This is one of four wooden lace-up toys-a pony, a camel, a sheep, and a lion-designed by Fredun Shapur in 1969, and manufactured by Naef. They're referred to as Schnurpfeltier, which, Schnur means "cord," and so pfeltier probably means "strangulation hazard."
I've seen these toys with multiple laces of different colors, so the fact that this horse is being sold with only one white string is probably what's keeping the bidding in the single digits. Also, it's 4x6, palm-size for a toddler, but otherwise pretty small.
original vintage FREDUN SHAPUR wooden horse Schnurpfeltier by NAEF Switzerland, current bid $9.50 + 11/50 s/h, auction ends Nov. 30update: sold for $22.06 [ebay]
Naef still sells a Schnurpfel-Pony in red, green, and sometimes blue, for $46 [naefusa.com]
