When Ian and Mila were with me visiting Abby earlier this week, I took them into the new barn to see Tim's collection of horse-drawn vehicles. Ian stepped into the cool shade of the barn aisle and stopped dead in his tracks when he spied them all!
It's quite a line up with buggies, a surrey, a paddy wagon, a mail carriage, buckboard, two sleighs, and a couple of sulkies.
Ian surveyed the line up like a kid in a candy shop. He didn't know where to begin!
Craig helped both kids up into the driver's seat of the paddy wagon. It was used over a hundred years ago in Morgan County, Indiana. Tim loans it out to historic re-enacting groups and small town festivals. It is really cool, and my favorite of them all.
The family surrey was next. It actually has a child seat (Ian is standing where it goes) that folds down and away when not in use. Basically, the children sit on the floor at their parents' feet - there are no restraints or anything as in modern day car seats.
Me, Mila, and Ian. You can see the children's seat folded up and under the adult seat in this picture.
Next up was the buckboard.
It had a little more room for the kids to stand up and walk around. No leather seats or upholstery on this one - it's all business.
The modern-day vehicles held some appeal, too.
Both Ian and Mila wanted to sit in the seat of the tractor.
We toured the indoor arena, the stalls, the lounge, the tackroom, and even peeked into the bathroom! ("Ooo, that's old," Ian said when he saw the toilet. Hey, kiddo, at least it flushes. I've done outhouses before and am grateful for the upgrade!)
Ian taking a break on one of the benches by the lounge entrance.
It was a great day - two of my loves, family and horses, rolled into one!
