You may have seen pictures of horses from Mackinac Island running around a snowy field on a farm in the winter. That’s where most of the island’s summer horse population spends the offseason from November into April.
But not every Mackinac Island horse boards a ferry boat at the end of the visitor season. About a couple dozen horses keep living and working on Mackinac Island, serving the needs of year-round residents and businesses.
Here’s a look at some of the winter jobs horses have on Mackinac Island:
Mackinac Island Horses Deliver Mail and Holiday Packages In Winter
Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor a lack of motor vehicles keeps U.S. mail from reaching its destination. On Mackinac Island, the postal service just needs a little equine assistance. Horses deliver mail to Mackinac Island’s post office, where it gets picked up by the 500-some year-round residents of Mackinac Island.
As for those very important holiday packages from UPS, FedEx, Amazon and the like, horses deliver those door to door!
Mackinac Island Horses Transport Workers, Equipment and Trash In Winter
While relatively few visitors come to Mackinac Island during the winter offseason, many construction contractors and workers make their way to the ferry docks. Once they arrive, the workers travel by bicycle, snowmobile or horse-drawn taxi to various job sites.
To support the many offseason improvements that take place at hotels, shops and other attractions, horses also transport equipment and supplies that cannot be moved by snowmobile or bicycle.
Horses continue hauling regular freight through the winter, too, such as food for the few Mackinac Island restaurants that stay open all winter and products for the few stores that operate through the offseason. They also pick up residential trash and recycling.
Mackinac Island Horses Transport People In Winter
In addition to walking or biking from place to place on Mackinac Island, year-round residents have the option to ride snowmobiles when there’s snow on the ground. Horse-drawn taxis also continue to operate through the winter, giving residents another way to move around on car-free Mackinac Island.
Mackinac Island Horses That Go To The Mainland In Winter
While there are upwards of 500 horses living and working on Mackinac Island in peak season, almost all of them board ferry boats for the mainland by the middle of November. For the most part, they spend the offseason on vacation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
The horses that remain on Mackinac Island are generally Belgian and Percheron draft horses strong enough to handle heavy winter loads and tough winter weather.
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