Blog Archives - Page 2 of 9 - Palmetto Carriage Works

The Domestication of Horses: A Brief History

We’ve all seen those vintage cowboy movies. There are wild horses running freely and all of a sudden, a hero-type jumps in, ropes her neck and begins the breaking process. Soon, the horse is eating out of his hand and maybe coming to his rescue. But how did the domestication of horses really happen? Here’s a brief history:

Did you know that people began domesticating horses up to 10,000 years ago?

According to new DNA research, archeologists that once believed horses began being trained about 4,000-6,000 have now discovered new lineages and surmised that different groups of people across Eurasia were raising and/or training horses within the last 10,000 years ago. Evidence of bits being used on horses have been recovered from 5,000 years ago.

Before the invention of the locomotive, horses were the fastest way to travel across land.

It’s no surprise that they were used in war, for hunting and for transportation. According to the British Museum, since “travel is one of the defining features of human development, so the history of the horse is the history of civilisation itself.”

How do we use horses today?

Although cars have replaced them as a primary mode of transportation, people still use horses to work livestock and, of course, for sport and entertainment from racing to rodeos to the Olympics. Our long and beautiful alliance with these animals is rich and brilliant.

If you’d like to get up close and personal with our horses and mules, you can stop by our barn on Guinard St. or book a carriage tour with one of our licensed tour guides. Not only will they educate you about the beautiful city of Charleston, but you’ll get a little horse knowledge as well!

Horse Hygiene Quick Facts

All equine lovers know that maintaining healthy, happy horses and mules is not an easy task. It not only requires a lot of horseshoes and shampoo, but a lot of love! Here are a few quick horse hygiene facts that you may not know about Palmetto Carriage Works.

Currently, we have 32 horses and 10 mules on our team. That means 168 feet to maintain. Our farrier comes by three times a week asses our animals’ shoes. We use rubber or elastomer shoes, boots or pads to prevent slipping on the pavement, brick or concrete.

Have you ever heard of floating?

No, not down the Edisto River. We mean floating for horse’s teeth! A float is a tool that is used to file a horse’s teeth. Therefore, floating is filing a horse’s teeth in order to keep them relatively smooth and even, which is ideal for eating and grazing. Fun fact: did you know that vets can check a horse’s teeth to estimate their age, too?

How often do we bathe our horses?

Well, it depends on the season. Summers in Charleston can be hot and humid, so our horses get baths nearly every day they work! This helps keep them cool, fresh and ready for the next day! We don’t have to bathe manes as much, but we keep the suds flowing at the barn!

Did you know that a 1,000-pound horse can produce about 50 pounds of manure and urine per day?

As you can imagine, we are constantly cleaning our barn, its stalls, water troughs, tack rooms and feed bags to keep our animals as healthy as possible.

Want to take a look for yourself? Come by Guinard St. in Downtown Charleston and look for the big red barn! We’re open every day and love visitors! You can also book a Charleston carriage tour.

Historic Charleston Sites You’re Likely to See on our Carriage Tour

Charleston is full of historic sites that you might pass by and never know the significance they carry. When you climb aboard one of our carriages, driven by one our licensed tour guides and pulled by our beautiful horses and mules, here are some of those historic Charleston sites you are likely to see (depending on your tour path):

St. Philip’s Church

St. Philip’s Church is home to Charleston’s oldest congregation.

Four Corners of Law

This is where (in our totally biased opinion) the world’s most beautiful post office stands steadfast, opposite the Courthouse.

Rainbow Row

Situated near the Battery, Rainbow Row is a magical row of Georgian style homes painted in colonial Caribbean style.

St. Michael’s Church

St. Michael’s opened in 1761 and is one of the oldest church edifices in Charleston.

The Calhoun Mansion

A popular destination because of its Gilded Age antiques and English gardens, the mansion was once owned by John C. Calhoun’s grandson.

Two Meeting Street Inn

One given as a wedding gift in the Depression era, Two Meeting Street Inn has been called the crown jewel of Charleston’s accommodations and continues to be family-owned since it became a bed and breakfast in the late 1940s.

The Cistern, the hearth of College of Charleston.

The Cistern was constructed in 1857 as a reservoir to provide water for fighting fires in the days before the city installed a water system. Since then, it has not only housed the graduation ceremonies for College of Charleston, but it hosted The View, The Today Show and Stephen Colbert’s The Colbert Report.

South Carolina Society Hall

Society Hall was built at 72 Meeting Street as a school for female orphans and indigents, and as a meeting place. The first meeting was was held July 24, 1804.

White Point Gardens

Perhaps one of the most famous destinations on the Peninsula, White Point Gardens was the centerpiece of the Battery (hence the cannons) used to fortify the city in the Civil War.

Want to learn more about our beautiful, historic Charleston sites? Book your carriage tour today!

Our Favorite Fan Photos from 2018!

Every year, our fans and followers tag us in awesome social media photos. We love that we get to entertain you and your family and friends while you’re with us in Charleston and hope that we get to do it for generations to come. Without further ado, here are a few of our favorite fan photos from 2018:

First up is our snow from January 4. This photo was taken by Art Sandusky:

Next, we’ve got a few smiling faces from our carriage fans:

Photo credit: @jeslynbranick on Instagram

Photo credit: @laurasch7 on Instagram

Photo credit: @sweetlifeofbean on Instagram

Photo Credit: Tom Lucas on Facebook

Photo credit: Joana Babbitt on Facebook

Photo credit: Gwen Weathers on Facebook

And finally, a few amazing shots posted on Charleston Wedding Guide:

Top 5 Charleston Moments from 2018

Our city’s history is dense, but 2018 proved to be a great one. Here are the top five Charleston moments from 2018 in New Year’s Eve countdown fashion:

Charleston issued over 5,000 wedding licenses last year! Weddings continue to be a huge staple of our economy and we enjoy it, too. Check out this great shot, published by Charleston Weddings Guide on Instagram and snapped by Christa Rene:

Depending on who you are, this may be good or bad news: Travel + Leisure named Charleston the #1 city in the U.S. for the sixth consecutive year. We love all the recognition and influx of visitors from all corners of the country (but some locals like it less).

Hurricane Florence caused some hysteria this fall, but the good news was that the damage and rainfall was much less than initially anticipated. We only had to deal with our regularly-scheduled flooding Downtown. Thankfully, our barn was in tip-top shape and we only had to close for one day.

Sure, losing the lawsuit prohibiting unlicensed tour guides from peddling faux history to travelers was a blow, but we persevere; committed to only hiring licensed tour guides–and the best at that! Additionally, we’re reintroducing our walking tours, which you can book year-round.

Clemson is headed to the National Championship Game again! Even if you root for the Gamecocks, the state can unite in our love of (hopefully) beating Alabama.

There’s one thing that never changes year to year and that is our great appreciation to all our visitors and guests. We are grateful for your continued support in the community and are looking forward to seeing all of you next year!

10 Reasons To Take Our New Historic Walking Tours

At Palmetto Carriage Works, we know what we are best known for is our beautiful animals and our carriage ride tours through the historic district of Charleston. But what is life without a little variety, eh? We are now introducing historic walking tours!

Here’s a checklist to see if you are a match for one of our historic walking tours:

You want to learn about the unique history of Charleston, SC.
You’re an architecture buff and want to see all the charming homes and buildings that our city has to offer.
You like being entertained and smiling.
Your family is visiting and you really need something to do with them that doesn’t include spending an exorbitant amount of money on King St.
You’ve lived here awhile and you still don’t know anything about your city.
You’d like to meet new people.
You love the outdoors including the smell of jasmine flowers and hearing the lapping of waves against the seawall at the Battery.
You want to impress your in-laws/co-workers/significant other with your Lowcountry knowledge.
You need to scope out new places to take your family for a picnic, clients for a photoshoot or just to get some “me” time.
You need a clever Christmas gift that someone won’t expect! (Did we mention that we have gift cards available?)

If you answered “this is definitely me” to one or many or all of these reasons, you should book your historic walking tour today. The tours are 2 hours and cover 10-15 city blocks. Adults are $18 and children are $10!

Spotlight: Carriage Tour Guide David Collins

Palmetto Carriage Works may be the oldest and largest carriage company in Charleston, SC, but we’re also the most fun. To prove it, we’ll be highlighting our employees from time to time. First up is our driver and guide, David Collins, a local Charlestonian who loves his job as a Charleston carriage tour guide.

From where do you hail?

Charleston!

Describe Charleston in five words or less.

Seductively Southern

How long have you worked at Palmetto Carriage?

One year

What’s your favorite thing to do on a Saturday?

Watch Gamecock football

What’s your favorite historic site to talk about on tour?

Calhoun Mansion

If you had to choose a favorite animal, who would it be?

Carlos (he’s our 2009lb 9 yr old Percheron Gelding)

Where is your favorite place to have lunch Downtown?

The first of every month at Palmetto Carriage Works when we have team lunches!

What’s your favorite memory with a guest?

I gave a tour to a guest who was dying of cancer. It was a very emotional experience.

How do you feel about the growth and popularity of Charleston?

Charleston has grown so much since my childhood, from a navy town to a mecca of tourism. The influx of people from “off” has created a melting pot of diversity making my hometown a better place to live.

Want to learn more about our carriage tour guide, David? Book a tour of Charleston with him!

Fun Facts You Didn’t Know about Charleston Tourism

On average, Charleston has 230 sunny days a year, which is 63%. The yearly average temperature is a perfect 65 degrees, making us a temperate tropical climate.

Over 6 million people visit Charleston each year, which is 60x its year-round population of 100,000. (Note: the entire tri-county area is about 550,000 people.)

Visitors typically spend 4 nights and spend an average of $217 per adult per day.

Our Passenger Terminal for cruise ships has between 80-90 scheduled round-trip cruise departures each year. The average capacity of these large cruise ships is 3,000, which means nearly 250,000 people come through!

In 2015, the Charleston Port handled nearly $76 billion dollars of goods. Yep, we said billion with a ‘B’!

15,000 people pass through the gates at the Charleston International Airport every day.

The majority of our tourists hail from North Carolina, Florida, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Ohio and New York.

Charleston has been a film town for awhile now. Scenes from Cold Mountain, The Notebook, and most recently Halloween (2018) were filmed here. Additionally, television series like HBO’s Vice Principals and Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes are also filming here this year.

In 2016, Charleston was voted the #1 City in the World by Travel + Leisure readers. Though we’d been the #1 city in the United States and Canada for four years running, we were shocked and excited to win the World’s #1 coveted spot! Though we were 10th on the 2018 list, we were the only U.S. city to be included in the top 15, a distinctive honor. This award has been a large component to the increase in Charleston tourism in recent years.

Ready to visit us? There’s no better way to see Charleston than a horse-drawn carriage ride with Palmetto Carriage Works. Our tour guides are the most knowledgeable, experienced and horse-loving individuals you’ll find in the area.

5 Historic Sites in Charleston You’ll See on a Palmetto Carriage Tour

Founded in 1670, Charleston (or “Charleston Towne,” as it was named for King Charles II of England) is one of the most historic cities in the United States. In fact, within just ten years of its founding, it became the fifth biggest city in the country.

Today, millions of people (yes, millions!) flock to Charleston each year to take in its Lowcountry charm and learn about its tumultuous history. Palmetto Carriage Works takes roughly 200,000 tourists and locals alike for rides of our beautiful city each year. Understandably, we have different routes that are approved by the city, so not everyone will see the same things. However, each path has a historic majesty all its own. From the open air markets to the Instagram-famous pineapple fountain, here are 5 historic sites in Charleston you’ll see on a Palmetto Carriage tour:

1) Charleston City Market

The City Market was donated by the Pinckney family with the stipulation that it was used as a market in 1788. The first structure was built between 1788 and 1807. The first market was a beef market, which drew buzzards to the structure. Though these may have been considered a nuisance, they played the important role of cleaning up scraps thrown into the street at the end of the day, and because of this valuable service, they were protected by law.

Many tourists confuse the City Market with the Slave Market. It is undisputed that the City Market was never purposed for selling slaves during the Slave Trade.

2) Rainbow Row

On your way down to the Battery, you might pass by Rainbow Row. This line of row homes is famous for one great reason: it’s beautiful. The row of brightly-colored homes were originally painted to emulate the colonial colors of the Caribbean and were erected between 1748 and 1845.

3) White Point Garden (The Battery)

From White Point Garden, with the beautiful historic homes to your back, you’re able to see Fort Sumter in the distance. Confederate forces fired on the Union garrison at Fort Sumter in the early hours of April 12, 1861, marking the beginning of the Civil War. But this garden has an even darker history than most know. You’ll have to take a tour with us to find out!

4) St. Philip’s Episcopal Church

The Charleston landscape is peppered with beautiful steeples, but none so rich in history as St. Philip’s. This church is registered as a National Historic Landmark and sits at 142 Church St. downtown. Established in 1681, St. Philip’s is the oldest European-American religious congregation in South Carolina and its tower once served as a range lighthouse designed to guide mariners into the Charleston Harbor.

5) Waterfront Park (home of the Pineapple Fountain)

Though this park is not itself historic, as it was constructed in 1990, it has become a fan favorite of tourists and the famed Charleston Pineapple Fountain is just the beginning. Off of Concord St., you can find a splash fountain where kids and adults beat the heat of Charleston summers by jumping in! Along the park, you’ll look out toward Patriots Point and the USS Yorktown. You might spot some container ships, a cruise ship or even a few celebrity yachts that have been known to dock at the Charleston Harbor from time to time. And if you want to park yourself on the bench, the park also now has free Wi-Fi.

What do you hope to see in Charleston on your Palmetto Carriage tour? Tell us below in the comments!

Training Our Animals

Here at Palmetto Carriage Works, we are avid advocates for our main attraction and cutest employees, our animals. Our animals are essential to our daily routes and rides throughout historic Charleston, so we love to share the work and care that goes into having them in our barn. Most often, our visitors have questions about where we get our animals from, how many years they spend with us, what their stories are and how we train them. Keep on reading to get those answers!

Palmetto Carriage Works: Do the Palmetto Carriage Works animals go through any kind of training to get them used to the routes? What does that all entail?

Angie Arcangeli: The animals go through an extensive training program. They start at the farm where they work a minimum of five hours, but can increase as necessary. At this point, in the teams we figure out who pulls best on which side, their demeanors and if they know the basics of pulling. After they have passed step one, they come to town. In town, they will pull a minimum of 15 hours on an empty carriage with two of our skilled tour guides. This is where they will do all the routes, practice standing with our advertising carriages and go out of their way to encounter anything that may be new to the animals. We have an extensive checkoff sheet that will be completed to show that they can safely pass things that are a common occurance on the streets – umbrellas, strollers, motorcycles, buses, etc. Once the drivers feel comfortable with the animals, they move on to the final step. They will then do 20 hours with two drivers along with passengers. Once they have completed this step, they are part of the herd and will be scheduled to work as the rest of the animals do.

PCW: How many years do the animals spend at Palmetto Carriage Works?

AA: It honestly depends on the animal. We have some that will work only one season, then we have others that have been here for more than 12 years. Hit and Run are our longest running team, that have been working 15 years, along with with Milhouse for 12 years.

PCW: Why are some animals paired up while some pull the carriages by themselves?

AA: The animals pull single or in teams based on their weights. The animals have to be a certain weight in order for them to comply with city laws. We have some smaller teams that together weight over 2000 lbs., while we also have single horses that weigh that on their own.

PCW: Where do the PCW animals come from?

AA: The animals come from as far as New York to Indiana to Georgia. Tommy, our General Manager, has a lot of contacts across the country that regularly sell to us, along with regional auctions. The animals are bought year round, but the majority of our purchasing and training is done over the slower winter months.

PCW: How long does it take for the animals to be trained?

AA: The time varies from animal to animal, but our training program requires a minimum of 40 hours of city training. We will spend additional time training animals that have potential.

PCW: What is the hardest part of training the animals?

AA: The uncertainty of new animals; we often don’t know what they did in their previous life and what they may or may not have encountered. When an animal has mainly done farmwork, a firetruck can be a new sight they will have to get used to. Finding out whether or not they can adapt to this new life and react accordingly is very important. Often times the groundwork that is needed is part of the training as well. Making sure that the animals can become accustomed to grooming and shoeing is just as important as the driving. If we can’t keep them clean and with shoes on, they can’t do the work safely.

PCW: What is the best part of training the animals?

AA: Every time we get a new animal, we know nothing about them. In the training process, the animal gets a lot of one-on-one time, and learning about their personalities can be very rewarding. We want our drivers to know their personalities so they can form a better working bond.

PCW: Who trains the animals?

AA: We have a set of drivers that have been working at Palmetto Carriage Works for several years who regularly train the animals. All of the animals we get have been trained to, and have worked in, harnesses as well.

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