In the days of the wild west, cowboys and cowgirls temporarily tied their horses to sturdy wooden hitching posts so the animals could not pull away. A hitching post was a vertical column with one or more rings for tying a horse, and most were simple wooden posts with rings bolted securely through them, though at more opulent residences or establishments they could be metal and quite fancy. They were used to tie a horse at the front or side entrance of a home or business establishment. A watering trough was an open box-like or basin-like receptacle that held water to quench the thirst of animals, and it was very common in many towns and cities as a way for horses to drink while tethered to a post. At the Holt farmstead, both the hitching post and the watering trough were used by visiting guests and were a welcome convenience.