Hoodening , also spelled
Hodening and
Oodening, is a
folk custom found in
Kent, a county in
south-eastern England. The tradition entails the use of a wooden
hobby horse known as a
hooden horse which is mounted on a pole and carried by an individual hidden under a
sackcloth. Historically, the tradition was restricted to the area of
East Kent, although in the twentieth century it spread into neighbouring
West Kent. It represents a regional variation of a "hooded animal" tradition that appears in various forms throughout the
British Isles.