Horses Without Carriages International www.horseswithoutcarriages.org

We greatly appreciate your donations and have instituted a new procedure where they are addressed quickly. Your donations go toward expenses such as copying, new posters, this newsletter, our two websites, Google advertising, and other miscellaneous expenses. We are all volunteer and no one gets a salary. And we always contribute to equine rescues - helping actual horses is a big part of what we are about and we are happy to do it. We operate with a very small shoe string budget, which is acceptable because much of what we do - our activism, spirit and will - does not cost anything. So on that note, I would like to mention a couple of my favorite charities that you might consider donating to if you can.

Horse rescues first:

• Central New England Equine Rescue -- this is a small rescue in Massachusetts. I first got to know them in 2006 when I learned they had rescued two former carriage horses -- Lilly O'Reilly from NYC, who is honored on our web site, (www.banhdc.org) and Monty, a former Boston carriage horse. Lilly died a few years back but at least her last years were spent with love. Monty is getting on in years and continues to be CNEER's ambassador. He is best friends with Teddy, who is also a rescued former Boston carriage horse and boards at CNEER, since he now has a loving family of his own. The people who run CNEER are the kindest, most loving and caring people and I am so happy to know them.
• Equine Advocates -- run by Susan Wager, a long time friend and horse advocate and expert. This is truly heaven on earth for equines and includes - besides up to 80 equines rescued from all kinds of bad situations - a few grumpy Llamas and a bunch of adorable donkeys. EA is also the home of Bobby II Freedom, the former NYC carriage horse we rescued together. Bobby is quite the star now. It is expensive to care for all of these horses and EA is a wonderful, responsible charity if you love horses
• Catskill Animal Sanctuary - another heaven on earth for all sorts of animals - they have many horses, pigs, goats, sheep - you name it. Run by president, Kathy Stevens - another kind person who has also written some inspiring books about the sanctuary
• Woodstock Animal Sanctuary - I have not had a chance to get there in several years but I want to put in a plug for all the good work they do helping animals. I recall a bunch of rescued turkeys who gobbled in unison every time someone's cell phone went off.
• Animal Concerns Puerto Rico -- I know they are not horses -- but the pussy cats of PR need help. Glen Venezio is doing this by himself. His organization is not incorporated yet but he is the real deal. He is the guy who works with Jane Velez Mitchell helping her get animal stories together for her TV show. He helped with the show on NYC carriage horses that Jane did several months ago. Check this out on Facebook. Click Here.

Please write a letter to the editor. It is done through their web site by clicking here. You may also leave a comment on the blog -- or do both. Senator Avella had the guts to stand up to the industry and Council leadership by originally introducing the bill to ban the cruel business in 2007. Now he has introduced it in the State legislature.

Picture was taken on 12/24/11 in Central Park off 6th Avenue. The only working water trough is to the right. I was there for quite a while. About 1/3 of the carriages stopped to give their horses water. Most - as these carriages did - just passed by.

The bill to ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC is S5013 in the NYS Senate and A7748 in the NYS Assembly. It is referred to as the bill that PROHIBITS THE OPERATION OF HORSE DRAWN CABS IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK.

• IN ADDITION TO SIGNING THE PETITION - PLEASE CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVES.
• Senate - Click here for the Senate site; find your Senator and call the district/local office.
• Assembly - Click here for the Assembly site; find your Assemblymember and call the district office
• Everyone has one Senator and one Assemblymember representing them.

We are selling Horse Tags to help us raise some needed funds and to remember Charlie. It reads

• CHARLIE
• 10-23-11 R.I.P.
• NEW YORK CITY
• CARRIAGE HORSE
• WWW.BANHDC.ORG

"I looked up in my rear-view mirror and saw the police coming down the street two wide, sirens blaring," Henson said. "I looked in front of them and there was horse carriage coming down as well, and it was running at full speed. I saw it coming down on me and was hoping it would go around. Well, at the last minute, I realized it had decided it was going to try and go between me and the postal truck next to me. The horse made it in between but the carriage didn't. It got hung up; the police turned off their sirens; the horse calmed down; and they got it out of here and here we are." A mounted police officer subdued and corralled the horse, Horn said. The carriage, which police at the scene said was from Hemingway Carriages, was damaged. Police don't know how many city blocks the horse ran down before being stopped. No charges have been filed, Horn said. The driver of the carriage wouldn't comment at the scene.

Our official Facebook page is No Walk in the Park. It is an open page and we invite you to "Like" us. We generally post news there as it comes in. We have another page called Horses Without Carriages International, which is tied in with our international coalition

You will help to make a difference for these horses. The media learned of six of the last seven accidents from us - the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages. And we learned about it from you!! It makes sense that the DoH and ASPCA know about more -- we have requested this information from both the ASPCA and the DoH and we are still waiting. The public has a right to know just how unsafe and inhumane this industry is. (picture is of ASPCA car parked off 6th Avenue in the park on 12/24. The driver never got out of his warm car. There was no way he was able to monitor the carriage drivers. Outrageous.)

A couple of years ago, both the ASPCA and Edison Properties (NY Class) donated water to fill up the empty troughs. Why have they discontinued this? It is shameful. Horses need water even more in the winter months. I have reached out to both organizations and have been ignored. One trough is not enough.

ALSO - Please call 311 and complain. Do not let them tell you to call the ASPCA. This is the trough closer to Fifth Avenue.

On I-Give - the name of our organization is "The Coalition for NYC Animals, Inc. ." We also have three stores on Cafe Press with great t-shirts, bags, hats, mugs, mouse pads, etc. . Purchasing this merchandise helps our organization. Click here.