What are Horses doing in Central Park?
Posted By: Jessica Leigh Prokop | April 12, 2010 | 10 comments
As an animal-lover living in New York City, I am a dedicated advocate for the ban on horse drawn carriages in Manhattan and throughout other cities worldwide. My beliefs are not based on animals not working, as I do believe in work animals; but on the inhumane treatment of such animals.
Horses need to graze and run, and not end a day of work locked in small stalls in some decrepit industrial building (see picture). The conditions of these equine warehouses are deplorable, and are completely unnecessary. I mean, try to imagine pastures and barns in Central Park designated for grazing and replenishment. Come on, think about it! If they were built on the upper end of Central Park what a tourist attraction that would be! At the very least, there are 20-30 acres available for such buildings.
Another issue raised within the carriage industry revolves around the fact that livestock should not be working along side the garbage spewed from the tailpipes of the countless vehicles on our tiny island. When a horse is at rest, its nose is literally at the same height of tailpipes. Would you want to work all day with your head that close to a tailpipe??
Sadly, there is more. Most horse drawn carriage drivers are not educated in equine maintenance or anatomy. And although I’m sure there are driverswho feel compassionately towards their animal, many are completely unaware of their mistreatment. I remember on a very hot day last summer, I saw only one driver (out of a line of around 25 horses) fill up a water bucket for their horse- but he forgot to unhook the martingale. The poor animal couldn’t put his head down low enough to get the water. In my eyes this is the equivalent of torture.
I’ve spent my whole life around horses and I’m constantly learning new care practices, so I think it’s safe to say education and instruction is a must for the drivers! As this issue is now gaining more and more momentum, it is as important as ever to speak up! We need a ban, or at the very least major reforms!
I am extremely picky with what animal and environmental advocate groups I associate myself with, as there are so many run by idiotic lunatics that give us vegetarians/vegans/animal rights advocates a bad rep (if you browse through my blog, you’ll definitely stumble across a few of my rants on these nuts), but I am 100% behind New Yorkers for Clean Liveable & Safe Streets. They propose some incredible alternatives to carriages instead of just channeling pent up angry into a ban.
Check it out, and make sure to sign their petition, as well as the petition for the ban on horse-drawn carriages. The few moments it takes could just be the tipping point in the right direction for these amazing creatures!
Also, see these links for more information on the ASPCA , the Carriage Horse Phase-Out Bill , and on how you can make a difference!
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Smidge "The Boss" April 24, 2010 at 1:02 am
Michaleen,
First and foremost, there is comment moderation on my site, strictly for censoring. There is absolutely no reason to “threaten” any linking of our blog to yours, I welcome it.
I am here to tell you that I (the owner of this entire site) appreciate what you have shown our readers. Clearly you are well versed on this topic and I acknowledge that. I personally thank you for pointing out the things that most of us are completely unaware of. I did take the time to read your blog and I highly respect your educated response. What I do not appreciate is the negative attitude in which you informed us.
Please keep in mind that most people are completely unaware of these things until someone such as yourself informs them. I welcome your input and hope my readers will read your blog to educate themselves on this matter.
I understand how dedicated and passionate you are about this subject, but next time know that responding in a positive AND informative way is a lot more effective than how you handled this.
And readers… please do read Michaleens blog… it will open your eyes to things you may not of known.
michaleen April 23, 2010 at 8:35 pm
I see you have moderation – if you decide not to print my comment, you can be sure I will print it on my blog, with a link to your blog.
michaleen April 23, 2010 at 8:34 pm
Jessica and Aaron – obviously who I am and what I said went over both your heads.
If you are going to set yourself up as some kind of authority, and then proceed to lambaste and criticize3 something, you had better be prepared for the response.
If she is going to accuse a driver of not letting down a non-existent martingale, how on earth could anything she says be worth anything.
I have been the NYC carriage business for 30 years, and nearly everything Jessica said here was either a distortion or flat out UNTRUE.
And if she is so “picky” about who she associates with, she would have researched the org that she joined, and found out that it is run by Steve Nislick, a real estate developer whose only interest in this is a landgrab for the properties the stables sit on!
Like I said before, my blog is a font of information; avail yourselves of it.
Aaron April 21, 2010 at 11:19 pm
I will say, however, I’m unhappy to read this. We just took a horse drawn carriage ride through Central Park last week and I loved it. Very romantic and our driver was very courteous and informative. He even let us pet the horse who appeared to me to be very healthy and happy. But then again I don’t know much about horses. You could tell me he needs new batteries and I really couldn’t argue with you.
Aaron April 21, 2010 at 11:15 pm
Jessica, don’t sweat it. Some people just don’t have manners nor the intelligence to learn them.
Jessica April 13, 2010 at 11:46 am
Michaleen, my apologies for my misuse of equestrian terminology. I appreciate my overlook being brought to my attention and I will fix my mistake. Unfortunately, with your offensive and abrasive attitude I have no desire to read your blog. I do not believe it is far fetch to say that many others feel the same. So really the comment you left is completely counterproductive to your cause. Also, I do believe “thanx” is actually spelled thanks and I am not sure what “Bahahahaaaa” is meant to be. Thank you.
michaleen April 13, 2010 at 4:19 am
Bahahahaaaa – yeah, you’re such an accomplished horsewoman that you don’t know what a martingale is – if you did, you’d know that there isn’t ONE on any carriage horse in NYC!
IN ADDITION, a martingale restricts the UPWARD movement of the horse’s head, not DOWN.
Thanx for the laugh, though – here’s my blog, read it and learn something!
Continuing the Discussion
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