Horse drawn vehicles are items of the past for most people in the world. Some people like the Amish still use carriages and wagons pulled by horses in their day to day transportation. In the winter months the choice went from carriages to sleighs and Wagons to bob sleds. There was horse drawn vehicles that delivered many different items.
There are many styles of horse drawn vehicles including wagons, carriages, and sleds. A horse drawn carriage can be pulled by one or two horses. They can be single seated or have multiple seats. A surrey has a driver and separate seating for the passengers. Carts are horse drawn with a seat over a single axle. There are a selection of wagons that can be pulled by horses also. These generally have a bench style seat where the driver sits and a cargo area behind. They can be light or heavy constructed to handle heavy loads. In winter you can choose from a line of sleighs and sleds horses can pull across the frozen ice or snow covered trail. A sleigh is constructed in a one piece design with highly upturned runners. sleds generally have two sets of runners with bolsters to hold a box or seating area. Wagon box seats fit over the boxes and offer a comfortable ride. Some carriages can be changed into sleighs by removing the wheels and putting runners on them.
The horse drawn vehicles are a very simple form of transportation. Most horse drawn items have four wheels so there is no tongue weight making it easier on the horse. Two wheeled carts are well balanced so all the weight sets evenly over the axle. The steering of these carriages and wagons is a center pivot at the front axle.
A horse drawn vehicle has a tongue or set of fills to guide the horse or horses pulling the vehicle. Fills were for a single horse hitch. A tongue is designed for a team of horse or maybe more. The horse is hooked to a single tree or evener when ready to pull the wagon or carriage.
Horse drawn vehicles need special horses that are broke to drive. Driving horses require harnesses that balance the pulling load on the horse. There is single sets of harness designed for horse drawn vehicles that only require one horse. Harnesses come in sets for teams of horses. When you have horse drawn vehicles that require two or more horses a set of harness is designed so each horse has the same amount of pull. Harnesses have a set of reins that are used to steer and control the horse.
Horse drawn vehicles are environmentally friendly forms of transportation. They bring you back to a simpler day when there was not as much pollution. They make a bond between the driver and horse.