7- 67/26 July 21, 2013
 
 

logo for e-letter on black


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 FRIENDS AND COLLEAGUES ** Save the date for our fund raiser ** Next demo ** Monty - RIP ** our on going ad campaign ** Support Bill DeBlasio ** NYC Mayoral race ** NYS Avella/Rosenthal bill - take action

HOLD THE DATES
1 demo & 1 fund raiser party
Save the date Please hold these dates - because we would love to have you support us and the horses. The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages will hold a fund raising party on Monday evening, September 9th - the night before the primaries. It will also serve as a "get out the vote" event. We are getting closer to releasing more details - so please be patient.

We have one more educational demo coming up this month. (August will follow) Please join the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages and speak out for the horses as we educate tourists about this inhumane and dangerous business:

  • WHEN: Saturday July 27th - 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm
  • WHERE: north/west corner of Central Park South & Fifth Avenue - at the hack line.

PRECIOUS MONTY - RIP - JULY 20, 2013
rescued former Boston carriage horses passes away
Monty My heart is broken. Yesterday I learned that one of the sweetest horses in the world passed away. This was Monty - official name Ambassador Montague - as he was just that at Central New England Equine Rescue where he lived. Monty was about 28 and in recent years had slowed down considerably, giving his caregivers a few scares ever the last couple of months. But yesterday was time. What a sad day. Our sincerest thoughts and sympathies go out to Vicky, Cheryl, angel Sibsie and Sarah and everyone at CNEER for their huge loss. Special thoughts go to Teddy, Sarah's boy and Monty's BFF. They share the same rotten history of working in the Boston carriage trade -- and then being rescued and living at CNEER.

Monty and Sibsie are credited with connecting us to CNEER and a better, more loving and conscientious rescue would be hard to find. Starting with e-mail conversations, I was fortunate to have visited several times over the years - but never enough since they are four hours away by car. My first trip to CNEER in 2006 was to their picnic. I recall seeing Monty from a distance as we drove up. Wow! a huge white magical horse like I had never seen before. Monty greeted us and poked around to see if we had anything to eat. I threw my bags on the ground and forgot about them. Later when I went to remove an apple, i found that, while it was still in the bag, it had a huge bite taken out of it. Hmmm - now how did that happen. Monty, hanging around near by looked sheepish. So I gave him the rest. I will cherish all the time I spent with that boy - it was never enough . We last visited this past January and hoped to visit again after this hot summer. It was not to be.

Please read Monty's story by Vicky Berry of Central New England Equine Rescue - followed by comments by Cheryl Syriac who became Monty's "mom." For those on Facebook, please see our Monty album and other tributes.. One thing for sure, we can all be happy in knowing that Monty did not die on the street - or in a small stall somewhere unloved - but instead lived a terrific life at CNEER since 2006. This is a comment Cheryl made on Facebook Tuesday July 16th : Great day spent at the farm. Gave my wonderful friend Monty a nice bath. He was so sparkling he was blinding Sarah & I with his beauty........until we turned our backs and he rolled in the dirt, right after putting him back in the side field. He had the nerve to pose right by the fence making sure we saw the dirt covering the whole side of him and I think he was actually looking for a treat. He's lucky he's so darn cute!!!

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Ny Post - July 18, 2013
This letter was in response to a very biased piece in the NY Post. The Issue: The mayoral candidates' stances on a carriage-horse ban, and whether it should be a top issue. *** If Nicole Gelinas really thinks "the horses are a non-issue," she should come out from behind City Council Speaker Christine Quinn and educate herself not only about horse care, but about the will of the people ("When the Candidates Say 'Neigh,'" PostOpinion, July 15). Many New Yorkers want them gone. It seems she is the one who "can't be bothered to learn the facts before taking a position," as she said about the mayoral candidates. Every reason Gelinas gives for keeping them reeks of ignorance, duplicity and bad politics. Ask anyone who knows anything about these animals and they can give you 30 minutes on how this life violates them, causes them great pain and eventually breaks them. If their lives are so healthy, let Gelinas explain why horses disappear each year without a trace. Some people believe that these horses are sold illegally to kill farms for their meat. The carriage-horse trade is a disgrace, and so is Gelinas. Andrea Basile, Manhattan

OUR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN CONTINUES THANKS TO YOU
Ban horse-drawn carriages
disappear Our advertising campaign continues thanks to all of you very generous and kind people who want to be part of history and help to ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC. It is so appreciated. This is our new ad pictured here. It calls attention to the fact that many horses pass through the carriage trade in NYC and the drivers have no accountability for their fate. For more information, please visit our web site -- read the article - Where do all the Carriage Horses go and our 21 page report, well documented, on this subject. And read how the Department of Health suggested changes about horse disposition in 2010, but rescinded them. .

PLEASE DONATE TO BILL DEBLASIO
mayoral campaign
As many of you know, the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages, which started the ban campaign in 2006, is all volunteer. We survive on our smarts and energy. We do not take any money for ourselves. Our expenses - such as flyers, this newsletter, filing fees, are not great. But this year, we received donations to allow us to do a respectable advertising campaign in local newspapers. We will continue through the election Primary and have a "surprise" in store for December. But we are not asking for donations anymore. Our pot is full and we do not want to be greedy.

Please consider making a donation to the mayoral campaign of Bill deBlasio. If you send a donation - check or credit card - please let them know it is because of his stand on shutting down the inhumane and unsafe carriage horse trade. This is a link to his web site. Click Here.

WHAT'S NEW IN THE NYC MAYORAL RACE?
please volunteer for Bill DeBlasio
monty and teddy Every week, we address the most important media coverage in the NYC mayoral race. To see past newsletters, please check out our archives - click here. We are going to do it a little differently now because sometimes it is hard deciding which articles to link on this page. We strongly suggest you go on Facebook and "like" the page Defeat Christine Quinn. You will get the most up to date information. The polls are going up and down and it is difficult at this time to get a good sense of what will happen. Some say that it will not be until the official debates begin - that now Quinn and Weiner are leading in the polls because of name recognition and celebrity.

  • It is very clear to us who the best person for the job is and we support BILL DEBLASIO.
  • Please volunteer for his campaign by contacting his campaign office
    • We like Bill. He is smart, compassionate and cares about people and animals. How unusual.
  • Bill understands the issue with the carriage horse trade. He knows that the "electric cars" are too expensive and will not happen - that they will drag on a resolution to this problem for many more years. He has promised to shut down the business and essentially release the horses from bondage.
(photo of Monty and his BFF Teddy.)

BILL TO BAN HORSE-DRAWN CARRIAGES IN NYS LEGISLATURE
Please make calls - Bill Numbers: S667 and A997 + Sign the petition
The only bill to support in the campaign to ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC is the Avella/Rosenthal bill in the State Legislature. It is a pure ban. There are no strings attached. This is a link to a petition we have on change. org. Please sign it if you have not done so already.

You can read the legislation by clicking on the bill numbers, S667 and A997 . Text in CAPS is new. Text with a strike through is deleted.

WHAT YOU CAN DO
to support S667 and A997 - The horses need your help!
Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to make calls and write e-mails to state legislators. If you have not yet done this, please do it now. It does not have to be done at one time. The horses need your help.

All of the information we previously published on our newsletter is now on our web site under What You Can Do. Please read it and take action.

PLEASE JOIN US ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS
Facebook, Twitter, Youtube, Google Blog & Flickr

HELP OUR ORGANIZATION BY SHOPPING ON LINE
Also check out Cafe Press to purchase CBHDC merchandise
igive Through a free registration with iGive, when you buy merchandise on line, your purchase will help us. There are over 700 stores that include such popular ones as Amazon.com, Staples, Best Buy and Barnes & Noble. Even Cafe Press is available if you purchase some of our merchandise. Click here to get started.

On iGive - 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.

"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.