Former New York City Carriage Horse Saved From Slaughter

Good news for one victim of the carriage horse industry; a former New York City carriage horse was rescued from slaughter at an auction in Pennsylvania by animal advocates.

The rescue was engineered by Friends of Animals, The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, and Equine Advocates. Records from the New York Department of Health showed that the horse, now named Bobby II, bore the ID number of 2873 on his left front hoof. It was traced back to an owner at the West Side Livery Stable, a privately owned carriage horse facility, since 2005. Now, thanks to the work of selfless volunteers, Bobby II will live out the rest of his days in ease.

But over two hundred horses currently working in New York City’s carriage horse industry may not be so lucky. “Lameness and hoof deterioration are inevitable” in horses who pull carriages, says veterinarian Holly Cheever, because the animals are forced to walk on hard pavement and cobblestone streets for nine hours a day, seven days a week. “The problems are worsened by the inexperience of the gross majority of the owners and drivers, who are either incapable of recognizing lameness or are unwilling to suffer financial loss by removing a horse from service for a few days.” Adding insult to injury, because horses walk with their heads lowered, carriage horses live a “nose-to-tailpipe existence,” according to Cheever.

And after they’re rewarded for hundreds of hours and years of punishing service, they’re sent to the slaughterhouse.

“About one-third of the NYC carriage horses are eliminated from the Department of Health horse registry yearly, totaling approximately 70 horses,” stated Elizabeth Forel, president of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages. “The current law does not protect any of the horses from going to the kill auctions.”

And New York City is not the only city responsible for treating horses so poorly. Just today, I drove through Historic Charleston, South Carolina and passed working carriage-horses panting through the street in the 100 degree weather. And in 2008, there was a carriage accident in Charleston that left six people seriously injured. In a similar incident, just a few days ago in Iowa, carriage horses broke free of their bridles and dragged a carriage through a parade, resulting in one death and two dozen injuries, mostly of children.

Unfortunately, the use of carriage horses is more common than I would have thought. They’re used in cities ranging from Dallas to Boston, from St. Augustine to Kansas City. And while the laws that govern how they are treated, worked, and kept may differ by state, the fundamental truth is the same everywhere: the industry is hard on the horses it professes to love.

So while I’m ecstatic that Bobby II was rescued from certain death, it’s hard to celebrate knowing that there are so many horses still out there, just like him. Please take action and let the City of New York know that you don’t support the carriage horse industry. For the horses who are still suffering today.

Photo credit: dailyinvention