At Sand Mountain Pony Express Station, two small rooms at the southwest end were originally one large room with a common wood floor, and the dividing wall was added later on top of that floor. The center room was probably used for battery storage when the Transcontinental Telegraph Company occupied the station. A shallow stone well was built in the small northwest room, where wire and iron hooks suggest a windlass or similar device raised water, and the room also contained a firepit used for blacksmithing and cooking. Because the desert could not be relied on to provide food, the occupants lived mainly on beef, mutton, goat, dried fruit, beans, and canned goods brought by supply wagons. Larger rooms stored equipment and supplies and also served as a stable and corral for horses. Pony Express riders used small, quick horses, while freighters used mules or larger, stronger horses such as Morgans. Draft horses such as Clydesdales were uncommon because they required too much feed and water, and many emigrants favored oxen, which were sometimes used to bring supplies to the station.