5-33/219- August 29, 2010
 
 

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HORSE SENSE
Periodic updates about issues and actions concerning New York City's Carriage Horses +
Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages www.banhdc.org

Horses Without Carriages International www.horseswithoutcarriages.org

PLEASE FORWARD TO LISTS, FRIENDS & COLLEAGUES ** King & Roger rescue ** Bobby II update ** Last call for a ride video ** fund raiser **

A TALE OF TWO HORSES
King first - retirement? We hope.
King RETIREMENT FOR KING- Many of you know that in early July we were fortunate to learn about a NYC carriage horse who needed to be rescued from the slaughter auctions. We reached out to Equine Advocates and they happily agreed to give him a home. We began the transaction that ended with Billy/now Bobby II coming off the trailer and rolling on the grass. A wonderful sight. Palpable horse joy as one of the journalists put it.

Not one month later I learned of another older horse named King whose license was expiring at the end of August, that it would not be renewed and that he would be sent to Pennsylvania. Coincidentally, he was owned by the same people who owned Bobby II - Maria Sulla and Sebastiano Spina. I sought them out and brokered a deal where Catskill Animal Sanctuary would take King and we would pay all expenses. Spina said he would give King to them and we talked about how and when we would pick him up. Maria Sulla actually called the NY Times just before she left for Italy and told them that she would be giving King to Catskill. The reporter at the Times planned to go to the sanctuary and do a follow up story focusing on King 's arrival.

Then Sulla went off to Sicily and was unreachable. I called Spina who said he knew nothing about it. All communication stopped. I learned that the carriage horse association interfered and told Spina not to give King to anyone associated with activists. They never had the courtesy to tell Catskill that they would not get King.

So now we learn that King and another horse named Roger were actually rescued and are living temporarily at a commercial horse farm that gives horse rides to kids and offers therapeutic riding. This is definitely not a sanctuary. However, the plan is to send them to a place called the Kaeli Kramer Foundation. "Coincidentally" the equine vet at the ASPCA is also a board member -- and we wonder if she put the kibosh on Catskill getting King. This foundation is not a true sanctuary as Catskill is -- they also offer therapeutic riding - something Catskill does not do since it puts the animals first. Still, If we had not put the spotlight on King, he surely would have gone to the auctions so we are grateful for this small miracle. We truly hope that King and Roger will not be used in therapeutic riding with bits in their mouth.

THEY NEVER GIVE HORSES TO REAL SANCTUARIES
afraid the truth will come out
It is a given that the carriage industry never gives their horses to sanctuaries. I was told that for years by people who were there before me - Holly Cheever, Peggy Parker. The owners are concerned about the bad press they expect to get if the condition of the horse is made known - could be from neglect - bad teeth, bad hooves, bad diet, worms, limps. So it would have been a miracle if the deal with Catskill had gone through. Still I hoped for the best since Maria Sulla told me that she was a "woman of her word."

But we are very happy that we at least identified King as being at risk and needing help. We called attention to him. We made it possible for King to get rescued - maybe not to our choice of sanctuaries - but our pressure made sure he did not go to the auctions. However we are very concerned that he may be used in therapeutic riding or other programs - this is a big part of this rescue. King needs a break - he is old. It is also telling that the rescue is opposed to the mustang roundups by the BLM and the horror of PMU mares -- but there is no mention of carriage horses on their web site. Compare this to Equine Advocates, which does advocate for the end of the carriage trade. See their page.

Sanctuaries like this may be fine for the rescued horse - but like the Humane Society of NY's adoption program or the program that used to exist under the late Sara Whalan at Pets Alive - they become enablers of the industry since they will never speak out about the condition of the horse -- to do so would prevent future rescue. So the rescue is certainly good for the individual horse - but not for all the horses that are left behind who continue their enslavement. I understand being between a rock and a hard place, but it is also making a deal with the devil and does nothing to shorten the days of the industry or for the horses who continue to suffer each day.

BOBBY II FREEDOM
How is our boy doing
bobby with friends Susan Wagner, president of Equine Advocates, said Bobby is a joy and everyone loves him. He is very sweet, gentle and smart. He knows his name, Bobby, and we all think that he was never called Billy. He was probably called "hey you" - or "s---head" or something equally as lovely. Bobby is still getting in touch with his true equine nature. When he first came to the sanctuary, he would stand still waiting to get tacked up as a carriage horse.

Susan originally put him in with two older horses thinking this would be a good fit. One of the horses wanted to play with Bobby and the poor boy did not know what it meant. So so sad. Said Susan - "Bobby is like so many horses at the sanctuary who come here at first not knowing how to behave like a horse. Thoroughbreds, show horses and carriage horses live around horses, but don't get to interact with them -- so it often takes months before they learn how to adjust. Bobby was so used to being under the control of people that he really was clueless about how to act, which is why we took him out of that other field. One of the horses in there wanted to play with him and he didn't know how. So he is now in a pasture where the horses are more mellow and don't make any demands on him, which is why this is a much better situation for him. PHOTO by K. Wagner / Equine Advocates.

ARTICLE ABOUT KING IN EXAMINER
please read my comment below the article
King and Roger King, the New York City carriage horse, is on to greener pastures When Elizabeth Forel heard that the license of the elderly New York City carriage horse, King, would be allowed to expire when it came up for renewal on August 31st, she was concerned. She knew that King was owned by the same operator who had sent another of its carriage horses, "Billy," to the notorious New Holland auction earlier this summer. The founder of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, Ms. Forel had been instrumental in securing Billy's safe passage from slaughter to a safe, permanent home at Equine Advocates, and she hoped that when King was released from service pulling cabs for the West Side Livery, he'd be able to go to a peaceful retirement, rather than find himself in harm's way. Certainly, King had earned it. Through her contacts, Ms. Forel had learned that the big chestnut, believed to be in his mid-20s, had been working seven days a week, without a vacation, for years. What would become of him now? She had reason to worry. Between 2008 and 2009, 94 carriage horses had vanished from the New York City Department of Health's rolls, their whereabouts unknown. By law, intra-city ownership transfers must be duly reported, but when a horse is sold or otherwise disposed of outside the city, the original owner isn't required to tell the Department anything about it. That makes it virtually impossible to trace horses who may have been dispatched to straight-to-slaughter auctions in other states or cities. CONTINUED.

There is some misinformation being disseminated about this rescue. Please read my comments to this article about what really happened.

WE ARE MOVING ON
We are thrilled that King and Roger have a new home, which is like night and day compared to their days on NYC's streets. King began to munch the grass as soon as he got out of the trailer. It must have been such a treat for him to be surrounded by all that delicious grass -- like a candy store. And of course, we are just delighted that Bobby II is at Equine Advocates with Susan Wagner whose work I respect greatly.

It was a fluke that we were faced with two horses - Bobby and King - who needed help -- all within one month's time. That Roger was thrown into the mix was even better. So now, the focus goes back to our activism. Goodnight Bobby. Goodnight King. Goodnight Roger. Happy trails. Your rescue makes what we do all worth it.

LAST CALL FOR A RIDE
youtube video from HorsesInNYC
"On Aug 20th, carriage drivers, mainly from West Side Livery Stables, blatantly ignored the ASPCA's suspension of the hack line since the weather was 90�F. These drivers shouted "last call for a ride, going home" even as several drivers, returning to the stables, informed them of the suspension. As you can see in the video -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoAFn7dWwtE -- , the drivers claimed ignorance of the temperature as their excuse for working the horses illegally in 90�F and above weather. Yet in this video, they are informed by the ASPCA and other drivers of the suspension and yet refused to return to the stables and continue to take passengers. They even gave a couple a discount to ride the carriage before they were caught. The tragic part is how the City refuses to hold this industry accountable and how this industry continues to break laws and abuse the horses."

HOLD THE DATE FOR OUR FUNDRAISER
Monday evening October 4, 2010
We are planning a fund raiser party to benefit the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages on Monday, October 4, 2010 in the evening. Please save the date. More details to follow. Promise: a good time!

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"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead.

Thank you for caring about the horses, Elizabeth Forel - Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages - a standing committee of The Coalition for New York City Animals, Inc.

Please DONATE to our campaign to ban the inhumane and unsafe carriage horse industry.

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