Now Bob, the elder statesman of Trot In Time Buggy Rides, has been put out to pasture — literally.

"This is the year, lucky 13, in which he gets to retire," laughs Trot in Time founder Basil Oickle, who purchased the 24-year-old Belgian from Giffin McCarthy of Conquerall Mills back in 1998.

"Giffin said 'He'll be about one of the best buggy horses you'll ever have,' and boy, he was right," Mr. Oickle recalls. "He said there was only two kinds of Bobs, a good one and a bad one and he was a good one."

When Bob came aboard with Trot in Time, he joined Cindy, Mr. Oickle's much beloved Percheron who died on Christmas Day, 2003, as the only two horses plying the streets of Lunenburg each summer.

After Cindy's passing, Bob became the patriarch of the now eight-member group, and a much admired, respected and well-liked creature in his own right.

A gentle beast with such a penchant for peppermints that Mr. Oickle literally had to buy them by the case full, Bob became a favourite of tourists visiting the town, so much so that this summer returnees from previous years have been asking about his whereabouts.

"It's incredible the number of people who come downtown and ask 'Is Bob still here?' I had someone the other day ... that came from down in Ohio, and they said they were here seven years ago, they went around with old Bob and wanted to know if he is still here," Mr. Oickle said. "They remembered him from how he would look up and down the street at the stop signs to see if anything was coming. And then when he come to Lincoln Street, he would only look the one way 'cause he realized it was just a one-way street."

Along with a penchant for peppermints, Mr. Oickle said Bob also had a fond place in his heart for French fries, particularly when they were well immersed in ketchup.

He remembers panicking one day when he arrived at Trot in Time's Bluenose Drive base moments after Bob had just finished a feed of his favourite snack, which he had received compliments of one of the other drivers.

"I saw Bob's face and it was all red. I thought he was bleeding or something," he laughed.

While today, Bob still gets the odd peppermint, he probably won't be eating too many French fries in his new home, the First South residence of Cyril and Maggie Langille, where he will finish out his days on the family farm.

And while those gastronomic treats may now be reduced or at least changed to more reflect the normal diet of horse, it's not likely Bob will mind.

He has found something else just as pleasing which has been tickling his fancy, a black Percheron mare by the name of Lady who shares the Langille's pasture with him.

The two have gotten along famously and Bob doesn't seem to miss his days pulling tourists around the UNESCO World Heritage Site town.

Although Mr. Oickle admits he misses Bob, his shoes have been amply filled by another new recruit, a nine-year-old bay named Clifford.

"I would say he's going to be almost as good as Bob," he laughs.