The horse and carriage rides surrounding New York City's Central Park are a familiar sight to native New Yorkers as well as a unique experience for the city's tourists. The hustle and bustle surrounding the park, however, has caused injury and even the death of two of these horses over the past two years.
Although the horses have become fairly accustomed to the normal sounds produced by cars, trucks and buses, they appear to be particularly sensitive to the noise produced by the street performers who regularly position themselves in front of the statue of Civil War General, William Sherman. Over the past two years, the drums used in these performances have startled the animals, causing injury to, and resulting in the deaths of two of the carriage horses. The most recent incident occurred last week, when a mare broke loose from the carriage she was pulling after being frightened by the sound of the drums. The animal died after galloping along Central Park South for almost an entire block before colliding with a tree. Frightened by the mare's reaction to the music, another horse ran into traffic, causing his carriage to crash into a motor vehicle.
The New York City Comptroller has recently completed an audit of the carriage horse industry and concluded that the animals are not provided with enough water or shade while they are working. In addition, the report found that the industry should be regulated more closely by city authorities. The Horse & Carriage Association wants the city to prohibit musicians from performing in the area and to install more water spigots for the horses.
Horse carriages are as much a part of New York City as skyscrapers, theatres, taxis, and subways. The animals who pull the carriages, however, are not made of concrete or metal. These beautiful creatures are entitled to be protected from any element in their environment which may cause them harm or result in their inflicting harm upon themselves. They should be permitted to work under humane conditions by being provided ample water and other comfort during harsh weather conditions.
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Sorry Panda, but removing musicians from area is hardly going to keep the horses or public safe. It is urban environments that are unsafe for horses with all that urban life comes with; sirens, vehicles, construction, unfamiliar people stupid enough to pet them while working, all these things spook horses, you suggest removing them all? A spooked horse in the country gets lost, later to be found. A spooked horse in city gets injured or killed along with people. The only answer is to remove the horses from the hellish nyc environment that the Carriage Trade insists on keeping them in, and that the Mayor and city council ignore. These parties are to blame for injuries and deaths,not the musicians.
Hi Suzy, thank you for being my first comment ^_^. I should have made it clearer in my article, the author of the newspaper article that I was commenting on said that performers should be removed from the area. I do agree that horses should never be in an urban environment. But I do feel that removing the performers is like "a drop in the bucket". Thank you again for being my first comment ^_^.
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