US President Calvin Coolidge had a novel way of keeping fit. Every morning he rode his mechanical horse, always wearing his hat but apparently not always his clothes.

Calvin Coolidge grew up on a farm in Vermont but developed an allergy to real horses. The mechanical replacement provided his daily exercise and had controls that could vary the intensity from a trot to a gallop. Sadly it is no longer in working order.

Coolidge donated the mechanical horse to Forbes at the end of his presidency and it is now being displayed in a special exhibition called ‘Cowboys and Presidents’. The exhibition covers presidents from Theodore Roosevelt to George W. Bush and includes items such as Franklin D. Roosevelt’s spurs and Ronald Reagan’s cowboy boots.