14 | August | 2010 | Vannetta Chapman

I thought since it’s so blazing HOT across the states, I’d do a blog that amuses me — Amish BUGGIES. When I first started reading Amish books, I had a hard time envisioning what these looked like. I suppose I pictured something like a prairie wagon. Of course I’d seen a few on book covers, and one or two in the movie WITNESS. It was an entirely different experience seeing them in person though.

First of all, Amish buggies do have license plates, caution reflectors on the back, turn signals, flashing lights and small headlights on the front used only at night to signal a car when it is coming at you. All of these small lights run off a 12 volt battery. Buggies also have a black box on the back for storing your purchases. Handy, right? Sort of like the trunk in your car.

A regular buggy runs $4300-4500. A double buggy will cost you about $5000. And a road safe horse is only $1500-2500. The Amish we visited with in Shipshewana were quick to point out that the typical Amish person might not spend in a lifetime, on transportation, what an Englisch person spends on one car. Think of the cost of gasoline, repairs, inspections, and of course every time we replace one at 100,000 miles! Then again, those horses do have to eat.

Amish folk admit that while a buggy ride in the spring or fall looks pleasant, it can get mighty cold in the winter. Most of the newer buggies do have small built-in heaters, but then again we’re talking northern states and I’m not sure how much good that tiny heater would do!

There are very small buggies which we saw a few children driving, with a pony hitched to the front . . . but these were always followed by adults, and it was done on rural roads close to the house. So maybe they were practicing! Actually it didn’t look like a buggy to me, but more like a seat attached to the back of the horse.

I found all this fascinating, and I can SEE myself driving one down the streets of our small central Texas town. What do you think? It does make economic sense to me.

I liked seeing the buggies. I wanted to take pictures of every one, but what thrilled me the most, what made me smile EVERY time was the sound of the clip-clop down the road. It really was soothing. It just relaxed me in some way. I’d love to hear from you if you’ve had any experiences with Amish buggies!