if wishes were horses

And [if] wishes were horses pure [poor] men wald ryde.
[a 1628 J. Carmichaell Proverbs in Scots no. 140]

If Wishes were Horses, Beggars would ride.
[1721 J. Kelly Scottish Proverbs 178]

If wishes were horses, Beggars would ride; If turnips were watches, I would wear one by my side.
[1844 J. O. Halliwell Nursery Rhymes of England (ed. 4) 501]

If wishes were horses Unionists would ride rapidly into office.
[1912 British Weekly 18 Jan. 480]

‘If wishes were horses then beggars should ride,’ he told her. ‘Don't be too sure.’
[1992 A. Lambert Rather English Marriage (1993) ix. 153]

Not only do I remember my mother quoting the same phrase to me, she had another one: ‘If wishes were horses, beggars would ride.’ Both are from a bygone generation that held no truck with the ‘if only’ and ‘I wish’ mentality.
[2002 Washington Times 14 Aug. B5]

Related to: wanting and having

Bibliography of major proverb collections and works cited from modern editions is available here.

If one could readily have what one wanted, life would be easy. For example, Wendy would love a brand-new car for her sixteenth birthday but--if wishes were horses. This expression is a shortening of If wishes were horses, beggars would ride, first recorded about 1628 in a collection of Scottish proverbs.