Around a fortnight ago, a fourteen-year-old horse collapsed in the street. Overworked and exhausted, the horse named Norman, lay in the middle of a busy intersection between 50th Street and 12th Avenue for more than twenty minutes, while his caretaker claimed that he is simply a ‘clumsy’ horse who ‘tripped and fell.’ Despite the horse not being able to stand for over twenty minutes, this ridiculous claim has been accepted by the carriage industry and the Health Department, even though it is so obviously an excuse to hide the fact that this poor horse could not stand any longer. While it is a heartbreaking and tragic thing to have happened, it has raised some long standing concerns about the ethics behind the horse carriage industry.
The city is not a healthy, safe or suitable environment for horses. Horses are not meant to have to avoid busy traffic, breathe in dangerous fumes and work in all weather, for hours on end with no rest or water. Yet they work long days, seven days a week, in all conditions. The life of a carriage horse is a difficult and painful one. How are they allowed to get away with this horrific treatment? Sadly, The Animal Welfare Act does not protect these poor horses, so there are no rules or regulations in place to look after them. This means that the horses are cared for solely by local animal-control officials, who do not implement any rules to keep the horses safe.
As horses are not used to the city environment, horse carriages have resulted in many accidents, injuries and deaths over the past few years. They do not belong in a city as busy as New York, or any city at all for that matter. For example, horses have been spooked, have broken free and have collided with traffic, causing injury to not only the horses, but to the public too. In 2013, a carriage driver was arrested for forcing their horse to work while they were severely injured. In 2014, a horse got spooked, broke free and crashed into a taxi cab. In 2015, a horse was killed after he broke his leg, a case that still has not been fully resolved. Which brings us to the latest case.
How many similar incidents will it take before the ban is fully passed? How many more accidents need to happen? How many horses need to die? Hopefully, this latest case will raise awareness of the horrific reality of this industry. While it does not look like a ban will be passed anytime soon, there are still ways that we can prevent any more horses from suffering. Firstly, boycott horse carriages. It is probably an obvious first step, but if enough people took it, it would have a huge impact. Secondly, do everything in your power to raise awareness of this cruel practice. Share articles, sign petitions, tell people. If enough people understood the reality behind this industry, it would surely collapse. We need to bring an end to horse carriages.
