Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages

Rebecca Moore. - January 30, 2009      

My name is Rebecca Moore, and I live in New York City.  I am here on behalf of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, and I support Intro. 658—the bill that would ban them.    

Not only do New York City carriage horses live a "nose-to-tailpipe existence," but their presence on congested city streets endangers the pubic safety every day.    

Traffic poses perhaps the greatest danger of all to the horses.    

And the fact is...that the horses' working environment CANNOT BE MADE SAFER, primarily because the horses live as many as FOUR miles from the park.    

It is impossible to remove the danger from such a commute.  Horses are highly sensitive animals that spook easily.   

And a seemingly innocent noise that we humans may disregard—such as a beating drum—can send a horse into panic mode.

We saw the evidence of this in 2007, with the death of a young mare named Smoothie.

She bolted from the park, and died nearby. Another horse spooked at the sight of it all, and struck a vehicle.

From honking horns to wind-blown newspapers to fire engines, there is no shortage of sights and sounds that could spook a horse.

A longtime carriage industry veteran who was profiled in The New Yorker magazine said one of the things horses FEAR MOST is GARBAGE TRUCKS.

No doubt it would be impossible to keep horses away from garbage trucks in New York City.

Wayne Pacelle,  president of the Humane Society of the United States, has said that trying to eliminate noises that may spook New York City carriage horses would be as impossible as trying to stop birds from singing.

Having horses work in heavy traffic translates to an accident waiting to happen.

This is an unmet public safety issue.

Since 2006 alone, at least SIX people have been hospitalized—and THREE horses have DIED from horse-drawn carriage accidents in New York City.

The dangers are ever-present. Not only to the horses—but to pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists.   

I support a FULL BAN on horse-drawn carriages.