The road linking Tan Thach and Quoi Son communes in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre seems to be one of the most ‘retro’ in Vietnam, as horse-drawn carts still clang down it every day.

The small, half-open vehicles with two wheels were previously used for transporting goods and passengers, but are now utilized for travel only. Each ‘one horsepower cart’ with five Westerners on board is pulled across small bridges on the road through villages and rice farms. The horses used to compete at the Phu Tho racecourse in Ho Chi Minh City. Horse racing at the facility ended in 2011.

Travel companies advertise the horse cart service as a means of “learning the Mekong Delta lifestyle in one day.” Visitors are carried from nearby Tien Giang Province’s capital of My Tho City to the four touristy islets of Long, Lan, Quy, and Phung by boat, before crossing the Tien River to Ben Tre and jumping on the horse carts.

The horse cart station, which houses around 30 vehicles, is located on the banks of the river.

“Today is Sunday and will be our busiest working day,” said Pham Kim Kham – a carter in Quoi Son Commune – while feeding her horse fresh grass. In the cart station there is a thatch-roofed hut with hammocks for the carters to rest. After feeding her horse, Kham entered the hut and had her breakfast, which had been prepared at home and kept in a mess kit.

In the hut, carters chat idly with one another while the male horses neigh and prance toward the females in the grazing area.

Visitors usually come at around 8:00 am and depart after 2:00 pm the same day. On average, each carter goes on ten tours of four kilometers each a day, and is paid VND25,000 (US$1.2) a tour.

“This is only for Sundays and holidays. On working days, we don’t have enough customers,” said Kham.

Ms. Pham Kim Kham, a carter in Quoi Son Commune of Ben Tre, is feeding her horse (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Savage horses

On that Sunday morning, Bui Huu Tai, 30, was the unluckiest carter. Although he has worked with horses for over five years, his VND20 million ($961) horse turned savage that day.

A female horse is tamer and thus more suitable for pulling carts, but they are also more susceptible to diseases, and they cannot work if they are pregnant. Meanwhile, males are stronger and can work year-round, but are more inclined to violence.

“Sometimes when riding past a female, a male may pull the whole cart toward the female when he is in the mood,” Tai said smiling, adding that a VND4 million ($192) cart can be damaged by ‘the mood’ of a male horse.

Kham gave more details on one male horse. “I bought my horse for VND16 million ($769) at the beginning of this year. He’s complicated. On days when I was ill and held the rein looser, he knew it and didn’t walk normally; sometimes he jerked back and forth.”

“The biggest worry of a carter is his horse dying from a disease or accident,” Tai said. “The body of a dead horse is worth only VND4-5 million ($192-240).”

The horses are sensitive to temperature changes, so hot or cold weather can make them cold and weaker, according to Kham’s mother, Tran Kim Chan, who is also a carter.

“Besides grass, a horse needs rice to improve its tendons and mash to gain weight and be more resistant to diseases,” added Chan. “But too much mash will make its muscles flabby.”

Chan’s family has the most relatives working with horse carts in Chau Thanh District. Her grandfather started the career around a century ago. He passed it down to her parents, her, and now her daughter, Kham.

Though they make a living by transporting visitors on horse carts, most carters say they are willing to work hard to help their children get a better education so they do not have to do similar work.

“My children will definitely keep away from this job,” a carter confirmed.