IF ONLY THE
MAYOR WOULD VISIT THE STABLES
He would find
religion and dub the horse carriage trade in NYC hands off and good to go.
So says the
carriage trade. In trying to keep the
status quo, they have lied and lied with the Daily News supporting and
elaborating on their fantasies.
 |
| West Side Livery stable - has one means of egress |
In March 2014, the NYC carriage trade organized an event at their stables, which included actor Liam Neeson. A few Council Members attended. None of them knew what to look for and just went because they supported the industry anyway. It is quite embarrassing to listen to a particular Council Member or member of the media say – “the horses look fine – they do not look abused” when that person doesn't have a clue what to look for in the stable or with the horse.
Excuse me – “manned
up?” What a disrespectful thing to say
to our mayor. And it is clear that Neeson
was about ready to take to the streets and arm wrestle Mayor deBlasio to show he is a macho man. He wanted to bully him into going to the
stables but it did not work.
Yes - if only the mayor would visit the stables because this is what he could find – and it’s not pretty!:
STALLS – legally the stalls are required to be
60 square feet –and are actually referred to as "standing stalls." This is small but considering the number of horses
the NYC trade has, it is all the space available at the four stables.
Experts
recommend stalls for standardbreds to be 144 square feet – 12’ x 12; - and
the larger draft breeds should get even more – 196 square
feet – 14’ x 14.’
Although the
intake information for NYC carriage horses does not include their breed, from
observation, between 60 to 75% of the horses are draft breeds – these are the sweet
big boys who need lots of space and are not getting it.
In no way
are the NYC stalls big enough. But the
owners get around this duplicity by bait and switch logic, referring to them
as “box stalls,: which sounds better than “standing stalls.” But this refers to a configuration, not
a size.
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| West Side Livery at Clip Clop event - note small dirty stall with inadequate bedding |
Bottom line is that the existing
stalls are less than half the size of what experts recommend.
These are articles on this topic by respected sources:
 |
| Clinton Park Stables - notice how small the "legal box stall" is |
 |
| horse on steep ramp - typical for all stables |
STALL LOCATION – the stables are old multi-storied buildings
with stalls mostly on upper floors. If
there were a fire on these floors, it would be unlikely that the horses would
get out since the only access or egress is a
steep ramp.
Imagine this –
a staircase connecting two floors; remove the staircase and install a ramp in
its exact place -- it is very steep. It takes its toll on the horses – especially the
older ones with arthritis.
TURNOUT – there is no pasture available in NYC, consequently there is no turnout for the horses.
A horse may legally work for nine hours a day. When he returns to the stable, he is not
turned out but instead is put in his stall until he is taken out the next
day. Humane? I think not.
The owners cannot provide that for
their horses on a daily basis even for a few hours.
Some articles on the value of turnout for horses:
 |
| turnout - NYC style |
5-WEEK
FURLOUGH: The drivers thought they would
pull a fast one on everyone by having this added to the 2010 law. This is how it reads from the RENTAL HORSE
LICENSING AND PROTECTION LAW:
2.
Carriage horses shall receive no less than five weeks of vacation or furlough
every twelve months at a horse stable facility which allows daily access to
paddock or pasture turnout. Proof of such vacation or furlough shall be provided
upon request to the department and/or the ASPCA.
Sounds good
right? But this is what it is missing:
Horses need
daily turnout – this is a given and the NYC horses simply do not get it
-
The Department of Health did not require that a list of such farms be provided to them for approval. Proof of such furlough is simply a signature.
-
The Department of Health also did not require that the furlough farms be inspected. It is
not known where the horses go for furlough or the kind of conditions they endure.
-
Some
of the owners have farms but we believe that many of the ones who don’t, which is most, send their horses to the Amish farms with whom
they have relationships. No Amish farmer
is going to allow a draft horse to hang around eating bon bons while his land
needs to be plowed. The Amish have a work ethic for animals that has made them notorious for animal cruelty and abuse.
-
We
have heard rumors that many of these horses are sent to the Amish farms to work
in exchange for being able to say that the horse went away for 5 weeks.
-
in October 2011, the NY Post published this quote by former ASPCA equine veterinarian - Pamela Corey:
Dr. Corey, the director of equine veterinary services of the ASPCA’s
humane law-enforcement department, said, “We have observed some horses
returning to New York City after furloughs on a farm in worse condition
than when they left.”
This was never investigated. All of those who could have done something about this turned the other way.
This industry
must come to an end. It is a blight on
NYC’s honor. It celebrates greed. Unfortunately the Mayor has
allowed the Daily News, backed by the Teamsters and Working Families Party, to
control the dialogue. Most of the media
have followed the Daily News and the truth has not gotten out.
Well this is
the truth about the stables, stalls and furloughs.
###
3 comments:
If De Blasio is so dead set against horses and carriages in NYC, why won't he visit the stables? This is such a shameful and disgusting business and De Blasio needs to shut it down now. No more waiting, no more excuses.
I couldn't have said it better.
Those horses need room. Those poor horses need rest.
If you want to see a well taken care of horse, look in any film that includes horses. Those horses looks fine.
The carriage horses of New York look shamefully abused.
I couldn't have said it better.
Those horses need room. Those poor horses need rest.
If you want to see a well taken care of horse, look in any film that includes horses. Those horses looks fine.
The carriage horses of New York look shamefully abused.
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