1877 – Mechanical Horse – John Doyle (American)

Patent number: 200266
Filing date: Aug 4, 1877
Issue date: Feb 12, 1878
see full patent here.

The Independent 01 Mar 1927 p5

A man by the name of Doyle, … invented a power horse that was little short of a marvel of ingenuity and that imitated the movemenents of a real horse almost perfect|y. In appearance it resembled the animal that used to stand in front of harness-makers' shops. The engine and boiler were in the vehicle and a shaft transmitted power to a driving mechanism within the body of the horse. Theoretically this creature could step out and trot in a manner that would put a real horse completely in the shade.