW corner of Powell’s, in front of the Bagdad Theater, NW 23rd, SE 28th south of Burnside, and Woodstock near True Value and Delta Cafe. They move and disappear, so there are no guarantees — which honestly makes it better.

Now I know what those rings are, and I will never walk past one the same way again. Maybe that was always the point: pay attention long enough and an ordinary curb can turn into history, art and a scavenger hunt all at once.

Find one? Send me a photo.

Photo: Scott Wayne Indiana, used with permission.

PDXNOW PNWPassport

This popped up a few months ago on Instagram and went under our radar. Fun!!

Does it get more Portland than this? 😀
See you out there!!!

Classic Portland pic shared our way recently; this felt like one that might inspire a smile or two 😃😎😊 We out here!!!

Portlanders! Keep an eye out for a toy horse on a curb near you! Find a ring and tether your own! Happy Spring everyone! (It’s still Year of the Horse!)

Nice! ⬇️⬇️⬇️🦄

We revisited this Portland scavenger hunt in honor of the Year of the Horse What started as a public art project of tying toy horses to these rings, has now become a city legend.

Ah, look! A couple leafy autumn horse pics sent our way recently! Stay warm out there as we descend into the winter season. (Thx for the pics, IG folks: white horse by .parrish.art and the other one from . As always, thanks for sharing!)

We had a fantastic time celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Portland Horse Project! We gave away 20 horses all over the city, met lots of great folks, and tethered 5 or 6 of our own as well! Thanks to everyone for Keeping Portland Amazing!

Happy 20th Anniversary to the Portland Horse Project!!! 🎉
Join us this Saturday from 11 am–2 pm as we take to the sidewalks to celebrate. We’ll be giving away 20 horses—complete with cables and clasps—so folks of all ages can tether them to their favorite horse rings, wherever they may be. We’d love to see you out there! Thanks everyone! (Time & locations in the comments.)

September 2025 marks the 20th Anniversary of the first toy horse Scott Wayne Indiana tethered in Portland, pictured. In the days and months afterward, he went on to pepper hundreds more around town, planting seeds for the project to take off for a life of its own. Posting details soon about a small pop-up Saturday gathering around a ring. We'll tether some horses, give away some books, and continue to spread the word about the history of the sidewalk horse rings in our beloved city. Stay tuned!