curricle

curricle, open, two-wheeled gentleman’s carriage, popular in England from about 1700 to 1850. It was pulled by two matched horses yoked abreast and was therefore equipped with a pole, rather than shafts. The pole had to be very strong because it both directed the carriage and bore its weight. To draw the carriage without jolting it, the horses had to be of equal size and gait; fashion required a matched colouring.

In colonial America early curricles were called pole-chairs or double-chairs. Later ones remained popular well into the 19th century. The curricle may have become obsolete because of the danger in two spirited horses pulling a medium weight, two-wheeled vehicle.