Do Carriage Horses need rescuing?

 The Equine Rescue Network is an electronic network of over 225,000 (very active) equine advocates working collaboratively to improve the welfare of horses.  As the founder, people often ask my opinions of issues relating to equine welfare, as a professor & researcher, I don’t like to provide answers without out properly analysis.

To answer the question on whether the Carriage Horses should be banned, I have done my research.  I have visited the stables, watched the horses at work, reviewed driver logs, spoken with owners, drivers and individuals.

It was a cold Sunday before Christmas and the 68 horses at work that day were busy.  There was a long line of tourists waiting patiently for the next available carriage.  Most notably were the young children (girls) mingling among the horses.   The girls were roughly 7 years old and walked right up to (almost underneath) one draft mare for a photo.  The mare moved her head slowly down to the children so she could get a pat the nose.  The girls giggled as her lips gently moved across their fingers. I spoke briefly to their mother who said “They have loved horses since they were born and have been begging for us to take them to NYC to see a real horse.”   The mother explained, this was the first time they had ever seen or patted a real horse; they had been at the park since 9am it was 11:30am and by looking at the girls, they had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

From an equestrian standpoint, allowing non-horse people that close to a large (oversized) horse in harness is something that requires undaunting trust between driver and horse.  One wrong move, and the accident that would ensue would be front page news.  These horses know their job, like their job and know that life in the city requires careful consideration for those around you.  We walked through time square on the way to the NYC carriage horse barns, and took similar consideration for massive crowds under the bright lights.

Upon inspection of the carriage horse stables, we found no instances impeding the welfare of the horses.  All horses, at all facilities had ample good grass hay and clean water.   Each horse had updated medical records posted on their stall door.   Their stalls were clean several times per day.  They were small, but the horses did have enough room to turn around and lie down.   The floors were padded with rubber mats covered in either straw or shavings.  I did note that one barn was less generous with shavings than the others, but it was enough shavings and the stalls were clean.

Daily logs are kept on horses and drivers.  Horses tend to work 6 or 8 hour shifts.  During these shifts drivers walk their horses, rarely trotting.   The horse’s job is equivalent to a ‘walk in the park’ five or six days a week.

I made note of the ages of each horse as I went stall to stall.  Most horses were between 10-24 years.  Obviously walking in the pavement in the park was not impeding their health as they are able to do the job of a carriage horse far longer than most performance horses.  For example, the average retirement age for Thoroughbred racehorses is 5 years, Standardbreds 8 years.  Performance horses like Dressage, Jumpers, Ranch horses tend to retire from full service at 17 years.  Carriage horses are required to retire at 24 and are mandated to have 5 weeks of vacation each year.

The carriage horses are identified by hoof brand.  Each carriage horse is privately owned, and the carriage drivers I spoke to all have a emotional and trusting bond with the horses that they work with daily.  If there were any physical abuse between drivers and horses, the horses would not be as reliable as they are.   Abused horses show signs of their abuse; they are jumpy, head-shy, nervous, and lack interest in humans. The carriage horses show no signs of abuse.   They are curious, friendly and calm, very calm.

I inspected over 100 carriage horses and report only one that seemed only slightly thin in comparison to his slightly overweight neighbors.  His ribs were not showing.  His coat was shiny but he did seem tucked up and fit compared to the others.  He stood with his head in the isle.  He was more interested in talking with me than eating the half full bucket of grain or the hay in the rack.   When I asked about his condition, the driver explained he was a ‘hard keeper’.  He had retired from racing at 5 years old after an injury.   Because of his racing injury, he really couldn’t do much else other than walk around the park.   He would have gone to slaughter, but instead he was given a job and is now 18 years old.

In summary, I did not find any instances of animal abuse.  The conditions for these horses are acceptable and  in observing these horses, I noted they appear comfortable and genuinely happy with their jobs.   My biggest concern is what will happen if these horses if the ban is effective.

Several groups have offered to find homes for the displaced horses.  They claim they will protect them from slaughter.  In my years of rescuing horses, I have learned there is no such thing as a forever home.  Many horses live to the age of 30+.  In 30 years, things change for owners; financial, physical and interests change.  Therefore, in my experience, there is no guarantee for any horse.

In addition, I have learned that restrictive contracts don’t work to protect horses over time.   Restrictive clauses like no slaughter, no auction, first-right-of-refusal, may work for the first sale, but RARELY does the contract follow the horses when s/he is rehomed.  Further, using a hoof-branding identification method, there will be no way to identify these carriage horses after their hooves grow.

The Equine Rescue Network cannot change the power of legislators, all we can do is try to protect the horses by offering microchips and registration.  This way, if any carriage horse winds up at a ‘meat auction’ or killpen there is a high likelihood rescuers will be able to help that horse.  We have volunteers at auctions and killpens with scanners – if we can identify a horse, we can help that horse!

So to answer the question, “Do Carriage Horses need rescuing?”  No.  NOT YET.  I’d rather focus our energy on the 150,000 unwanted horses that go to slaughter, than these horses that have homes already.