HORSETALK - Equine News & Views
Canterbury, New Zealand
September 28, 2006
One of the stable units where carriage horses "live" when not
at work. Most are so small the horses cannot even lie down, says the
coalition. "There are five stables and they all look like this - multi
storied warehouses; no turnout. The furthest one is on 37th Street, over
on the far west side. The horses walk from the Central Park area back to
their stables down very congested 9th Avenue (traffic to the Lincoln
Tunnel - one of the main thoroughfares to New Jersey)."
It may seem an iconic part of the city, but the majority of horses
who pull carriages in New York for the pleasure of tourists lead a life
far from the romantic image they perpetuate.
The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages is urging tourists and
locals in New York to sign a petition which will be presented to the
Mayor and city council to have the horse-drawn carriage industry banned
in the city.
In their latest newsletter, the coalition draws attention to the
recent death of a carriage horse, Juliet, who collapsed in Central Park
on September 14. Reports said Juliet was suffering from colic, and her
driver angered the gathering crowd when he whipped her, trying to her
her up.
"The ASPCA is conducting an investigation, which we hope will cover
this mystery," the coalition says. "A necropsy is also being done to
determine the cause of death. Poor Juliet, working nine hours a day
between the shafts of her carriage with never a chance for turnout. A
dreadful life, to be sure."
There have been many accidents over the years. On January 2, 2006, a
horse pulling a hansom cab in Manhattan got spooked and bolted down 9th
Avenue, galloping for several blocks before smashing into a station
wagon at 50th Street. The horse, whose name was Spotty, was badly
injured, wrapped around the car, with his rear legs on top of it and his
head on the ground. He was later euthanized. He was just five years old
and had been working in the city for only a few months. The driver was
critically injured and was taken to the hospital along with two
passengers of the station wagon.
When they're not working on the street, the horses are taken back to
a "stable complex", one of which is pictured above.
Most are so small the horses cannot even lie down, says the
coalition.
"There are five stables and they all look like this - multi storied
warehouses; no turnout. The furthest one is on 37th Street, over on the
far west side. The horses walk from the Central Park area back to their
stables down very congested 9th Avenue (traffic to the Lincoln Tunnel -
one of the main thoroughfares to New Jersey)."
And while some lucky horses who retire from the street may head to
greener pastures in the country, still others will end up slaughtered
for human consumption.
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