B A C K   T H E N

Baby Buggy

A pair of fancy driving horses, standing square, as they were trained to, and with ears cocked back, either await a command or register unease with the unusual situation.

Horses evolved to run first and reflect upon their actions later, and it would be a sensible precaution, in case the horses were camera shy, to have a large man stand in the road ahead to prevent them from dashing off with baby, buggy, and all.

Maine long enjoyed a reputation for its stylish, sound driving horses. Before being supplanted by autos, good driving horses were always in high demand. Summer resorts that attracted deep-pocketed and status-conscious visitors were prime hunting grounds for the higher class of horse dealer, whose shrewdness as a judge of both horse and human was veiled by a courtly manner.

One noted New York procurer toured Maine every summer, holding court on hotel piazzas while farmers drove by with their prize offerings. Only the best were chosen, while most were fated to become hard-worked farm horses, hard-mouthed livery horses, or some other such equine functionary. A farm horse surviving long enough to became a “haying horse” not worth wintering over ideally was humanely “laid away” in the fall, rather than sold off for a few dollars to no good end.

Text by William H. Bunting from Maine On Glass. Published by Tilbury House Publishers, 12 Starr St., Thomaston, Maine. 800-582-1899.

Maine On Glass and prints of the photographs are available through the Penobscot Marine Museum: PenobscotMarineMuseum.org.