Slow, Steady Island Delivery Horse Trusty Dusty

One can see more than a hundred horses in a day on Mackinac Island without really trying. It's an interesting facet of human nature, how we look and choose and remember. For some reason, there always seems to be a horse that stands out from the others. In my case, one of those horses is Dusty.

Dusty, for some reason, has caught my eye this summer. Who is this noble steed? He is none other than a lowly ex-taxi horse owned by Mackinac Island Carriage Tours, and he is no spring chicken. Dusty's job this year is new. He, along with another horse named Sam, are part of the single-horse delivery program that Carriage Tours has implemented to try to help reduce the congestion.

Dusty and his wagon await UPS packages.

Every day, for five days a week, Dusty is taken out of his stall on the corner of Cadotte and Market streets and he is hitched to a short, flatbed wagon by his driver, Cody Maher. Dusty wears a leather horse collar and his bridle sports a bit of chrome. He and Cody make their way through town to the UPS receiving dock and, there, Dusty waits while packages are sorted and stacked. Once things have been coded and checked, Cody and Dusty make their way through town delivering to the shops, hotels, and residences en route. Dusty is finished in the afternoon and goes home to eat, sleep, and rest, back at the old Chambers barn.

In Dusty's case, he works "mainly on the Back and a little on the Front." Many years ago on Mackinac, Islanders referred to Main and Market streets as "Front" and "Back" streets. It's not a bad route for Dusty. He has no steep hills to haul and there are some shady old trees.

This is Cody's first year of driving, and he says he likes it and that Dusty is laid back and fine. When I asked what the name of this red horse was, it was Cody who replied, "Dusty, trusty Dusty."

I think that Dusty's countenance is one of the impressionable things I see in this horse when I look at him. He doesn't give the aura of being complicated or difficult. Dusty seems to speak "slow and steady." He is also not too big. As to what kind of breed he is, my guess is that he is a Belgian cross, or perhaps just a small Belgian. He actually has very nice eyes and, for his age, he is round and solid, with a good chestnut coat.

One of the other reasons he caught my eye is because he is used as a "single horse."

Years ago, Mackinac Island was serviced by a number of one-horse deliveries pulling with a single shaft. These included the florist's buggy, grocery wagons, and a Borden's dairy service wagon, to name a few. The smaller single-horse wagons are easier to maneuver than two-horse drays, easier to get around, and seem to decrease the congestion of bikes, beasts, bodies, and bulk in town.

Mackinac Island Service Company handles all kinds of freight, and UPS service is part of the operation. UPS mailing service from Mackinac operates on Market Street and is run by Sara Chambers. The office is like most pack and ship places across the state, save for the bicycles and horses going by. Dusty and Cody make pickup stops there five days a week.

On the receiving end, things are decidedly different. Early in the morning, the UPS truck is brought across the water of the Straits by Arnold Transit's freight boat, Corsair, to one of their docks. Items are unloaded onto a conveyor system, checked, stacked, and delivered.

There is usually a team of horses and a dray that waits to be loaded for various destinations on the Island, and there also may be Sam and his little flatbed, and Dusty standing there with his. Robert Horn, who grew up on Mackinac and is the son of Linda and Joe Horn, has worked for UPS for nine years.

In the past, he has delivered packages by cart, bike, and dray. Robert has been reared around horses on the Island. He doesn't seem to mind the change this summer of adding Dusty and Sam to the program, they just don't get to wear a UPS brown uniform like he does.

At any rate, Dusty is doing his duty and is a credit to the job. He is a sweet horse and he has proven himself to be a trooper during our very hot and busy summer days.

Candice Dunnigan is an active member of the American Equestrian Association, the Waterloo Hunt, and the Mackinac Island Horsemen's Association. Seasonally she resides at Donnybrook and Easterly Cottage.