The Golem-Guised Cart

Although seeming much like a regular horse and cart at first glance, the golem guise cart is pulled by not a regular horse. In fact, the horse is clay animated by rune magic to pull the cart.   When populations began dwindling and money became tight for most peasants, work animals were difficult to maintain. Instead, a one-time enchantment, though expensive at first, quickly saved money on feed and care.
First, someone must shape the horse or other animal from clay. Before the clay dries, one must pay an enchanter to come and write the runes into the surface of the beast, thus animating it. The stronger the enchantment, the stronger the beast is. Upkeep from there is simple, just enough water to keep the clay moist and flexible (or else the beast will lock up) but it has no need for food or sleep, thus making it a hard-working creature well worth its money.
But because magic is not seen in the best light, those who are desperate enough to take this cheaper labor alternative go to great lengths to keep it quiet. Animals are often treated as real animals whenever visible to avoid suspicion from neighbors. Yet, these types of work beasts are more common than most people believe.
Still, when the first golem-guised cart was discovered to have a magically imbued puller, it caused great uproar in the communities. Magic, though not innately good or evil, is widely seen as an agent of mischief and unwanted by most. The worker who had the cart claimed ignorance, but a witch-hunt began nonetheless.
Townspeople were cast out for the slightest suspicion and public sentiments about the horrors of magic increased significantly, yet those who knew the hardships of feeding animal mouths when they could barely feed their family saw the wisdom in the original farmer’s act. Secretly, people started recruiting their own and it gave rise to a strong magic black market, expanding beyond just golems. Most homes employ some kind of magic, yet no one would ever openly admit to it. It is a great unspoken knowledge among most communities.