wheel horse
or wheel-horse
|
noun
Also called wheeler. a horse, or one of the horses, harnessed behind others and nearest the front wheels of a vehicle.
Chiefly South Atlantic States. the left-hand horse of a pair hitched to a wagon or plow.
Chiefly South Midland and Southern U.S. a reliable, diligent, and strong worker.
Origin of wheel horse
First recorded in 1700–10
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for wheel horse
Historical Examples of wheel horse
He was instantly met and borne to the snow by Bones, the second “wheel-horse.”
On the Yukon TrailRoy J. Snell
As a leader he was fine; as a wheel-horse, he was not always just to himself.
From Manassas to AppomattoxJames Longstreet
Garrett one day, "every church has to have a wheel-horse, and I might as well be the wheel-horse as any body."
Personal Recollections of Pardee ButlerPardee Butler
One gun upset when a wheel-horse was shot, and had to be abandoned, together with a waggon, the horses of which were killed.
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 6 (of 6)Louis Creswicke
Had the other wheel-horse not been as steady as a rock, we would have gone right over.
wheel horse
noun
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012