Horse riding in Central Park

Pippity

Pippity

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I'm going to be in New York for a week or so, and quite liked the idea of going horse riding in Central Park. However, I know the New York carriage horses tend to be treated badly and have a very rough life, so I don't want to ride if those horses are treated the same. Does anyone know if that's the case?
 
I went years ago to the riding school in New York where you could hire horses out for a hack round the park or go on an accompanied hack. It was weird! They had an office and indoor school in the lowest level of what I presumed was a garage and the horses were kept in stables on the upper level connected by a ramp. The horses looked well cared for but I couldn't see how they'd get any turn out and I didn't see the stables.

Edited to say it was Claremont I went to and they shut in 2007. Fascinating place!

https://www.potomachorse.com/clarmont.htm
 
Don't believe the propaganda about the carriage horses. To make a long and sorded story short, the campaign to ban them was driven by PETA, who don't believe any horses (including yours) should be ridden/driven, and property developers in bed with Mayor De Blasio, who wanted the carriage industry disbanded so that they could get their hands on the very expensive, desirable West Side real estate where they are stabled. Because all real estate on Manhattan's West Side is worth insane amounts of money. The developers had been big campaign contributors for De Blasio, and he promised them he would remove the horses in exchange for $$$$$$$ of campaign donations.

However, this campaign promise didn't prove to be an easy one to keep. Most of the horse industry in not just New York, but across entire the United States, fought back like hell because an arbitrary decision by a mayor -- founded on PETA's perception of what was and wasn't cruel but no actual evidence of animal cruelty as most statutes define it -- to remove and ban the horses set a precedent that was bad news for everyone. Indeed, the American Veterinary Association, The American Association of Equine Practitioners, and the New York State Veterinary Medical Society all came out in support of the carriage industry. NYC councillors saw which way the wind was blowing and didn't vote to implement De Blasio's ban.

Sure, they work in traffic and don't have turnout, but they are the most regulated horses on the planet, and each one spends five weeks per year at a farm upstate where they are turned out. They are inspected several times per year by vets and by the NYPD Mounted Unit. They are not allowed to work if it's above 90F or below 19F. I've seen the horses, and they look relaxed and happy, doing their jobs. Trust me, I see far more stressed horses every day at livery yards.

If you want to ride a horse in Central Park, you are SOL. Claremont, the stables on West 89th Street, shut down in 2007. It was sad -- the place was an institution, a tenement with ramps between the floors so horses could move up and down to their stables, and an indoor arena on the ground floor. You could hire out the horses and go for a ride in the park, after riding about two long city blocks (I think it was near Amsterdam Ave). I did it once with a friend, and those horses were bombproof and a lot of fun. It was a shame when the place closed, but the owner said it was too costly to run and everyone suspected he got an offer he couldn't refuse from developers.
 
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There is definitely riding available in Central Park (albeit at a fairly eye-watering price), but I can't find information on who it's run by.
 
Yes, it looks like an outfit called Chateau Stables snow operates in the park. https://untappedcities.com/2014/12/...-the-smallest-and-oldest-horse-stable-in-nyc/

At the time that article was written, they only provided animals for weddings, films, and other events, but since then it looks as though they offer guided rides through the park. They are based on West 48th, but you meet them in the park. I suspect they trailer the horses the twenty blocks.
 
It looks like Chateau has closed. I wonder if the adverts I'm seeing for riding are just leftovers from when Chateau was operational. Ah, well, never mind.
 
Yeah, corruption in New York City politics... well, I never... But seriously, this fight over a non-problem has sucked vast amounts of money and time. And it's ongoing. Having been defeated by the council in his attempt to outright ban the carriages, the mayor is now trying to force their relocation to stables in the park itself, still moving from the ones in Hell's Kitchen, change their routes, and shift the pick-up point from Columbus Circle, where they are visible to tourists and everyone, to some random point inside Central Park.

In the meantime, the subway system is falling apart, crime in parts of the outer boroughs is rising again, and the affordable housing situation in the city, especially Manhattan, sucks. But no, they fight about the carriage horses, and they've only taken significant steps to repair the subway system this year because the disastrous state of its disrepair started making international news last year. One would hope someone would be investing in the system before the amount of breakdowns and things catching on fire made the Guardian, but nope.
 
Just an update on this - I didn't find anywhere to ride in Central Park, but I did see a lot of carriage horses. While a lot of them were sound and healthy looking, I saw quite a few that were underweight (and undermuscled - not just 'fit and lean'), plenty that were slightly lame, and one that could barely put any weight on its near fore but was still being worked.
 
Pippity said:
Just an update on this - I didn't find anywhere to ride in Central Park, but I did see a lot of carriage horses. While a lot of them were sound and healthy looking, I saw quite a few that were underweight (and undermuscled - not just 'fit and lean'), plenty that were slightly lame, and one that could barely put any weight on its near fore but was still being worked.
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That's what I thought when I was in NYC a few years ago. It wasn't a pretty sight. The police horses however were in great nick and they were very receptive of people patting them, same as over here.
 
I was sad when Claremont closed, it was the most bizarre and unique experience, and I would love to do it again. They called the horse down the ramp and put you up, checked you could walk round the school then sent you out with a map and instructions to go the same way as the traffic. I went on my own, stupidly assuming it would be a guided ride. Great experience though and a fab wee horse. Sadly I’ve lost the photo, but my hubby took a picture of me, the palomino and a yellow cab. Iconic.
We were told the owner was offered such a large sum for the stables that they had to sell. They were still operating in NJ last time i checked.
 
Faracat said:
That's very interesting Caol Ila. That's for posting that, it explains a lot.
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I was in NY last year and went for a carriage-ride through Central Park, the horses I saw were fit, healthy and well-looked after, so far as I could tell. I walked past on a different day and saw more healthy horses. The driver I spoke to said that the horses work on alternate days, so I wouldn't say they are overworked.
 
When ever I'm travelling and tempted to ride, i always check out how they are kept, their condition, farriery standards and turnout provision. It's not difficult, because good owners are proud of how they care for their horses. If they don't want to show me, I keep my money in my pocket. I've met some really lovely people this way and learnt a bit about managing horses in different cultures.
 
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