Former Horse Carriage Owner Speaks out against Intro 573-B - the no-ban bill

Former Horse Carriage Owner Speaks out
against Intro 573-B -- the NYC Council bill that sells out the horses

2/1/16

To Whom It May Concern / NY City Council

As a horse owner and former carriage livery operator I have been very concerned about the living and working conditions faced by the horses used in the NYC street hack tourist carriage industry for several years now.

At first, I believed these horses were adequately cared for and given proper care, just as my own horses were. But after looking into how the tourist carriage industry operates in New York City, I realized that working and living conditions for these horses were unacceptable.

As a person who has ridden, shown, driven and bred horses for a span of more than 50 years, I can honestly say that I would not keep or work any of my horses under the conditions most of the carriage horse owners or drivers in NYC apparently believe are satisfactory.

I also do not support Mayor Bill deBlasio's proposed compromise as being in the best interests of these horses either.

Here are my reasons for believing his plan is NOT good for the horses and does not meet their needs. I also believe it is not in the best interest of the pedicab owners/drivers, and of the members of the general public who use Central Park.

The first and most important reason is that the plan does not provide for any turnout at liberty (unharnessed or unhaltered without a lead) in a large paddock or pasture. Horses are social animals and without access to an area where they can exercise or graze at the very least several times a week - preferably with other horses to whom they are accustomed--, they develop "vices" or bad habits such as chewing wood, cribbing, weaving in their stalls and can become hard to manage. These habits can cause illness and make them unsound for work.

Large draft horses and draft crosses need adequate stall space, especially if they do not have ANY access to turnout for months at a time. Currently many of these horses are housed in stalls that do not meet the minimum recommended square footage for horses of their size (a MINIMUM of a 12 ft. by 12 ft. stall) and the mayor's proposed new stable provides for only 10 ft. by 10 ft. stalls -- these are INADEQUATE for the size of most of the horses used by the carriage owners and driver in NYC.

The plan to keep the number of medallioned carriages at 68 while reducing the number of horses to only 75 means the horses will have to work MORE than they do now. It is my opinion that these horses are already working shifts that are too long and too often now. Really having horses stand or work on hard surfaces in city traffic for 9 hours a day, often 7 days a week is already possibly injurious to their health and minds, especially with all the pollutants in the air. It also probably isn't good for the drivers either.

The mayor's plan does not provide ANY protection from slaughter for these faithful animals once they become injured or too old to work. In this day and time, that is simply a crime and is inherently inhumane. Former NYC carriage horses have already been found in kill buyers' lots destined to slaughter. Without legal protection, I believe this will continue to happen.

The provision to remove the VISIBLE license numbers on the horses' hooves is also not a very good idea and will make it easier for dishonest owners and drivers to try to pass one horse off as another. This has already been the case. A driver was caught trying to pass an old horse with respiratory problems, who should not be working, off as a younger sound horse. I believe these horses should have BOTH a visible hoof brand and a microchip. But to be honest, many sales barns and dealers do not bother to check to see if a horse is micro chipped.

I also believe that if horse-drawn carriages are going to be allowed to continue to operate in NYC and other densely populated urban areas with heavy motorized traffic, the drivers need to be better trained and supervised. The mayor's proposed compromise does not address this issue at all. There are countless videos and photos on the Internet that show drivers blatantly ignoring regulations that are already on the books to make carriage driving safe. Drivers routinely leave their horses unattended and untethered curbside. Even the best trained horse can be startled or spooked by a sudden loud noise or unfamiliar sight. This had happened DOZENS of times in the past 10 years since I became aware of the situation in NYC. Sometimes people and horses have been seriously injured, and often these incidents have resulted in the death of the horses involved on the street or their euthansia back at the stables. Really, the sight of a dead horse in the street is not very conducive to tourism.

There are also other issues that make this proposed compromise suspect. For example, if I lived in NYC, I would not want public funds spent to build a stable for a very few -- 68 or so -- people to be able to pursue their own private for-profit businesses. I also do not think it is fair to give one set of business owners a monopoly at the expense of others in a similar service industry. I am referring to the pedicab owners and drivers being excluded from portions of Central Park while the carriage owners and drivers are granted access to these same areas, exclusively. But THESE are issues that would be more of a concern to NYC citizens and tax payers. 

I am mainly concerned about the welfare of the horses involved because the treatment these horses have received, and are continuing to receive at the hands of some of the carriage owners reflects badly on all of us who own and drive horses. I can honestly say that during the seven years that I operated a special events and wedding carriage livery, not a street hack business like the tourist carriages under discussion in NYC, I was negatively impacted by stories of horses running away and being injured or causing injury to drivers and passengers in your city. After the horse named Oreo spooked, bolted and became a runaway, the video was carried by many network affiliates including the one in Baton Rouge, near where I operated my business. I lost two wedding bookings as a result of the fear that video engendered in the public.

My business model was nothing like the street hacks in your town, but I was still affected. As a private carriage livery operator, my horses were booked for specific events and rarely traveled on public streets at all. They were usually at weddings and other functions held on private property, and they actually worked no longer than 3 hours at a time from unloading to reloading and going home.

I know that the NYC carriage owners and drivers like to claim that only they "know" about horses, and only they are qualified to speak to the issue of equine care. Just for reference, I have been riding horses since age five and I began driving in the show ring when I was in my twenties. My late husband and I bred and showed flat shod Tennessee Walking Horses for more than ten years. We produced several champion horses, including a horse that was exported to Germany and won several gaited classes at the Equitania, including a gaited championship there.

I operated a profitable special events livery from 2007 through 2015 when I ceased making my horses and "rolling stock" available for hire. I owned a total of six draft horses, all of whom were retired at my expense on my property. I still drive my remaining horses and ponies for personal pleasure on the streets of my small rural town and at selected historical reenactment events in my area.

In closing, I urge the council and anyone who has a modicum of concern for the welfare of NYC's carriage horses to reject this poorly planned compromise as not being in the best interests of the horses or the citizens of NYC who share the streets of Central Park with them and the carriages.

Regards,

Mrs. H. B. Willis 

Elysian Fields Farm 

P.O. Box 272
Clinton, LA 7072

BEWARE: THE MEDIA IS MANAGING THE CARRIAGE HORSE ISSUE IN NYC

BEWARE:  THE MEDIA IS MANAGING THE CARRIAGE HORSE ISSUE IN NYC - DON'T FALL FOR IT. 

Roger retires:  In the last week,  the Daily News,  a right wing bastion of support for the carriage trade,  has run several stories about Roger – a carriage horse owned by driver Ian McKeever.  At 21, Roger is finally being retired after 17 years in the business.  According to the News, he is going to a farm in Syosset, Long Island.    They recently published this letter from “Roger”to Mayor deBlasio.      

I'm very glad for Roger but I do wonder about him being in this business since the age of 4. 

Romantic?  NO  - Dangerous?  YES

Many experts would say that was too young and he was not fully grown at 4 years.    - especially for a draft horse to begin in this kind of business.   

Yes, it makes a good story to say he was rescued from slaughter.  But to work for 17 years?  Come on.   Roger was the same as all the other horses – he worked 9 hours a day, 7 days a week only to come home to his stall and not have any access to pasture to graze and socialize with other horses; to mutually groom each other to relieve stress from a long day’s work. His "exercise" consisted of pulling tourists around Central Park and dodging cars in traffic. But a good amount of the time he was standing at the hack line waiting and waiting and waiting for customers -- not even free to scratch an itch.  This is neither "exercise" nor humane. 

I hope he can adjust to his new life.  He certainly deserves it.  And I also hope he is not

Roger

worked and made to pull anything.   At 21, Roger is considered to be “old" and should have been retired several years ago.    

Roger has brought good attention to this abusive and exploitative industry and in the hands of the supportive Daily News, a tabloid that cannot separate fact from opinion, it seems to be working. 
 

But this is not the whole story – far from it.  
Corporate Welfare:  In 2001, the City of New York leased a stable on W. 45^th St. to Ian McKeever and his partner. - -charging him a subsidized rent of only $5,000 a month for a stable that could easily have brought the City $60,000 a month.   This is all according to Mr. McKeever as reported in the NY Times when the City decided to sell the property to a real estate developer in 2010.    In 2001, the City also paid for outfitting the stables to the tune of about $500,000.  This happened under Mayor Bloomberg’s administration.  

In other words, the City had been subsidizing a private business to the tune of almost $1,000,000 (including the fit out) over this period of time. 

Is this right?  How many other private businesses do you know of that were subsidized like this?  If someone does not have the capital to make a go of it in a business, they either borrow with the intent to pay back with interest or they do not move forward.  That is capitalism.  But to be subsidized – on the tax payer’s dime?!

There is something very wrong with this picture and the media is not reporting on it.  Instead they continue to try to manipulate the facts and choose the ones to present to you.  Don’t fall for it.

The carriage driver/owners as a whole are conservative in their politics, which means they do not like government interference or control.  But what about corporate welfare?  Is that supposed to be OK.?

But that’s just money and business.  There is something worse going on. 

Missing Horses?:  At that time, the NY Times listed the names of the horses owned by Mr. McKeever who were being sent to a “farm."  Molly, Chestnut, Max, Patty, Jeter and Bosco.   But  as of January 2014, only Molly is still on the Department of Health list of horses. 

What happened to the others?  Did Mr. McKeever bring them to auction?  Or did he find good placement for them as he did for the popular and photogenic TV star, Roger?  At the time, the ASPCA offered to help him with placement for the horses but he refused. 

Perhaps he would like to tell the public what happened to these horses. 

The City of NY does not keep records of horses sold outside the city. 

Bobby II Freedom

Big turnover of horses in business:  Last spring I released a report that showed a turnover of 529 carriage horses in the NYC business over a period of 7 ½ years – averaging about 71 horses a year.  Where did they all go?   This was a very well documented report, yet the media was not interested in covering it. 

So the public continues to assume -- because the media said so --  that the horses remain the same from year to year and when a ban occurs, they will all go to slaughter.

Were these horses too unattractive; too slow; too jittery, too weak; did they have health problems?  Were they nervous in traffic?  Some of them lasted several years in the business so this is not a case of trying the horse for a month and then deciding that he or she did not work out.    I recall a horse named Beauty associated with West Side Livery stable.  Tape was added to his blinders to prevent him from having any peripheral vision because he was so nervous.  He is no longer in the business and there is no record of where he went.     

Bobby II Freedom - I do know what happened to one of those horses - Bobby II Freedom.  In June 2010, I became aware of a NYC carriage horse at the New Holland kill auctions in Pennsylvania.  Joining forces with Equine Advocates, Bobby was rescued and is now living the good life at their sanctuary in upstate New York.  Bobby had been dumped by his owners from West Side Livery stable who wanted to replace him for a newer model.   This is Bobby's story.  

The public deserves to know the truth about the business and the media is not telling them.  

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WORKING TO BAN HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES - two recent articles

NYC carriage horse "parked" over steam vent on 1/27/14 - photo by Mary Culpepper

These are excerpts from  two recent pieces - one an interview by Nicole M. Arcielo of the Times Union in which she gave me an opportunity to get the truth out.  The other was a blog on Vegan Publisher blog.  There is a link to both sites where you can read the entire articles.

WORKING TO BAN HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES

an interview by the Times Union

I was interviewed by Nicole M. Arcielo of the Times Union -Working to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages. This is an excerpt:

A driver was charged with animal cruelty recently. Has this ever happened before? Will it help pave the way for the ban? This is the first time someone was caught. It was an NYPD officer who made the arrest and it is probably because they took over enforcing the cruelty laws on January 1st. The officer was probably more sensitive to the suffering. It is odd that only the NY Times reported on this cruelty arrest.

While on paper it looks like the trade is heavily regulated by many City agencies, these regulations are mostly not enforced. The ASPCA officers - fewer than 20 - handled the whole state. They would have had to assign one officer to each driver to keep up with them and that was never going to happen. But I wonder why no one else noticed this lame horse for four days - not the stable manager, not the owner and not the many drivers who work out of Clinton Stable. That is shameful and just confirms to me that they don't care and see these horses as objects, as money makers. I also wonder about the stall in which Blondie lived. A very common cause of thrush, which was the cause of the lameness, is filthy urine soaked straw bedding.nose to carriage (2) Here are videos of violations activists have amassed. Even though these have been turned over to the Department of Health and Consumer Affairs, nothing is generally done about any of this. Perhaps it was because Agency Commissioners are appointed by the Mayor (Bloomberg in this case) and did not want to rock the boat since Bloomberg supported the industry. The ASPCA also never responded to these videos.

BAN OF THE HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGE TRADE IN NY

by Elizabeth Forel - guest blogger on Vegan Publisher

Ban of the Horse-Drawn Carriage Trade in New York -- by Elizabeth Forel - guest blogger on Vegan Publishers. This is an excerpt: 

WHY THE BUSINESS NEEDS TO BE SHUT DOWN: These slow moving, flimsy conveyances do not belong in the heavy congested streets of NYC, which is always an accident waiting to happen. Horses are prey animals and are predictably unpredictable - they spook easily and can bolt into traffic causing mayhem. These sensitive animals become unwitting weapons who can kill or injure themselves or passersby. Human deaths have happened in other countries and if this business is allowed to continue, it is only a matter of time before someone is killed here.

The horses work nine hours a day, seven days a week between the shafts of their carriages where they do not have the freedom to scratch an itch - something everyone takes for granted. During the holiday season when the drivers are busy, the horses are worked to exhaustion - never resting. At other times of the year, when there is little business, they wait at the hack line bored, stomping their hooves until they get yelled at. The more fortunate ones just fall asleep. But they all have that disinterested faraway look as they stand dispirited while their drivers ignore them, often shooting the breeze with their cronies.


They live in multi-level drab and dark stables in upper floor stalls that are less than half the size of what experts recommend. They are accessed by a steep ramp. The horses have no turn out to pasture - no place to graze and socialize with the other horses. The stables have one means of egress and if there were a fire, the horses living on upper floors would not be able to get out. It is a tragedy waiting to happen.

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LIES AND DESPERATION - the NYC horse-carriage trade

LIES AND DESPERATION    

New York City – November 2013.  It’s been bad news for those who operate horse-drawn carriages in New York City and it is about time.  For years it was bad news for those who cared about animal welfare – with one cold hearted and insensitive Mayor after the other in office.  But this election season it was different with the top two candidates running for the office of Mayor both taking an official stand in support of shutting down the inhumane and unsafe horse-drawn carriage trade. 

the eyes tell it all on this horse 

The carriage drivers and their friends are desperate and digging in their heels.  Even though the handwriting is on the wall and has been for some time and two separate alternate businesses have been offered to them and turned down, they are making up lies about their carriage business to try to influence public opinion.  They put out statements designed to deceive and to make things appear much better than they really are … as long as no one asks questions.  The media in far corners of the US  - and some in New York City - have picked up the Associated Press story and shamefully did no fact checking on their own.   

This is a business that has been unpopular in NYC for many, many years – a business that has been favored by the last two administrations that turned their backs on the violations and abuse.  With Mayor-Elect Bill deBlasio taking office in January 2014 – it will be different.  Mr. DeBlasio has promised to ban the horse-drawn carriage trade in New York City.

To sort through the duplicity put out by the carriage trade, the following is a list of their

LIES followed by the TRUTH. 

LIE:  There have been only three carriage horses who died as a result of a collision with traffic in the past 30 years.

TRUTH:  In the last 7 years, there have been at least 4 public deaths of carriage horses in NYC and many more within the confines of the stables.  Spotty – 2006; Juliet – 2006, Smoothie – 2007, Charlie 2011.  But there have been many more horses who were injured because of accidents.  The public does not differentiate between a horse like Spotty who was involved in a horrific traffic accident in 2006 and Charlie who dropped dead on the street several years later.  There is something about the image of a dead horse – helpless and no longer powerful - that resonates with our collective unconscious guilt – where we feel a sense of responsibility for allowing this abuse to continue without speaking up. 

LIE:  The industry is 155 years old.    

TRUTH:  This statement is designed to have people think this is a long and venerable business.  155 years would take us back to 1858 when Central Park was being built.  Everyone used horses then.  The industry as we know it today started in the late 1940s when Mayor William O’Dwyer issued 68 medallions to individuals to operate a horse-drawn carriages.   

LIE: All the horse stalls are box stalls     

TRUTH: A box stall is simply a configuration and says nothing about size.  According to law, the

Oreo - spooked and bolted into traffic - summer 2012

stalls must be at least 60 square feet.  But this is less than half what experts recommend, which is 144 square feet (12’ x 12’) for a standardbred horse who weighs about 1000 to 1200 pounds; for larger draft breeds who can weigh more than 2,000 pounds, experts recommend at least a 197 square foot stall (14’ x14’).  The space does not exist in the NYC stables to do this properly so the horses are stuck with substandard sized stalls. 

 LIE: The horses get a vacation for at least 5 weeks out of the year.   

TRUTH:    A “vacation” is a human concept.  Horses need daily turnout to pasture, which does not exist in NYC.  So for 47 weeks out of the year, the horses are confined to their small stalls when they are not working on the streets of NYC.  The Department of Health (DoH)  does not require a list of the “farms” where the horses are sent and the ASPCA is not required to inspect them.  According to this article in theNY Post, former ASPCA equine veterinarian Pam Corey said that many of the horses look worse when they return from this vacation.  It was never investigated.  

 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.”

We have also heard this from others - that the horses are not fed properly when on "vacation" and are returned to NYC thin and unfit, but expected to return to work nine hours a day.  This is truly a travesty and the NYC media must accept much of the blame for perpetuating this nonsense and not fact checking.    

LIE:  The industry is tightly regulated by many City agencies and the ASPCA

TRUTH:  While there are many laws on the books, enforcement is rare.  Because there is generally no one in an official capacity at the hack line, the drivers break the laws with impunity.   And because the Commissioners of the Department of Health and the Department of Consumer Affairs serve at the pleasure of the Mayor, no one wants to rock the boat about bringing violations to the surface.   The ASPCA enforces all animal cruelty laws on a volunteer basis and has fewer than 20 agents.  They are rarely at the hack line or around the streets where the drivers work to observe any violations.  Starting on January 1^st, the ASPCA will no longer be involved with this enforcement.  This

Chris - collapsed with carriage falling on him 9/26/13

is a link that shows violations.     

 

LIE:   The industry contributes $15,000.000 annually to the economy.

TRUTH: This is a fabricated and extrapolated piece of information.  No one knows how much the trade contributes in the way of taxes every year because it is a cash only business.  The number was originally put out there by the organization that is promoting electric cars to show how their industry would compare against the carriages.  But it is a puffed up estimate and cannot be confirmed or validated.  It is suspected that the industry reports far less income than it takes in and thus pays less in taxes. 

LIE: Blue Star Equiculture (BSE) is the “official and guaranteed” retirement home for NYC carriage horses.

TRUTH: Currently BSE lists only one former NYC carriage horse on their site.  Further the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages published a 7 ½ year study that revealed a turnover of 529 horses in the NYC carriage trade over this time period.  This is a link to the study, which includes raw data from the DoH. 

LIE:   Tourists love this iconic ride

TRUTH: It is not only New Yorkers who want this inhumane and unsafe business to be gone.  Many tourists agree.  More than 70,000 people signed our first petition from a few years ago supporting a ban.  It included eople from all 50 states and more than 55 countries.   Tourists continue to tell us that they avoid the Central Park South area because they do not want to see the horses – it is so troubling to them.  

Every online poll done since 2006 has resulted in between 75 and 80 percent of respondents voting in favor of a ban on horse-drawn carriages in NYC. 

Our current online petition has more than 130,000 signatures on a petition in support of the Avella/Rosenthal bill to ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC.      

LIE:  There are 300 carriage drivers in this industry that will be affected by job loss. 

TRUTH:  While there are close to 300 licenses, many of those holding them are part timers or live  in other states and countries.  According to Steve Malone of the NYC Carriage Association, there are between 150 and 160 active drivers.

In addition, the drivers have turned down alternate businesses such as retrofitting their carriages (and retiring the horses) or vintage replica electric cars.  This is a tiny industry and the City of NY should stop being held hostage by a small handful of people.  Enough is enough.  Many people have lost their jobs in the last several years – ranging from municipal workers to corporate workers to those who worked in businesses affected by redevelopment and gentrification.  No one in the City Council or NYC government created a special industry for them.  Things change, businesses become obsolete.  People need to find new means of making a living -- to retrain for new opportunities.

Oreo's carriage - summer 2012

There are no arguments that are justified here to defend this abusive and dangerous trade.  It needs to stop.  The best alternative business that can happen in a relatively short period of time is retrofitting carriages such as these produced by Andres Carriages.

The electric cars do not exist, are prohibitively expensive,  and are not a realistic alternative.   Let's all (both sides) get beyond this Emperor's New Clothes saga and move on and deal with reality.  deBlasio needs to shut the industry down as promised.  The owners can either accept retrofitting their carriages or get nothing.

LIE:  Safety is a non-issue

TRUTH: Safety is a huge issue.   These horses weigh between 1500 and 2000 pounds.  As prey animals they are nervous and predictably unpredictable; can spook at the slightest provocation and cause havoc – becoming unwitting weapons – can injure or kill themselves or passerby.  Dragging a slow moving flimsy carriage through the congested traffic of NYC is a recipe for disaster.

There have been about 18 accidents in the last few years that we know about. It might well be more because the drivers are not required to report them to the NYPD; and even if the NYPD is called on the scene, they, too, are not required to write a report.  We believe that many more happen and unless something is done, it is just a matter of time before a human dies.  It has happened in other cities. 

Horse-drawn carriages should not be allowed on the streets of NYC – or in Central Park  They are a danger to themselves and innocent bystanders. 

LIE :  Since 1981 not one horse-drawn cab owner or driver has been convicted of a cruelty charge.

TRUTH:  This statement is absurd and begs the following response:

What happened before 1981 – was someone arrested for animal cruelty?  After all, the industry claims they have been in existence for 155 years. 

This is like asking people to vote for a candidate because he does not beat his wife.  Very low standards. 

As already mentioned, there is little enforcement of this trade – however there have been many violations recorded by the DCA and 311. 

Most recently, it was learned that the driver of Chris, the carriage horse who collapsed while going to work on September 26, 2013 was charged with double shifting and overcharging his customers.  Double shifting is when a driver keeps a horse working for more than the legally allowed 9 hours.  See this report.       

LIE:  The buildings in which the horses live are outfitted with high-pressure fire sprinklers, pro-actively installed and paid for by the carriage owners, in the absence of any law stating they must have them.

TRUTH:  Two previous city council bills requiring sprinklers in the stables were killed.  Because there is no law requiring sprinklers in the horse stables, it is not known if they are adequate, installed correctly,  or even if they exist. 

horse parked over steaming manhole cover 2013

Further, the stables are a firetrap.  If there were a fire on the upper floors, there would be no way for the horses to get out.  They would panic.  There is also only one means of egress in the stables. 

LIE:  Those who oppose the horse-drawn carriage trade know nothing about horses while the drivers have a lot of experience and are the experts. 

TRUTH:   One does not have to “own” horses to know that this practice is wrong.  Many people who have a lot of experience with horses are opposed to this abusive trade.  They include horse rescuers, veterinarians, horse owners and just people who have compassion for animals.  Besides so called “experience” means nothing.  Michael Vick had a lot of experience with dogs and he ended up serving time in prison for his bad actions.

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