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A sled, sledge or sleigh is a vehicle with runners for sliding instead of wheels for rolling. It is used for transport on surfaces with low friction, usually snow or ice but any grassy surface is good when it is not too dry. In some cases round river-washed stones make a good surface for sledges. Devices to be pulled across bare ground, such as a travois, are not generally called "sleds", although skids often are.
Sleds are typically smaller and simpler than sleighs, though this is not always the case. Both are lightweight vehicles whereas a sledge is more usually a farm vehicle designed for heavy haulage.
With only gravity as the propelling force, a sled can be used downhill, also as a toy.
Alternatively, it may be pulled by animals, usually horses, muleThe term mule ( Latin mulus formerly applied to the offspring of any two creatures of different species — in modern usage, a " hybrid". In its common modern meaning, "mule" describes the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse. Compare hinny — the os, oxen or dogThis article discusses the domestic dog. For other members of the dog family, see Canidae. The dog is a canine omnivorous mammal that has been domesticated for somewhere between 14,000 and 150,000 years. In those millennia, the dog has developed into hunds. It may also be pushed or pulled by humans (playing children, a parent pulling a child, etc.). Man-hauled sledges were the traditional means of transport on British exploring expeditions to the ArcticThe Arctic is the area around the Earth's North Pole. The Arctic includes parts of Russia, Alaska, Canada, Greenland, Lapland, and Norway (including Svalbard), as well as the Arctic Ocean. The 10°C (50°F) July isotherm is commonly used to define the borde and Antarctic regions in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Dog-teams were used by most others, such as Roald AmundsenRoald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen ( July 16, 1872 June 18, 1928?) was a Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He led the Antarctic expedition of 1911 1912 which was the first to reach the South Pole. Amundsen was born to a family of Norwegian shipowners a. Today people use kiteA kite is a man-made, heavier-than-air object, designed to fly by opposing the force of the wind with the tension of a string held by the operator. See: kite flying. A kite is a bird, a member of any of several genera in the family Accipitridae in the raps to tow exploration sleds in such climes.
A troika is a vehicle drawn by three horses, usually a sled, but it may also be a wheeled carriageThe classic definition of a carriage is a four-wheeled horse-drawn private passenger vehicle with leaf springs or leather strapping for suspension, especially one that is large and comfortable. Compare the public conveyances stagecoach, charabanc, and omn.
The fictional flying sleigh of Santa Claus is pulled by flying reindeer. It involves little sliding, perhaps only during taking-off and landing.
The various categories of sleds include: