The Remedy
Addressing all the major issues of the carriage industry with a plan of action!
1.
The working conditions of the horse are
inhumane.
The majority of enforcement and regulatory issues with this industry exist due to lack of sufficient documentation and poor record keeping, which in turn limits any pro-activeness to protect the welfare of these animals. There should be recorded evidence of farrier and veterinary visits, which should occur more than a few times a year. The drivers, or those charged with the horses’ care, should be educated in basic ailment and lameness identification and body condition scoring, and be required to keep and submit health and behaviour reports to their superiors. The establishment of the long-awaited and discussed Advisory Committee should occur as well, with the goal of working in the animal’s, not the industry’s, best interest. The committee should host representatives from all involved departments and organizations, as well as an animal welfare expert and veterinarian for breadth of opinion and knowledge, as well as accountability and to increase inter-departmental communication. This committee would develop statements and regulations for the working conditions of the carriage horse, which should align with current working horse regulations, and not be exempt “exceptions” to the rule. Some conditions to be scrutinized should be the temperatures at which they are allowed to work under, the traffic of the streets they ride along, the treatment of the horse by the driver, the frequency of refreshment and rest stops, and other general health upkeep. 2. With around 20 incidents in NYC in the last year, carriages slow traffic on busy city streets, and horses may be spooked, bolt off, and/or crash into cars/pedestrians. The number of incidents and accidents that occur on busy city streets alone should indicate that these horses are not cut out for the bustle and congestion of a major metropolis. They should be restricted to quite side streets at the very least, or look at the pedestrianizing of streets adjacent to central park. Until then, however, horses should only operate within central park and be restricted from city streets. As well, their stables should be located within or next to the park, so as to eliminate the need to “commute” across busy midtown traffic at the start and end of each day. 3. They are housed inhumanely in a stall that is almost half size as is regulation of a normal box stall at 60sqft. To begin with, as recommended by the 2007 audit, the stables should be moved to within Central Park. One or two properly designed and manageable stables with fewer horses would prove much easier to inspect and ensure a good physical environment that meets all the equine industry standards, such as 144sqft to 195sqft box stalls depending on the type of horse. There should be a designated plot of land by the stables for the horses to be turned out as frequently as possible. The stables would be benefit from being outfitted with proper apparatus to maintain proper hygiene, and the stalls should have stall toys which the horses can manipulate to alieviate boredom and reduce stereotypies, which have been shown to reduce their welfare.23 |
4. The industry is quite difficult to enforce adequately.
Reducing the fleet of horses to no more than a few dozen is one way to gain a better handle on the effective enforcement of industry standards. Currently, the number of horses and carriages far outnumber the few people charged with inspection and investigations. Ideally, there should be government funding for the Humane Law Enforcement program, and this program should look to educating through practical demonstrations, exams, and workshops the carriage drivers on how to recognize situations which put the horse at a risk of poor welfare, and the consequences of the animal continuing along that path. It is no secret that the current laws for the industry are dated and too broad, and so should the industry be re-established, new legislature should be drawn up which maximizes the safety of the horses, public, and ensures ease of enforcement. Finally, it is imperative that an Advisory Board, as requested by the NYC Administrative Code, is formed to oversee the re-instatement of carriages and their operations were they to be banned and later resurrected. 5. The location or nature of the “5-week” per year vacation for carriage horses is not officially documented or accounted for. While horses are intended to have a 5-week furlough to a farm or sanctuary location each year, there is no record of whether these horses are turned out to pasture or exercised. Grazing behaviour is important because foraging is a “necessity for normal functioning of the equine gastrointestinal tract” and because they can receive exercise when put out to pasture.25 Having these breaks which would provide them the freedom to express natural behaviours is especially important, in light of a 2009 study by Hausberger et al. on how horses, “share with humans this characteristic of working on a daily basis and are submitted then to work stressors related to physical constraints and/or more “psychological” conflicts, such as potential controversial orders from the riders or the requirement to suppress emotions.” The research suggests that constant, especially repetitive work may lead to behavioural disorders, chronic stress, and gastro digestive pathologies.24 Horses should potentially be given more frequent furlough throughout the year to certified locations where they may have a chance to experience a natural, non-working lifestyle. 6. There are not sufficient records of what occurs when a horse reaches retirement age. If one were to compare the retirement age of a carriage horse, at 26 years, to its human equivalent, the horse would be upwards of 70 years old. Pro-ban advocates state that the horses are too old at this age to work comfortably, and this is worth investigating, with the possibility of improving legislation to establish and earlier retirement age for working carriage horses. After horses are deemed “too old” to work some are auctioned off while others manage to find good homes. There should be a retirement and relocation program in place that sets up horses with owners and sanctuaries that can take them. Until then, other options for these horses should be explored, such as gentler jobs in the entertainment industry, or establishing a sanctuary specifically for retired carriage horses. |