The business was started in the two-car garage of Elmer Pond in 1946. Pond began building two-wheel, self-propelled "Walk-Away" garden tractors that were sold under the Pond name. Due to a naming conflict with another company, the company's name was changed to Wheel Horse. The name not only evokes tractors generally (doing tractive work with wheels) but also the connotation of . Pond's son Cecil Elwood Pond continued to develop and market the company's products. The framework was typically simple angle or channel iron and various surplus motorcycle and automotive parts were used. In 1947, a four-wheel tractor, the "Ride-Away" model was introduced for garden use. It was also made from crude parts and without a hood for easy service access.