Hortense is a rocking horse who appears regularly on The Secret Life of Toys. She's a chronic worrier; the more she worries, the harder she rocks. She is one of the older toys in the playroom and even remembers the time when Balthazar was a young bear. She speaks with a distinguished British accent.

Hortense was created to replace the rolling horse Belmont from The Christmas Toy.

Two Hortense puppets were used on the show: an animatronic puppet for wide shots and a hand puppet for closeups.