A packhorse, pack horse, or sumpter refers to a horse, mule, donkey, or pony used to carry goods on its back, usually in sidebags or panniers. Typically packhorses are used to cross difficult terrain, where the absence of roads prevents the use of wheeled vehicles. Use of packhorses dates from the Neolithic period to the present day. Today, westernized nations primarily use packhorses for recreational pursuits, but they are still an important part of everyday transportation of goods throughout much of the developing world and have some military uses in rugged regions.
A stockman with a packhorse
Mountain guide Alice Manfield using packhorses to carry wooden chairs up Mt Buffalo, c. 1912
A miner with a packhorse during the California Gold Rush
Japanese pack horse (ni-uma or konida-uma) carrying two girls as passengers, circa 1900–1929
A pony is a type of small horse. Depending on the context, a pony may be a horse that is under a given height at the withers, or a small horse with a specific conformation and temperament. Compared to a larger horse, a pony may have a thicker coat, mane and tail, with proportionally shorter legs, a wider barrel, heavier bone, a thicker neck and a shorter, broader head. The word pony derives from the old French poulenet, meaning foal, a young, immature horse.
A Highland Pony, demonstrating the pony characteristics of sturdy bone, a thick mane and tail, a small head, and small overall size
A pony foal
A pony near a mountain
An Australian Pony shown under saddle