Glee star against horse-drawn carriages

What a load of rubbish. Horses get startled. They are a flight animal. There were several responses to the 'being hit by a car' thread that said horses had been spooked or startled and run into the roads and been killed. It's called a tragic accident. Also, there is cruelty in all aspects of horses work, it is a sad fact, and one which needs addressing with equal weight. Even those who do no work are at equal risk of injury/death/abuse/mistreatment. Carriage horses are no different. All animals should be protected to the very best that they can be from mistreatment, but unfortunately it happens and is a sad fact of life.

ETS: not that i think it should be ignored, but carriage horses are no exception and all abuse or neglect should be treated seriously, no matter the discipline.
 
Well I personally cannot stad PETA as an organisation, in their fact sheet they say horses see in black and white - which is not true at all. Anyway, I don't really find the use of carriage horses in cities a unsavoury topic and I never use their services. So it would be better for horse welfare if horse taxis were banned but as usual it is being raised in a uneducated way!
 
I hate PETA with a passion but having seen the state of the horses in New York a few years about it would be no bad thing if they were banned! Or at least more stringently licenced.....
 
Some of what they say may have some sense, BUT!!!, how dare they say all wagon rides should be boycoted, PETA, are a bunch of bunny huggers and that is putting it politly(sp).

Up until a year ago we ran a waggon rides business, we used to do the rides in the centre of the vilage, but it became increasingly difficult to get from a to b, because of the traffic, mainly because of bad parking on the sides of narrow streets.
We moved the rides outside the village,onto country lanes and forestry, we offered two rides, one of half an hour, and one of an hour and a half. The longer ride we onley did in the early evening as it was cooler for the horse.
We were liscenced by the council, and had a yearly vet check on the horse to make sure that he was fit for the job, and the waggon had a yearly MOT.the horse was only allowed to do three hours of work at a time , and that included time spent standing, hitched to, waiting, he then had to have one hour out of harness with axcess to food and water, no more than six hours working in a day.
 
I think they're mainly talking about the ones in NYC, those poor horses (and I'm no bunny hugger) are out all day in the heat without constant or even frequent access to water. They are mainly driven by people who lease them and so the drivers have no sense of care towards the animal (drive it like you stole it mentality). The horses are stabled and kept in inappropriate facilities, not allowed turn out and the owners have little experience in feeding or caring for the animals. You can just buy the horse and carriage as a business concern and carry on with the business even if you know nothing about the animals.

I love the idea of going for a ride in a carriage and being taken through woods and country lanes by a caring driver and a well looked after horse- it sounds like heaven but there is no way I would want to patronise a business like the ones in NYC. Oh and traffic there? Way different from here. Think central London at rush hour...
 
I think there are good arguements for better regulation of horse drawn vehicles for hire. Some in New York would not look out of place in Egypt.

I don't think that horse drawn vehicles for hire should be banned though. I think it is good for the equestrian industry as a whole for horses to be out and about working and being seen by the public.

They need to be looked after adequately though and be well protected. Licensing and inspections, maximum hours etc would be excellent ways of protecting both the horses, the customers and the owners' business.

I support the Brooke and their stance on this sort of thing, they shouldn't be needed in a country like the USA but sadly it seems that the NYC carriage horses have worse conditions than the Kalesh horses in Egypt.
 
It is very much a tourist thing to do--carriage ride in Central Park--like many of our UK resorts who only work seasonally--think NY is all year round
It is many brides dream to ride in a carriage--why knock it--lots of people earn good money and the horses are immaculate

Link to Barnmice shows options being considered and anyone who tunes in to Animal Planet
will see NY SPCA or whatever they call themselves do regularly check up on them
Fixed holidays proposed etc
http://www.barnmice.com/group/horsejournals/forum/topics/proposed-changes-for-new-york
 
Farrierlover said:
I think they're mainly talking about the ones in NYC, those poor horses (and I'm no bunny hugger) are out all day in the heat without constant or even frequent access to water. They are mainly driven by people who lease them and so the drivers have no sense of care towards the animal (drive it like you stole it mentality). The horses are stabled and kept in inappropriate facilities, not allowed turn out and the owners have little experience in feeding or caring for the animals. You can just buy the horse and carriage as a business concern and carry on with the business even if you know nothing about the animals.

I love the idea of going for a ride in a carriage and being taken through woods and country lanes by a caring driver and a well looked after horse- it sounds like heaven but there is no way I would want to patronise a business like the ones in NYC. Oh and traffic there? Way different from here. Think central London at rush hour...
Click to expand...

Well said and I agree.
 
I think more can be done for these NY horses. I think they do end up standing about utterly bored. The few videos Ive seen are of horses tied up on their own outside their "stables" in the middle of the city, with no hay or water - just standing outside looking hot and bored. I dont think its a very nice life for a horse to be honest. I dont know if they should be banned but things could certainly be improved.

Saying that - Katt mentions the horses in Egypt. I went to Luxor and Cairo in 2008 and was horrified. I DID see a Brooke-built "stable block" type thing at the side of a street which did seem to offer shelter, hay and water - and thankfully it was being used. However, 80% of the horses I saw were horrifically underweight with horrid sores all over them and dreadful shoes hanging off. I even saw the odd one passing with a carriage WITH a foal trotting alongside... AWFUL. And on eating in a restaurant one night, I could see up a dinjy, dirty side street a little foal lying trying to sleep on the concrete road with its very bony mother standing over it. The scene was so horrendously wrong. Although I completely support Brooke, they cannot help all of them sadly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top