The Iron Dobbin was a mechanical horse which was first described in Popular Science Monthly in April 1933.[1] The machine, designed by an Italian inventor, was powered by a gasoline engine and moved upon steel pipes allowing it to traverse a rough field.[1] The device was to be used to train the youth of the Gioventù Italiana del Littorio to ride, but was rejected by the Italian military as impractical.[2]
The German military, after seeing the Iron Dobbin in Popular Science, designed the Panzerpferd for their Gebirgsjaeger troops, which was also rejected.[2]