Horse-Drawn Carriage Rides: Less Beautiful Than They Seem

Written by Grace Brosofsky

Rides in horse-drawn carriages seem like a beautiful, memorable, and sentimental way to tour cities such as New York, but in truth, they are all but beautiful in the light of what the horses who pull them undergo. First and foremost, horse-drawn carriages can cause accidents fatal for both horses and humans to occur. When pulling carriages through streets full of honking traffic, horses can be easily spooked by the chaos and noise surrounding them. According to PETA, "A simple car backfire or a honking horn can cause a horse to panic and run around uncontrollably, endangering the horse, the carriage occupants, and car drivers." It is hard to understand why the lives of humans and animals would be endangered for the romance of a carriage ride.

Not only are the horses put at risk on the streets, they are often treated with very poor standards outside of the unavoidable dangers of their "jobs". There are few regulations put into place to protect the rights of these animals.  In describing the plight of carriage horses, actress Lea Michele said, "Imagine for a moment that you're forced to do hard physical labor all day, seven days a week- whether it's sweltering hot or freezing cold outside. At the end of the day, instead of relaxing on [an] easy chair or sleeping in a comfortable bed, you are locked in a tiny closet all night long." Sadly, this is the life of the horses forced to pull carriages. They are made to labor extensive hours through extreme weather conditions, only to come home to far from spacious, dilapidated, multi-level "stables" that they have to trudge up narrow ramps to enter. The horses suffer from many health problems, often having lung illnesses and becoming lame from walking on streets made for cars, not animals. After all their toil, they are often sold to slaughterhouses instead of being allowed to live the remainder of their lives comfortably. The average life expectancy for horses given the job of pulling carriages in New York City is sadly low- less than four years, in comparison to a police horse's working life of fourteen years.

In the words of Debbie Leahy, the director of PETA, "There's nothing 'romantic' about animal abuse, injury, and death. How many more horses will be mangled and how many more drivers will land in hospital beds before New York City bans these devices?" The truth is that horses deserve to be grazing in pastures, not dragging carriages through busy city streets. You can make a difference by signing a petition to stop this seemingly romantic, but truthfully inhumane practice at http://www.change.org/petitions/ban-horse-drawn-carriages-in-new-york-city-new-bill-needs-support.

Links to Information Sources:
http://thestir.cafemom.com/entertainment/114617/glee_star_lea_michele_horsedrawn
http://www.usuallyvegan.com/tag/horse-drawn-carriage-rides-cruel/
http://www.banhdc.org/