Sulky
A sulky is a lightweight cart used for harness racing. It has two wheels and a small seat for only a single driver. The modern racing sulky has shafts that extend in a continuous bow behind the driver's seat, with wire-spoked "bike" wheels and inflated tyres. A sulky is frequently called a "bike". Historically, sulkies were built for trotting matches and made from wood with very tall wheels and almost no body, just a simple frame supporting a single seat. Such vehicles were called "sulkies" because they were "said to have been chosen by unsociable people fond of their own company or fits of sulking".
A horse show vehicle used in roadster classes is also called a sulky. The drivers dress in racing silks and show their horses at a fast trot around the showring.
Other uses of the term sulky include:
- the single metal seat found on many horse-drawn agricultural implements such as ploughs, mowers and rakes.
- the logging arch, a log-transport tool on wheels, is also called a logging sulky and may be towed manually or by horses or tractors.