A Life and Death Without Dignity—NYC Advocates Seek Ban on Horse Carriages

On September 19, 2006, Stefani Kruczkiewicz wrote:

How heartbreaking a story of what happened to Juliet. I can not belive that Mr. Provenzano was allowed to continue to beat Juliet and the police did nothing to stop it. This is clearly a case of animal abuse and Mr. Provenzano should be charged with cruelty to animals and the police investigated as well. How sad that this beautiful horse had to die such a horrible death. My heart goes out to Juliet and to all the horses that are abused like this and have to push the carriages in New York and elsewhere. Cruelty to animals must be stopped. Please join the ban on horse drawn carriages.

On September 19, 2006, Jan Baybusky wrote:

I live in NYC and every time I see one of these horses, I feel very sad. They are working their way through traffic, inhaling fumes, they are out there in the heat, the cold, the rain, everything. It is a shame and they should definitely be banned from the streets. It would be nice if they could be in the country, running free but I suppose that will never happen. I wonder what happens to them when they are too old or too feeble to work anymore - I shudder to think what the answer to that might be.

On September 19, 2006, Estela Blanco wrote:

I completely agree. I’m glad I’m not the only one who sees it as wrong I feel that we should do more than boycott. we should protest.

On September 19, 2006, Janine McCarron wrote:

I grew up on a horse farm my whole life (IN THE COUNTRY). When we take trips to NYC I automatically look at every horse I see passing that is pulling a carriage or standing awaiting a customer. These owners or handlers are not properly taking care of these horses feet with up to date shoes for the concrete pavement they walk on all day and night!! You can see overgrowth and splitting which increases pain throughout their hooves and legs. They get inadequate water and food for the day while out standing in crazy temperatures so these people can make a buck. Some even look malnourished when you can see their ribs. Some of the horses might even be too old to be doing anything like this. Get this out of NYC, better yet get this out of ALL CITIES. Someone needs to see the light in this matter.

On September 19, 2006, Terry Lavorino wrote:

How would Mr Provenzano like it if someone whipped him …?He should be charged with cruelty to animals. Poor Juliet how horribly she died. There should be justice for this cruel action towards his horse

On September 20, 2006, Christa wrote:

no animal should be treated badly and forced to entertain people so that someone can make money!

On September 20, 2006, Sharon Lee-Bense wrote:

Even though taking a carriage ride through the city seems very romantic, poor Juliet never had a chance. It’s too hard for the horses. They never get a chance to roam through a pasture and eat the new grass. Yes, ban the horse drawn carriages and stop the cruelty.

On September 20, 2006, Pauline wrote:

I work in Midtown NYC and I walk pass these horses everyday. Most of the time it seems like the owners love their horses…but I guess it could be a facade for people to ride their horses. This story is very sad, I was never one who believed in cruel animal labor anyway. I hope NYC passes a law to stop this or at least pass better regulations for the horses to get checked and get enough rest.

Please help these animals.

On September 20, 2006, Annamarie Porco wrote:

Thanks for that article. I too, don’t understand why horses have to be subjected to so much cruelty. As long as there are laws that don’t stop it, we are powerless.

On September 20, 2006, Evamarie wrote:

I’m glad we are finally aware of the dangers of this practice. Those horses are forced to deal with traffic, smog, hot and freezing tempetures, and the hard pavement on their hooves. What happens when one of those beautiful animals gets hit? Either by a speeding car, or a bus? If the injury is serious, they are put down.Most of them are eldery, but all of them should be out in a grassy pasture, so they can run with out having to deal with noisy traffic. I deffinitly agree that the carriages and the horses need to be put to pasture! :}

On September 20, 2006, Mary Truter wrote:

This was 1 sick horse,you people make it sound impossible that a horse can get sick! Wake up! Maybe this owner might not be the best,but he was doing what he instructed to do,and the Mounted police,didn’t see a problem or cruel act taking place.Where was the aspca? No where around to assist as usual,except issue a notice not to use the horse,probably.

[Blog editors’ note: Thanks for the “you people” advice, as that always goes over like a lead balloon. We’re working to enact a ban on horse-drawn carriages so that healthy and sick horses aren’t exploited by the carriage horse industry.

Whipping a horse is deplorable, and if that doesn’t sound like a common-sense view, then substitute yourself in the place of the horse, and suggest whether whipping would bring you to your senses. Talk about “waking up…” ]

On September 20, 2006, dave wrote:

if the horse was sick or not, it should have not been there period. if i saw that halfwit beating that horse, i would have put that whip where the sun dont shine and see how he liked it. they should ban these horse carriges all together.
replace them with rickshaws and put the pinheads that run these horses to the ground on them,people can pay to whip them for going through life being so stuppid and lazy, then maybe they will go out and get a education and a real job that actually takes brains to do.nothing worse than dressing up like an idiot to pull some lazy slob around to look at the sights. i guess its true, people will do anything for a buck, even degrade themselves at the expense of an animal.

On September 20, 2006, Myriam wrote:

I am horrified to read of this further incident involving the death of a horse in NYC. Busy and hectic NYC is the last city in the world where they should allowed these horse carriages to operate, and they should in fact be banned all over the world. I have just sent Mayor Bloomberg an e-mail to that effect. The owner of the horse should get the highest punishment for his cruelty! I hope Juliet is up there in horse heaven in a beuatiful green meadow with all the other working horses who have succombed under their unfair hard labour…

[Blog editors’ note: The Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages is planning a rally early the week of September 25, at Central Park where the horses are stationed. We’ll be updating this information on the blog, so please stay tuned.]

On September 20, 2006, Jane wrote:

Was Provenzano arrested? Why weren’t police physically able to stop him from continuing to beat Juliet? Would these police officers also stand by while a mugger was beating a human victim?

On September 20, 2006, gale wrote:

I think that Juliet died because she was over worked and under fed just so the Provenzano didn’t have get a real job so he beat and worked Julit to death. the goverment ban all hourse-drawn carriages in every city,every state in the u.s.provenzano should be charaged in animal crulty .the police officer should be also be charged for letting provenzano beat juiet with the whip she died just just to make provenzano dollar.

On September 21, 2006, yasia zinko sorbo wrote:

this article is so sad, it made me cry..I’ve leved in nyc for many years and worked right next to time warner. i would pass by these poor helpless horses very often to feel my heart breaking. every horse had the same look on her face-hoplessness. i really don’t give a crap what ignorant people say-but animals-feel, feel pain, feel happiness…these horses don’t belong there or anywhere in nyc-maybe in a specific stables (i’m talking humane). I’ve been an advocate for aspca for many years, and we’ve been trying to stop all this MESS for years, hopefully our dear mayor will finally listen. not one of God’s creatures deserves to be treated like that.. it’s sad to see so many people talk a lot and do nothing about it. SO SAD..WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO…..

On September 21, 2006, Michael Tomassi wrote:

These animals are paraded up and down crowded Avenues and Streets, with the sound of horns, city noises and distractions just to make someone feel good. Let them stay in the Park. Their hooves are not meant for city streets. C’mon. Wake up!!

On September 21, 2006, michelle wright wrote:

NO animal ANYWHERE should be used to make a human money…..GET A REAL JOB……….OR YOU PULLTHE CARRIAGE!

On September 22, 2006, denise heitmann wrote:

i agree that these horse drawn carriages should be banned.

On September 22, 2006, lizzie wrote:

I think that anyone whom hurts animals is just a monster and this issue with the horses has to stop. People have to relize that animals where put here to love them not hurt ,abuse , or make them slaves to please people. They are gifts from God. Hello people wake up and stop being so selfish thinking of only yourselfs and wanting to use horses cause you dont feel like walking in the park. Get up and walk. Stop this abuse to all animals and these horses.

On September 23, 2006, Dawn Spencer wrote:

Barbaric, mean, cruel and must be stopped.

On September 23, 2006, Laura Klein wrote:

My friend and I own 4 horses together, one being a Standardbred off the track which was later used as a carriage horse. This horse is approx. 17 yrs old and was purchased 2 months ago at a slaughter auction, 200-300lbs underweight, with his shoes inbedded in his hooves and scared to death of people, especially those with anything that possibly resembles a whip in their hands for $75. This horse is turning into a wonderful horse with alot of love and patience, a great vet, and the best farrier. Shame on those who previously owned him!!! Exploitation of these wonderful animals should be banned!!!!

On September 23, 2006, Ann wrote:

Since so many of us agree that this horse maltreatment should be stopped for all horses that have been subjected to driving carriages in the city, and as we seem to be focusing on New York City-let us all come up with possible solution/s. We could all write the Mayor and government officials of New York City. My feeling is the support would be stronger from the people. The aerial wolf killings in Alaska protesters have found a way to protest from wherever they live. Their ideas and posters are on the wolf portion of this website. Would anyone want to make a printable flier for this website that anyone could print out and post, and could include the website? A place on this website that included the names, positions, and adresses of NYC government officials would make it easy for people to send their letters of support for these carriage drawing horses that have suffered. We are the ones we have been waiting for.

On September 23, 2006, liz wrote:

Where can I go to help? Or what is being done? Any lobbyists doing anything?

On September 25, 2006, sherry wrote:

that is like the worse thing you could do to a horse they belong on a farm not in the city those crazy drivers cant even drive thats very stressfull for horses to deal with that everyday and that is animal abuse whether they know it or not

On September 27, 2006, Kelly wrote:

I have owned and expertly cared for dozens of wonderful horses over the past 40 years. I love them dearly and in no way intend to defend abusive behavior, however, there may be an element of truth to what this man said regarding his vet’s advice. As awful as it may sound, it is true that when a horse “goes down” in pain from a colic episode for example, that veterinarians do recommend whipping it to get it back up on it’s feet.This is to try to avoid the violent rolling a horse naturally will do to try to relieve the pain but that can actually cause more internal damage.This is difficult advice that I have sadly had to follow on one occasion myself. Since none of us actually witnessed what was going on, it’s hard to say exactly what the circumstances were regarding Juliet. Obviously if the mare was colicky, her owner should NOT have been working her that day!

[Blog editors’ note: A horse with colic is usually walked to help relieve anxiety and to prevent rolling, which indeed can lead to intestinal tortion. As the writer notes at the end of the comment, if this horse showed signs of sickness, then the use of this horse in the streets was inappropriate, under any standard, and so, then, was everything else that occurred, including the whipping of the horse — who did get up, yet couldn’t remain standing, who was then literally dragged away, and who, hours later, died. It’s worth observing that horses with worms or with compromised food and water supplies (such as unclean water, inadequate long stem roughage, or insufficient or spoilt food) are particularly likely to suffer from colic. It is largely a disease of domestication, manipulated breeding, and captivity. Friends of Animals’ position is that if a horse is put into a position where such a stress-provoking action is recommended for the very purpose of alleviating stress, something is wrong with this picture. Thus, we believe the outraged onlookers were right.]

On September 30, 2006, pam olsen wrote:

There is no reason that these horses should be on the congested, polluted, dangerous streets of nyc. in case some of you haven’t noticed we are not living in the 1800’s, though sometimes i wish we were.

On October 4, 2006, Joshua wrote:

If I had to pick one thing to ban from the streets of NYC, I’d pick the cars. Perhaps getting them off the the streets would make the roads safer for humans and other animals.

On October 10, 2006, Mary Truter wrote:

Mr.Provanzano,just bought a new horse,and has plenty of donations flooding thru the stable doors daily.He hasn’t made this easy cash flow in many yrs.Goes to show there is a very strong backing to support the Horse & Carriage services.Dr.’s,lawyers,and celebrities are waiting to help the stables and owners.Twice the NY Times published this owners plight,and in turn plenty of good people were more than willing to help.This yr,i heard 50 more carriages are being brought in to ease the high demand for rides this holiday season,as too many customers complained the lines were too long to get on.Another stable is being opened and more drivers are waiting to be licensed.

On December 22, 2006, Bethany Ward wrote:

Have you ever worked with a horse? It sounds to me like a bunch of people who have no idea what they are talking about.

[Blog editors’ note: Several writers and activists at Friends of Animals have owned horses in the past; at least one of us formerly trained and showed horses. Yes, we have an idea.]

On January 8, 2007, Mary Truter wrote:

As the largest carriage horse owner in nyc,we have 40 yrs expiereience with actual work horses,plus we have a key family member who worked for the NYC Mounted Police over 30 yrs.All these so called experts,proved to be bias and phony,cause there is no way a trained eye can’t see who well cared for and healthy these horses are.NYC Horses are in 8 million people’s eyes daily,they wouldn’t look this round and shiny if they got any less than 100% care and upkeep.Where are these ‘experts”,if they are,to actually ask to assist a owner rather than cast stones,as this works against the horse.When we need a equine vet asap,where are the se experts to help call,or locate a emergency vet to help at the stable or on the street if needed??

On March 12, 2007, sb wrote:

As cruel as it seems if the horse was in a colic trying to get Juliet back up on her feet by beating her - her owner was trying to save her life by getting her up and walking.

Non horse and inexperienced horse people do not understand this.

[Blog editors’ note: Obviously it was not a successful plan. One thing we all can understand: It’s not just experience and horse-peoplehood that an owner of a carriage horse has; to such a person, an animal represents money or a job.]

On April 8, 2007, Anita McGill wrote:

The editor of this website also reguards our industry to gain$$$ as well,leading the honest real animal loving people to dish out money,when it only lines the pockets of those people who careless about the animals.This editor,for sure never actually been in a stable or had any 1st hand expierience with our business.Juliet’s death,even though extremly sad,is a rare satistic in NYC,and the owner was never charged with a violation of doing anything wrong,in fact he followed his Vet’s orders exactly.The ASPCA,was extremly understanding and with team effort,consoled eachother,rememberin the good times and happiness Juliet brought to so many lives.The new replacement horse was bought from all the donations that flooded in to the owner,and named after a Westchester Dr,who helped select the Beligan Draft.

On April 23, 2007, Roz Hendrickson wrote:

FIVE OF US WENT TO NYC SUNDAY TO SEE THE PLAY “INHERIT THE WIND.” THE FIRST TIME I SAW IT WAS MORE THAN 50 YEARS AGO, BUT IT’S JUST AS RELEVANT TODAY.

THE PLAY ENDED AT 5 PM, BUT THE TRAFFIC WAS HORRENDOUS. IT TOOK US 90 MINUTES TO GO ABOUT 5-6 BLOCKS TO REACH THE LINCOLN TUNNEL. INTO THIS MISERABLE SITUATION COMES A HORSE DRAWN CARRIAGE TO SHOW TOURISTS THE SIGHTS.

#1, WHY WOULD SIGHTSEERS WANT TO BE IN ALL THAT TRAFFIC WITH ALL THOSE NOXIOUS FUMES? IN AN OPEN CARRIAGE? BUT THE POOR HORSE, TRYING TO WEAVE IN AND OUT OF THE GRIDLOCK. IF SOMEBODY’S FENDER GETS DENTED, WHO CARES. BUT THE HORSE?

THE SHEER PANIC, THE REARING OF THE HEAD, AND THE BREATHING OF ALL THOSE FUMES. THERE’S NO FURTHER DESCRIPTION I’M GOING TO GIVE…. IT RUINED A WONDERFUL DAY AND IT HAUNTS ME TO THIS MOMENT.

On May 2, 2007, Anita Gerami wrote:

What a drama queen! The NYC Mounted Police blend in as well as the carriage horses,tell me what the difference is.Horses adopt to any situation if they like doing what they are doing,some adjust,some don’t,in which they go back to the place they were purchased and resold for a different line of work.

On May 3, 2007, Lee Hall, Friends of Animals wrote:

It lends no weight to anyone’s viewpoint to insult people expressing concerns about these horses. If anything is a real drama here it’s the idea that horses just move between lines of work if they don’t like what they are doing. The very point that they are purchased and resold demonstrates the bleakness of their situations.

On May 3, 2007, Edita, Friends of Animals wrote:

Anita,

It’s disrespectful to assume that we have the right to dictate which “line of work” any animal should be indentured to.

Of more interest to those who support justice should be helping the animal exploiters - not the animals - find different lines of work.

On May 10, 2007, Anita Gerami wrote:

Edita,Horses are animals,they rely on their owners to decide what ”line of work” they do ,mostly according to their breed.Draft horses pull,Throughbreds,Standardbreds race,etc…..This is not cruel for a nimal to have a job,even pleasure horses are ”working”’. As long as the horses are well cared for and loved,is what really counts.

On May 17, 2007, Brittany wrote:

I was recently sent a brochure to ban horse drawn carriages in New York City. I can see where some people abuse their animals but most love and care for their animals. Horses enjoy working and being with people. I feel that banning is too extreme and that lesser measures should be taken to prevent possible abuse.

On May 17, 2007, Edita-NYC Campaign Coordinator-Friends of Animals wrote:

Hi Brittany,

The horses in NYC pulling those carriages right now are the ones in the extreme situation. As for your concern to focusing on “preventing possible abuse,” instead of banning the practice, FoA’s opinion is that the very existence of horse-drawn carriages is abuse-for each and every horse, and banning the practice, and allowing the horses to live out the rest of their lives with dignity is the answer.

On May 21, 2007, sarah taylor wrote:

The events leading to Juliet’s death are indeed terrible, but it should not be reason to condemn carriage horses. From what I have witnessed the life most of these horse lead is a good one. Any discipline, whether it be showing jumping, racing, rodeo, etc., has its share of tragedy that can be blamed on the actions of a cruel and/or ignorant few, but that is no reason to condemn the institution as a whole.

I pay careful attention to carriage horses whenever I see them and have NEVER seen a horse in poor condition or badly treated, whether it be in New York or Boston or Austin Texas. I have seen plenty of horses in bad shape in other places, most notably in private facilities.
My opinion has merit because of my extensive experience with horses; I own several retired racehorses, I have competed in show-jumping and eventing, I have family in the horse racing industry, and I currently live in a community (Austin Texas) where horses play a major role in everyday life.

We, horse lovers everywhere, need to concentrate all of our efforts on ending horse slaughter. You can fuss about every discipline and find some merit in doing so, but that distracts from the problem that should concern us all. Please look at the big picture!

[Blog editors’ note: And you are suggesting that no carriage horses wind up at slaughter plants? In all seriousness, can you direct us to a cemetery for such beings?]

On June 4, 2008, Kevin wrote:

As usual those of you that are crying foul are so ignorant. You know nothing about horses or what to do when they are ill. If a horse is dehydrated, or colicing (both life threatening emergencies) the first thig a horse Vet will tell you is not to let him lie down, for that could be a quick death. If there is a chance to save the animal at all, then the horse MUST be kept on it’s feet and walking if possible. Sometimes a horse must be hit, kicked, yelled at and pulled by the halter in oreder to get him/her to their feet, in order to SAVE their life. So get your heads out of your arses and learn about the subject before you open up your big mouths.