When I first went to see the New York Carriage Horses in the winter of 2014, I went to Central Park and walked into the middle of one of the weekly animal rights demonstrations against the horses. The demonstrators were lined up and waving placards and shouting slogans – “Is Cruelty On Your Sightseeing List?,”  “Pity The Poor Horses,” and handing out pamphlets: “Considering A Carriage Horse Ride? 8 Things You Need To Know.” They seemed to be  targeting tourists, and especially  the children who were mesmerized by the horses.

I went up to one of the demonstrators and waited for her to stop shouting.

I asked for one of the pamphlets and read it there. It was a significant moment for me, because that was the moment I came to understand that these people knew absolutely nothing about horses and more troubling, that they seemed to be almost knowingly  lying about them.

There were eight points on the pamphlet. Number one said “The stalls in many of the stables are so small that the horses cannot adequately lie down in order to properly rest and sleep.” In subsequent visits I went to see the stables. I read the reports of a dozen city officials and veterinarians. Every single report said the the horses had room to lie down, turn around and sleep. And that, of course, is obvious to anyone who goes there to see.

Number Two said that the horses must navigate “nose-to-tailgate in heavy traffic in Manhattan. Constant inhaliing of vehicular exhaust can lead to respiratory disease.” In fact, I knew by then, the horses are in Manhattan traffic for very few minutes. Most of the day, they are either in the park, or in their stables resting and eating. I went through five years of veterinary records maintained by the New York City Department of Health and six different equine veterinary examinations.

There was no record in the last five years (previous years were not available) of a single case of respiratory disease in a carriage horse in New York City. The horses breathe the very same air as New York City residents, joggers, bicyclists, pedestrians and motorists.

Point Number Three cautioned that even though the horses cannot work in temperatures below 18 degrees or above 90 degrees, this does not account for “wind chill factors, snow, rain or heat indexes.” I asked the demonstrator handing out the pamphlets where the horses ought to be, if not in the stables. In the wild, she said, in nature. But, I said, there are no temperature restrictions for  horses in the wild, they have to navigate terrain and look for food in all temperatures, including wind chill factors, and rain and heat indexes, whatever they are. She did not reply to the question, she said the carriage drivers were like Nazi’s, they were bent on exterminating the horses in the city.

Point Number Five, which two demonstrators were reading to three children bringing carrots to the horses: “The horses are a danger to people. Horses by nature are very sensitive to loud sounds and sudden movements..Tourists, carriage drivers and vehicle drivers have been seriously injured in these accidents.” In 150 years, no human being has ever been killed by a New York Carriage Horse. Nearly three hundred people were killed in motor vehicle accidents in New York City last year alone, 16,000 injured. There have been a half-dozen accidents involving vehicles and carriage horses in three decades and millions of rides. Further, these horses walk to and from their stables every day, they rarely spook, biologist Jared Diamond says they are the most “domesticable” animals in the world, in part because they are so calm and grounded.

Point Number Five: “The horses are not put out to pasture daily, which is necessary for their psysiologic (sic) and psychological well being. That, in and of itself, is abusive.” But draft horses have lived in stables, in cities and on farms,  for thousands of years, there is absolutely no evidence of any kind that they suffer physically or emotionally from being fed fresh hay in their stables. The hay is essentially what they would eat out in pasture, only better, it is minus the many unhealthy things weeds, rich grass, poison mushroom and flowers – that they might eat in pasture. In fact, a recent study by  Western University  conducted cortisol tests and found that the horse’s stress levels were higher when they were brought out to pasture – they get five weeks of vacation a year by law – than when they are eating in the stables.

Point Number Six: “Walking on hard pavement coupled with pulling heavy weight all day produces stress on the joints of the horses and many horses become lame as a result.” According to the city’s health department, which monitor’s the horses, there were two cases of lame carriage horses reported in the past year. One horse had thrush, a foot infection, the other had a twisted ankle. Veterinarians who regularly inspect the horses have found the horses to be healthy in their joints and legs. There are not “many” cases of lameness, there are hardly any. The horses walk on asphalt, not concrete and pulling light carriages is not consider heavy work by anyone who knows anything about horses.

Point Number Seven: “The horses do not have access to shade, shelter or clean water  while waiting for customers at the hack line and are often forced to stand in puddles of dirty water.” As I read this, I turned to look at the carriages, every one of which had a buck of oats, many had buckets of fresh water hanging below the carriages. There are fresh water fountains for the horses at several locations in the park, the horses are given water before they come to work, after they get home. In most states, farmers are required to give their animals potable water twice a day, no state requires animals like horses to be given water all day long. There are times when the horses are standing in sun, most often they are in shade, the sun blocked by the tall skyscrapers that surround the park. Horses in nature spend many hours in the sun. It is not cruel for an animal to be in the sun.  No horse in the modern history of the carriage trade is known to have gotten sick or perished from dehydration.

Point Number Eight: “When horses are  no longer able to make money for the owners and the drivers, many are sent to the auction block and slaughtered for use in pet food and meat consumption.” There are no precise records or figures for retired carriage horses. Some to go Blue Star Equiculture and other draft horse rescue and retirement homes. Some go to private farms owned by people in the carriage trade. Some go to auction. Animals are never guaranteed perfect lives, very few carriage drivers or owners have the resources to feed draft horses for decades once they can’t work. Almost all of the carriage horses are themselves rescue horses, purchased at “kill” or slaughterhouse auctions. For however long they work, they almost all have far better lives than they have known or would have. And if the horses are banned, it is a certainty that many will be put down, according to the New York State Associate Of Veterinary Medical Practitioners.

We have lost perspective when it comes to keeping animals in our world. We cannot promise them better lives than we can give ourselves, we cannot give them lives so  unrealistic that no one can afford to keep them.

So this was an important exchange for me. First, I was shocked that these pamphlets were being forced on tourists and frightened children. I can’t imagine the city tolerating such harassment for hot dog vendors or restaurants, why is it okay for the carriage drives to be harassed so cruelly?

Then, I was taken aback once more by my realization that these accusations were all false, this is an unnecessary controversy, it is profoundly ignorant of the most basic understanding of horses, their temperament, their needs and health. The campaign against the horses is a rotten one, built on a foundation of falsehoods and projections of victimization and vulnerability.  It abuses people regularly, the horses do not seem to be abused at all. I am not shocked any longer when I hear the statements of the people claiming to speak for the horses. Truth is simply not a relevant factor for many of them.

It is disappointing to me that the mayor of our largest city would accept so many lies and falsehoods and refuse to meet with his own citizens as he seeks to destroy their work and way of life.

I asked one of the mothers standing at the park that day how she felt about the effort of the mayor the people screaming at her to ban the horses. She said she turned off her son’s computer games and computers that day and said they were taking a trip, from the Bronx to Manhattan to see the horses.

“I don’t care what these people say across the street,” she says, “if they get rid of these beautiful  horses” – she smiled at the sight of her sons giving them carrots – ” my children will never seen a horse again in their lives.”

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If you are so inclined, please consider writing the mayor of New York City and asking him to reconsider the ban on the carriage horses. Since he is offering himself as the leader of the progressive political movement in America, please remind him it is not progressive to put hundreds of innocent people out of work without cause or due process, and 200 carriage horses at risk. Mayor Bill deBlasio, New York City Hall, City Hall Park, New York, New York, 10007. This campaign is  unjust and unfounded.