First attested around the year 1400, this word originally referred to "a small working horse", and is probably a diminutive of a proper name, perhaps Harvey or Hubert, which may have been common names for working horses. Compare the now rare, mostly obsolete word dobbin, also meaning "a working horse or mule", which is a diminutive of Robert or Robin.

The modern connotation of "a favored pastime or activity" comes from the word's use in the compound hobbyhorse, "a child's toy in the shape of a horse's head on a pole for riding", which is first attested in the 1550s. These toys were originally either basketwork frames worn around the waist with a horse head and tail attached so that the wearer appears to be riding a horse, or larger versions of the child's toy used in morris dance celebrations, which often used real horse skulls on top instead of fabricated horse heads.

The first recorded use of hobbyhorse to mean "a favorite pastime" is in the 1670s. The connecting idea is that of "an activity that is purely for entertainment; something done which does not contribute to one's livelihood". The creation of hobbyhorses would have been just such an activity, and over time the word gradually became extended to other pastimes à la 'this is my hobbyhorse'; or 'juggling is his new hobbyhorse', etc.

Thanks to Nier: Automata’s rideable moose, the first question Outside Xtra now asks about a game is "yes, this all sounds lovely, but can you ride animals with antlers?"

American Auto Trail-Trinity & Brazos Railway (Dobbin to Roans Prairie TX) https://youtu.be/DblsDTBxS74 This American auto trail follows along the route of the Trinity & Brazos Valley Railway, from Dobbin to Roans Prairie, Texas.

Simon Dobbin: Five men arrested on suspicion of murdering football fan Simon Dobbin, who died five years after attack in 2015 | Football News

Five men have been arrested on suspicion of the murder of football fan Simon Dobbin, who died five years after he was attacked on his way home from a match. Cambridge United fan Mr Dobbin was left with permanent brain damage after being set upon on his way home from game in Southend on 21 March, 2015. He was left unable to walk or talk and required round-the-clock care. Mr Dobbin died at the age…