3. The Cart is Called a Sulky

A sulky is the two-wheeled, lightweight cart attached to the horse that drivers ride in. Though sulky is the technical term, most people just call it a race bike. The horses wear different types of sulkies when warming up versus racing. When warming up, the horses are usually taken out by trainers and not the drivers, so the warm up cart has a pouch for the trainers to rest their feet in. During the race, drivers keep their feet up on the sides of the cart so there is no pouch.

You may also notice the straps around the horse’s legs. In harness racing, the horses must keep an even gait, or trot, and are not allowed to break into a gallop. The straps help to maintain this stride and prevent the horses from galloping.