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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 ** demand investigation of carriage accident - sign petition ** Decision - Committee on Open Government ** What to do if you see an accident ** Dec. 4th demo** Legal help sought ** Blinders
DEMAND INVESTIGATION INTO NYC CARRIAGE HORSE ACCIDENT
Sign petition at Change.org
When New York City Buses and Carriage Horses Collide -- November 16, 2010 - Stephanie Feldstein -- On November 3rd, a New York City bus hit a horse during rush hour. The carriage horse was grazed by the bus on 7th Avenue, at around 54th street, at 5:30 p.m. A witness says the horse "was spooked and evidently frightened out of his/her wits." Who wouldn't be after colliding with a bus, especially if you were wearing blinders and couldn't see it coming?
In New York City, the horses aren't the only ones wearing blinders.
What business does a horse have being in the middle of Manhattan rush hour? Ethically, none. The horse-drawn carriage industry is desperately clinging to a notion of "nostalgia" in a city that's long past the era when animals and vehicles could share the road. In the past four years, at least six people have been hospitalized and three horses have died from carriage incidents in the city.
The horse also had no business being there from a legal perspective. Elizabeth Forel of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages says the law is very clear on this: horse-drawn carriages are not allowed between 57th St. and 42nd St., and between 7th and 9th avenues before 11:30 p.m., regardless of whether or not they have a passenger.
The Gothamist reports that witness Merry Orling said the driver "did not even bother to check the condition of his horse, nor did he offer any comfort to the animal, who looked much worse for wear."
It seems that no one else has checked up on the horse either. The bus driver, who was at least on a street where he was supposed to be driving, was suspended for not reporting the accident. The carriage driver, on the other hand, has ridden off into the sunset. None of the relevant agencies appear to be looking into the incident, and some of them don't even seem to know that it happened.
The problem is that the carriage horse industry holds the reins in New York City. Earlier this year, when the New York City Council had the opportunity to end the industry and retire the horses, they voted instead to give the carriage drivers a raise. The modest provisions related to the horses themselves, like cutting back on their sweatshop work hours, were touted by Council Speaker Christine Quinn as a "huge step forward."
I'm not even sure I'd call it a small limp forward, especially considering that previously existing laws - like restrictions on taking a horse into Midtown - aren't enforced.
Tell the Department of Consumer Affairs to investigate this accident and punish the driver to the full extent of the law. Every day those horses are driven into the city, it's putting public (and horse) safety at risk; the carriage industry needs to be held accountable. SIGN PETITION - CLICK HERE. *Editor's Note: The daily work hours of the horses were not changed by Intro 35A, the carriage horse industry bill. The only new provisions for the horses were a minimum of five weeks vacation, age restrictions and slight modifications to stable size. The key point of this bill was giving the drivers a raise.
OUT OF THE DARKNESS
and into the light ....
The State of New York Department of State Committee on Open Government has just issued an official opinion regarding the Rental Horse Licensing & Protection Advisory Board, which was set up only a few years ago by the Department of Health although the requirement had been in the law for many years. The position of the Department of Health had been that this board did not constitute a public body so was not subject to the Open Meetings Law or the Freedom of Information Law.
The official opinion, dated November 15th and written by Executive Director Robert Freeman, is extensive but this sentence sums it up: "Based on those provisions, I believe the Board constitutes a "public body" and falls within the scope of the Open Meetings Law. "
A second comment said "FOIL is applicable to all agency records, and section 86(4) defines the term "record" to mean "any information kept, held, filed, produced or reproduced by, with or for an agency..." Because the Advisory Board prepares or acquires records "for" an agency, the Department of Health, I believe that all such materials would constitute "agency records" that fall within the scope of FOIL."
WHAT YOU CAN DO IF YOU SEE AN ACCIDENT
or anything questionable
Please take pictures of the incident. This should include a picture of the carriage, horse, driver and anything else that was involved. If possible, note the 4-digit engraved number on the left front hoof of the horse. Note the license plate number on the back of the carriage. If you do not have a camera, record descriptions. Note the exact location and time. This is very important.
Please contact us first. This is also very important. Depending on what it is, we can try to get media attention and contact the appropriate authorities and the City Council. Our e-mail is coalition@banhdc.org. If you just contact the ASPCA, the complaint may disappear. WE want to rid NYC of the horse-drawn carriage trade in NYC, not enable them. Any thing you can do to move that along will be much appreciated.
DECEMBER 4TH DEMO
Horses Without Carriages International
Please join us on Saturday, December 4th to protest the existence of horse-drawn carriages in NYC. Our focus will be on all the horses who disappear off the Department of Health rolls each year and most likely go to auction and then slaughter. We will mourn all the horses who have disappeared and died...and we will celebrate Bobby II Freedom, the NYC carriage horse we rescued from the slaughter auctions and is currently living at Equine Advocates Sanctuary.
- When: Saturday, December 4, 2010
- Time: 1:00 to 3:00 PM
- Where: Central Park South and Fifth Avenue - north/west corner
LEGAL RESEARCH NEEDED
We are looking for a lawyer or law student to do some legal research. This is a relatively small project but would require access to legal search engines. If you are interested, please contact me at coalition@banhdc.org
BLINDERS
why do horses wear them?
Blinders are a piece of horse tack, attached to the bridle, that restrict the horse's vision to the rear and side.
They are commonly seen on carriage horses to keep them from being distracted or spooked. Horses are by nature nervous, prey animals and the danger of a 1,200 to 2,000 pound horse spooking - (getting scared out of their minds and going nuts) on city streets is always there. Of course, this begs the question. "if horses are so susceptible to spooking and bolting then why do the authorities allow them in the most crowded parts of the city? Don't they become unwitting weapons?" Answer: Money and political pressure trumps public safety.
The picture here is of a typical horse wearing blinders.
HORSE WITH TAPED BLINDERS
business as usual for this poor horse slave
In September, we reported this horse to the ASPCA. Notice how his blinders are taped so it is difficult for him to see other than straight ahead. They are even worse than the more common blinders shown in the photo above. The owner of the horse was reprimanded and told to discontinue this practice. Someone told us recently that "the driver had the tape pulled in so far I really don't think the horse could see at all. I said to the driver on Saturday "You aren't supposed to put tape on the blinders." And he said "Says who?". "
Here it is two months later and nothing has changed. This is an industry that does what it wants and is out of control. Imagine how that horse must feel. Anything but free. He is not only confined between the shafts of his carriage legally up to nine hours a day, with no opportunity to move freely, but he also wears a check rein to prevent him from lowering his head and then he wears blinders to prevent him from seeing other than straight ahead. In some cities like Vienna, the horses actually wear ear plugs.
JOIN US ON FACE BOOK & SIGN ONLINE PETITION
See our Facebook page called No Walk in the Park. And while you are there, please join another anti carriage horse page by a colleague called 212HorsePower
"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.
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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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