IF ONLY THE MAYOR WOULD VISIT THE CARRIAGE STABLES ...

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

We have previously addressed the reasons why the Daily News has gone after the Mayor on this issue – and it is not their love of horses, the drivers or the industry. Click here. 

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.  

Liam Neeson in his “refined”  way said this about the Mayor:  “He should have manned up and come.[to the stable]   I’m disappointed he's not here."

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.

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:  

 The Horse   

Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences  

Horse stall size and number   

 

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:    

Kentucky Equine Research 

About Turnout

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.  

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CARRIAGE HORSE STABLES, NEGLECT AND ANIMAL CRUELTY

Note:  posted 7:30 pm 12/22/13 - Tony Salerno, manager of West Side Livery Stable,  told me that up until several months ago, the driver who was charged with animal cruelty worked for his stable but now works for Clinton Park Stable on W. 52nd St.  This is where Blondie is kept.  This is where Blondie most likely picked up thrush.  Shame on all the many drivers, owners and stable men for ignoring this horse.  
 

STABLES, NEGLECT AND ANIMAL CRUELTY

West Side Livery Stable  - small stall; nasty bedding 

The desperation and lies from the NYC carriage trade and their extremist supporters is growing out of control  – they are making up lies as they go along.   

One of the most intriguing subjects concerns the horse stables and their claim that since we have not seen them, we do not know what we are talking about and are not competent to make complaints about them.  They suggest that if Mayor-Elect deBlasio sees the stables,  he will change his mind about his intention to shut down the trade.   They are wrong and definitely delusional.

Stables totally inadequate:  It is not necessary to see the interior of the stables in the flesh to  know that they are totally inadequate:  There are four carriage horse stables in Manhattan  – all between 10^th and 12^th Avenues on the far west side  – on W. 37^th, W. 38^th, W. 48^th and W. 52^nd Streets.   They are all multi-storied stables housing stalls on upper floors. The horses access the stalls by a steep ramp.  There is only one means of egress --  in the event of a fire, it would be virtually impossible for the horses to escape.  

West Side Livery - typical

The stalls, by law, must only be 60 square feet or 6’ x 10.’  They call these box stalls because of the configuration – not size.  This is less than half what experts recommend, which is 12’x 12’  or 144 sq. ft.  for standard bred horses about 10000 to 1500 pounds – and  14” x 14”  or 196 sq. ft. for the large draft breeds who can weigh over 2,000 pounds. 

  

No pasture on which to graze:  In addition – the horses have no access to pasture turnout to graze – something horses need on a daily basis.  None whatsoever.  They work a 9 hour day,  and come back to their small sterile stall where they wait to be taken out the next day  - they do this for 7 days,  47 weeks a year.  The owners are required to send the horses for five- week furloughs every year to a “horse stable facility.”  But there is no requirement in the law that these “facilities” be approved by the ASPCA or the Department of Health or that they meet any standards.  As a result, we have heard complaints that some of the horses return from their furlough looking worse than when they left.  We have also heard they are kept in stalls and not fed properly.  But no one seems to care enough to investigate this.  

The former ASPCA equine veterinarian, Dr. Pamela Corey, is cited in the NY Post on November 2, 2011 as saying "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.

The former ASPCA equine veterinarian, Dr. Pamela Corey is cited in the NY Post on November 2,

West Side Livery 

2011   as saying “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. 

Carriage driver charged with animal cruelty:  And  now comes a new twist – a carriage driver being called out by a NYPD officer and charged with animal cruelty for allegedly working his horse with a 4-day old injury.  The driver, Saverio Colarusso,  was seen in Central Park on Wednesday, December 18^th  by Officer Brian Coll who stopped him when he saw his horse struggling with the weight of the carriage.  The NYTimes broke the story on Friday, December 20th.  

The spokesperson for the trade is (of course) denying that this is common practice and trying to distance themselves from the diver.  But this puts a crimp in their mantra of  “The NYC carriage horses are well-cared for – as a matter of fact, there has never been a carriage horse driver cited for mistreatment, cruelty, or abuse of a carriage horse. “

We have disagreed vehemently with this statement  because we know that the regulations governing the trade are not enforced.  This driver is finally the one who slipped through the cracks thanks to a compassion and astute NYPD officer.  We also know it not to be true because of the many violations published by the Department of Consumer Affairs.

 Drivers are inclined to break the laws when no one is looking – whether overloading their carriage with too many passengers; making illegal u-turns; or ignoring a lame horse.  Hiring a platoon of officers to follow the drivers for infractions is as absurd as it would be costly.   Police officers are not familiar with the specific laws and generally look the other way – this time it was different and Officer Brian Coll is a true hero. 

The ASPCA is giving up humane law enforcement on December 31^st.  But they were rarely in Central Park so would not have seen something like this. 

Clinton Park  - dismal  - certainly not "light & airy" 

Need more impartial investigations:  We also wonder why the media is not investigating this animal cruelty incident further.  There are too many unanswered questions  - such as:  why wasn’t the owner of the horse charged with cruelty also?    It is ultimately his/her responsibility for the welfare of the horse.

Why didn’t the stable hands and other drivers notice something was wrong?   The horse is alleged to have had a 4-day old injury on his left rear leg causing him to limp. 

Why didn’t the customers notice or say anything? 

Clean and airy stalls - I don't think so:  The cruelty charge and the diagnosis of thrush also calls into question their “clean, light and airy stalls”  and the “regular vet and farrier visits.”   It is highly probably that Blondie was standing for some time in filthy urine-soaked bedding, which was ignored. 

Thrush is easily prevented by cleaning a horse’s hooves daily – before and after his shift – and keeping the stall clean and dry.    If left untreated, as this horse apparently was, it can cause lameness.  It is a glaring example of neglect.

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ROME: BASTION OF CULTURE with cruelty behind the scenes

Horse-drawn carriages in Rome are a common site. Called by the pretty name "Botticelle" - this trade is anything but. They are a vile group that does not obey the weak laws and like in many other cities, they almost get away with murder.

We recently received these photos of the interior of one of the stables. While NYC stables are bad, in comparison they look like the St. Regis. The only good thing is that the stalls appear to be on the first floor. The stall is very narrow and make shift. It is a fire trap ... and it is filthy. There is no turnout. It is hell in Rome for horses.

Also included here are pictures of the typical hack line where the drivers pick up tourists, a frightened horse; a driver using his cell phone .... in NYC, automobile drivers are not allowed to use a cell phone -- carriage drivers are exempt because they are not required to have a NYS drivers' license; a horse foaming at the mouth; typical tack on the horse; and the horrible accident in November 2008 in which Birillo was killed and left on the pavement for several hours.

TOURISTS: if you go to Rome, please spend your time going to its wonderful museums, restaurants, shopping, touring the city and its historical ruins, etc. etc. etc. But PLEASE do not take a carriage ride. If you do, you will be supporting cruelty.