Horse Carriage Rides Charleston SC.

Charleston Carriage Works employs a mixture of Belgian and Percheron heavy draft horses. Descended from the same majestic animals that worked on farms and in cities through the centuries, our horses are truly magnificent, and we treat them with the love and care they deserve. The horse carriage rides Charleston SC is known for have been on Charleston’s streets since the late 1600’s, and we are proud to carry on that tradition. It is an absolute pleasure for all of us to work side by side with our horses, and we enjoy sharing that experience with you during each of our carriage tours.

A horse is the projection of peoples’ dreams about themselves—strong, powerful, beautiful—and it has the capability of giving us escape from our mundane existence.
-Pam Brown, Australian Poet

Each of our horses enjoys regularly scheduled time off, vacations at our farm on Johns Island, and great attention under our unsurpassed level of care.

Big John

Big John is one of the sweetest horses you’ll ever meet and was the favorite of many drivers when he was still working.  He loves to dunk his hay in his water!  Big John is retired and spends his time out at the farm telling stories about pulling carriages uphill both ways.

Age: 25
Gender: Male
Weight: 1,900 lbs

Chief

Chief is our strawberry roan Cadillac.  He is not a big fan of the farrier and likes everything to be exactly where it was the last time he saw it!  After nearly a 15 year career in Charleston, Chief is retired and spends his time at the farm where he likes to dig for buried treasure.

Age: 23
Gender: Male
Weight: 1,800 lbs

Buster

Buster is one of our most personable horses and is what horse people would describe as ‘mouthy’.  He likes the sound of ripping vinyl and is single-handedly responsible for nearly all of the upholstery damage on our carriages.  He has his own special un-upholstered chest bar for the trailer as he peeled that, too.

Age: 6
Gender: Male
Weight: 1,930 lbs

Don

Don is one of our largest horses, with a beautiful wide blaze and a little black spot right in the middle of his top lip, he’s easy to recognize around town.  He is fascinated with water and the way it moves through his body and keeps the stablehands busy on his days off.  His favorite letter is “P”.

Age: 15
Gender: Male
Weight: 2,100 lbs

Gary

People love Gary because of his wavy blond hair and laid back attitude.  If he was a person he would surely be a surfer.  You can pet his face for hours and he only likes carrots and apples for treats.  His favorite things are having his legs groomed and tipping over the water bucket inside the stable.

Age: 14
Gender: Male
Weight: 2,000 lbs

Jake

Our most serious horse, Jake is very stoic, matter-of-fact, and easy to get along with.  What he lacks in size compared to our largest horses he more than makes up for in determination and diligence.  He really enjoys rolling in the dirt at the farm and we think he might be studying to be an accountant.

Age: 19
Gender: Male
Weight: 1,800 lbs

Buck

Buck is next in line for Charleston specific training and has yet to debut downtown. He is second in command and takes over when Rocky rotates downtown for tours.  Buck is currently studying how much hay it takes to make you as wide as you are long.

Age: 7
Gender: Male
Weight: 1,945 lbs (and climbing)

Mikey

Mikey is very similar in color to Chief and they are best buddies at the farm.  He has a beautiful big wide blaze. Mikey is calm, cool, collected, and never in a hurry to do anything; slow and steady wins the race. His favorite music is roots reggae.

Age: 16
Gender: Male
Weight: 1,950 lbs

Rocky

Rocky is the leader of our entire herd and is our tallest horse at about 19hh.  He is the self-proclaimed sheriff and has deputized Buck to serve in his stead.  Always ready for whatever is next, Rocky sets the pace and has high expectations of others.

Age: 13
Gender: Male
Weight: 2,000 lbs

Rodney

Rodney is our only spotted draft horse.  He is high maintenance, requires his tail be braided, and thinks there should always be at least two stablehands standing by as his assistants.  Rodney is a stunningly beautiful horse – and he knows it.

Age: 11
Gender: Male
Weight: 1,950 lbs

Trevor

Trevor is the only chestnut Belgian in our herd.  His color is absolutely beautiful.  He has a long stride and you can tell he loves to work.  Clever and somewhat mischievous, it is not uncommon to continually have to fetch boards, brooms, cups etc. that he pulls into his stall on his days off.

Age: 12
Gender: Male
Weight: 1,925 lbs

Experience Downtown Charleston from one of our classic horse-drawn carriages!