Let carriage horses run free: It's time to ban the practice in New York City

[Mari333]

BY ELIZABETH FOREL

Monday, January 12th 2009, 4:00 AM

It seems like a lifetime ago that I first became aware of the carriage horses in Central Park. I recall being struck by how dispirited and bedraggled they looked - so unlike the horses I had known as a child on my uncle's farm. Those horses could run and buck, play with each other and still have time to nuzzle and become a young girl's best friend.






The repetitive pounding of the hard pavement day in, day out often causes concussive injuries. After a day's work, they go back to a stable on the far West Side of Manhattan, whose stalls are reached by a steep ramp. Many do not have the room to lie down and stretch out - something they must do on occasion to get REM sleep.

It's a wonder some do not go mad, as captive elephants sometimes do in reaction to abuse.

Later this month, the City Council's Consumer Affairs Committee will hold a public hearing on Councilman Tony Avella's bill to ban the industry. More than animal rights advocates should support the ban. This is a cause worthy of any and all ethical New Yorkers
















http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2009/01/12/2009-01-12_let_carriage_horses_run_free_its_time_to-1.html

[MADem]

1. Why don't they limit the horses to dirt paths in the park?

And give them better stables? As well as better shoes?

Why must we "ban" everything to solve problems?

[KamaAina]

3. There is, in fact, a bridle path in the park

over on the West Side, near the stables (duh!).

[A HERETIC I AM]

7. The "Stables" I think you're referring to closed for good in April of 2007

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claremont_Riding_Academy

Besides the stables where the Carriage horses are kept, the nearest riding stables to Central Park are now in Van Cortland Park, north of Manhattan.

The Riverdale Equestrian Centre offers guided rides in Central Park, but the horses are kept all the way up at W 254th street. The northern boundary of Central Park is 110th street.

[Runcible Spoon]

5. If you restricted all of the carriage horses to the bridle path, they would crowd it out

The whole allure to the carriage rides is that you can get a full tour that also goes out onto areas where cars are. The bridle path is designed for riding horses, not carriages.

[MADem]

11. Not if they had fewer of them......

If it has to be rarer until they work it all out, well, so be it. I'm sure that reduced demand due to the economy will eventually have an effect on numbers, at any rate.

I don't know...I think the carriage horses are a tradition. I think they're a "draw" to NY; a memory that people take away.

It would be nice if they could marry tradition to kindness and good care, and come up with good shoes for the horses that don't hurt their feet on the paving, or establish designated paths for them to go on, so that the tourists could enjoy the (what is now-forgotten, in this culture, anyway) feeling of travel under animal power, exposed to the elements. When you do that kind of thing in a vacation setting it's very memorable. And, not least, certainly, lovely large stables where the poor dears could have a nice lie-down.

Of course, the first thing that really needs to be fixed in NYC is the AIR. The city stinks. It has a palpable smell to it that is "carbon monoxide-ish" and actively unpleasant. All of that car stink gets trapped between the skyscrapers, and it's much more offensive that an elevator of smokers, to my nose.

Boston is a reasonably dense city, but it's not entirely skyscrapers, and it's also the windiest city in the US (Chicago takes a back seat) so it gets cleaned out more regularly than NYC. It's much easier to breathe in Boston....

[proud2BlibKansan]

2. We have them here too and it sickens me

I have been saying for years that we need to start speaking out against this abuse of those beautiful animals.

[Runcible Spoon]

4. As a native NYer and horse lover I tend to agree on ONE condition...

that the horses have homes to go to and don't just end up on a truck to Mexico. I would also like to see the carriage drivers given other jobs so they don't end up on their asses in a recession; perhaps they could be hired as park caretakers or some such.

As far as ALL of the horses being bedraggled and unhealthy, I've seen some that are really well-cared for and their owners really seem to love them. I've also seen very dispirited and poorly groomed ones too.

In addition to the degradation of their feet and joints from constantly walking on asphalt, they also get horrible respiratory problems from walking with their noses in exhaust pipes all day. A horse with bad lungs has a very poor quality of life, and usually needs a specialized diet since they can't handle hay or even grass once their lungs are blown. They also are occasionally hit by cars and severely injured. Sometimes they spook and injure pedestrians.

All in all, while I am nostalgic about carriages in Central Park, the sad reality is that modern cities are very bad environments for horses even under the best of conditions.

[Robbien]

8. Yup, the problem with stopping the practice is where would the horses go?

Right now there is a problem with too many horses and not enough people who have the means to take on the high cost of proper care for a horse. ASPCAs all over the country are getting hit by an increase in calls for abandoned starving horses.

[Politicalboi]

6. Those poor horses

Just like the ones who pull the Amish carts too. When I was in Pa I seen them in their carriages and the poor horses have to run on the street with cars around them on their way to Wal-Mart. Let them walk.

[lonestarnot]

9. I'm not a New Yorker, but if what you say is true about them not being able to lay down,

I support the ban from AZ. Poor caretakers suck ass and should be prosecuted.

[G_j]

10. not to mention the carbon monoxide

I feel for those poor horses

[RebelOne]

12. Animal rights groups for years have been trying

to discontinue the use of carriage horses, but so far, they have not been successful.

[northernlights]

13. while I agree with much of what's being said here

this one statement shows blatant ignorance of horses:

"Many do not have the room to lie down and stretch out - something they must do on occasion to get REM sleep."

Foals and elderly horses sleep lying down. Mature horses generally sleep standing all night. Even my 24 year old still sleeps standing. They are structurally designed to do so (their legs "lock" into position so they can totally relax on their feet) and it is completely natural. Lying down in the wild leaves them susceptible to prey. They sleep on their feet so they can bolt from danger without precious time lost to rising to their feet.

Many horses have lived in standing stalls for hundreds of years -- even the pampered stallions of the Spanish Riding School of Vienna live in standing stalls. While personally I prefer a large box at night with pasture by day, or living out with shelter, if you've ever toured the barns of the Spanish Riding School, then you've seen the stallions seem pretty content.

Really, they're quite content as long as they have a big pile of hay in front of them. That would be more my concern about city life. The pollution, the danger from cars and ignorant, viscious people, and how they end their lives.

And, of course, the people who make their living driving the Hansons need a future too.