Horse and buggy

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The horse and buggy is a simple two-person carriage drawn by one or two horses. In countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada, it was the primary mode of short-distance personal transportation for many years. Primary among this time was the "horse and buggy" period between 1865 and 1915. At that time, horseback riding was less common and required more specific skill than driving a buggy. Therefore, until the popularization of the automobile, the buggy was the most common means of transport in towns and the surrounding countryside. Buggies could cost as little as $25 to $50, and could easily be hitched and driven by untrained women or children. In the United States, hundreds of small companies produced buggies, and their wide use helped to encouraged the grading and paving of main roads in order to provide all-weather passage between towns. By the early 1910s, however, the numbers of automobiles had passed the numbers of buggies. Today, the term is most often used in a metaphorical sense, meaning "non-modern" or obsolete. However, the buggy is frequently used by most groups of Amish as a religiously compliant, non-motorized form of basic transportation.

[edit] See also

• Bakkie, a South African word for a pickup truck or a light motor vehicle with an open-top rear cargo area