Horse-drawn vehicle Horse-drawn vehicle A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have mostly been replaced by automobiles and other forms of self-propelled transport. A two-wheeled horse-drawn vehicle is a cart (see various types below, both for carrying people and for goods). Four-wheeled vehicles have many names – one for heavy loads is most commonly called a wagon. Very light carts and wagons can also be pulled
Hackney carriage issues "Hackney Carriage" medallions to its taxi operators. 'Hackney' is derived from the village name Hackney (now part of London). Hackney supplied horses from its surrounding meadows. The word was once thought to be an anglicized derivative of French "haquenée" — a horse of medium size recommended for lady riders. The place-name, through its fame for its horses and horse-drawn carriages, is also the root of the Spanish word "jaca", a term used for a small breed of horse and the Sardinian achetta horse. The first documented hackney coach—the name later extended to the newer and smaller carriages—operated in London