This "Doctor's" Buggy, circa 1880's, would have competed for road space with the early automobiles and ran on 1 horsepower. People like physicians, postmen, and circuit judges, who had a need for reliable transportation that would not get stuck in the mud of the poorly maintained roads, were reluctant to switch from horses to cars. Buggies were light enough that if they got stuck in the mud, a horse could usually pull them out or, you could get out and help push them far easier than the bulky new automobiles. If that didn't work you always had a last course of action; you could unhitch and ride the horse to your destination.

I discovered that the horse is life itself, a metaphor but also an example of life's mystery and unpredictability, of life's generosity and beauty, a worthy object of repeated and ever changing contemplation.
​ -- Jane Smiley

Doctor's Buggy and Horse