Horse-drawn vehicle

Very light carts and wagons can also be pulled by donkeys (much smaller than horses), ponies or mules.

Heavy wagons, carts and agricultural implements can also be pulled by other large draught animals such as oxen, water buffalo, yaks or even camels and elephants.

Two-wheeled vehicles are balanced by the distribution of weight of the load (driver, passengers, and goods) over the axle, and then held level by the animal – this means that the shafts (or sometimes a pole for two animals) must be fixed rigidly to the vehicle's body.

Four-wheeled vehicles remain level on their own, and so the shafts or pole are hinged vertically, allowing them to rise and fall with the movement of the animals.

In 1890 there were 13,800 companies in the United States in the business of building carriages pulled by horses.