Question 1

What types of horses work in the NYC carriage industry?

Accepted Answer

All the horses that work in the NYC carriage industry are designed for pulling work. Most of the horses are Standard Bred or various draft crosses such as Percherons, Belgians, and Clydesdales. Typically full bred draft horses are too large for the type of vis-a-vis carriages used in New York City.

Question 2

Where do the horses in the industry come from & what did they do before working in Central Park?

Accepted Answer

All of the horses in the NYC horse carriage industry have already done some type of pulling work. They are trained to acclimate to the city, but already have experience being hitched to pull something. Many of the horses come from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maryland, Vermont, North Carolina, and upstate New York. Most of the horses come from Amish communities pulling buggies or plows and some of the Standard Breds are trotters that come from the race track. Occasionally the horses are rescued from auctions where they may otherwise be purchased by someone with the intention of shipping them to slaughter.

Question 3

How often do the horses get shoes?

Accepted Answer

NYC carriage horses get hoof trimmings and new shoes every 4-6 weeks. They wear road shoes just like the police horses which have a drilltek or borium coating to prevent slipping. Their farriers are shared with the NYPD Mounted Horse unit or drive in from an Amish/Mennonite community in Pennsylvania each week. Each horse's shoe is customized for their needs and may include pads if necessary.

Question 4

How many rides do the horses do each day?

Accepted Answer

The horses are permitted to be at work a *maximum* of 9  hours which includes a minimum of 15 minutes rest per two hours of work and their commute to/from the stables/park. The weather, school closures, peak tourism season, park events, holidays, and individual schedules will impact the amount of rides the horses do over their shift. During the busier season in December the horses do the most rides each shift and some days during the slower season in January the horses may not even do any rides and are exercised without customers through a loop in the park or sent to pastures to vacation.

Question 5

Where do the horses get water?

Accepted Answer

The largest NYC horse carriage stable have automatic, unlimited water dishes in every stall. The two smaller NYC horse carriage stables have 24/7 stablemen refilling buckets in every stall with a hose.

When the horses are at work at the park there is a self-cleaning, continuous-flow water trough with heated pipes for the winter at all three horse carriage stands. The carriage industry pays someone to empty and scrub them out daily. Additionally, every carriage has a bucket for water on the go underneath it. On slow business days the carriage drivers periodically leave their stand to walk their horses over to the trough or fill their bucket from it. If ever necessary, carriage drivers are permitted to open fire hydrants to access water for their horses. The horses can drink from the Cherry Hill Fountain in Central Park as that was the fountain's original purpose, but as their water troughs are cleaned more regularly it isn't typically used.

The horses also get the option to pull into the water troughs as they pass them on every ride. In this business the saying "you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink" is very true and you will sometimes see horses that aren't thirsty being offered water or simply passing by the troughs without any interest in drinking from them. Just like you don't constantly drink water every few minutes, horses don't either. Most of the horses are satisfied with just a couple trips to the trough throughout their shift. There is nothing wrong with seeing a horse that doesn't happen to be drinking water at the moment you see them, even on a hot day. There is no reason to believe the horse is thirsty or hasn't recently had a drink.

Question 6

What do NYC carriage horses eat?

Accepted Answer

Primarily NYC carriage horses eat hay in their stalls. They're given oats/grain in a fortified pellet form or "sweet feed" mixture fed in small amounts throughout their workday for extra calories. Each horse has individual supplements mixed into their bucket depending on their needs. When they're vacationing on the pastures they are also fed hay, though they get access to grass in the appropriate seasons as well. The carrots, apples, and horse cookies they're given in-between rides are just treats and not part of their regular diet.

Question 7

How long do horses live?

Accepted Answer

Feral or "wild" horses typically live about 15 years, while horses that receive regular work and care often live into their late 20's or early 30's. While there are world records of horses in their 60's, that's very rare. NYC carriage horses are not permitted to work beyond age 26 but their retirement age varies horse to horse and some retire from their work at an earlier age.

Question 8

Do horses lay down?

Accepted Answer

While horses do sleep standing up and you may spot some napping between rides on their shift at the park, they lay down for about 30 minutes for their deep REM sleep. NYC carriage horses have box stalls that are large enough for them to lay down flat and get this deep sleep.

Question 9

Why do the horses wear blinders?

Accepted Answer

A common misconception about blinders is that they prevent horses from seeing what's around them so they don't spook, but you'll notice police horses don't typically have them. Horses can see about 340 degrees around them. Blinders allow horses to see more similarly to the way we see so they can focus on their job without being distracted. Without blinders the horses would eventually feel stressed by the carriage behind them, just peeking out of their field of view, near their predator threat zone. Blinders also help protect the horses eyes from the shafts of the carriage when they turn around.

Question 10

Can anyone drive a carriage horse in Central Park?

Accepted Answer

To drive a medallioned for-hire horse carriage in Central Park you must be a licensed carriage driver. New York City's Health Department issues a written and practical examination with an equine veterinarian on the health and care of horses, regulations of NYC, and how to safely drive and care for a horse a few times each year to receive a certificate that operates as a "learners permit." Applicants who pass their exams need at least 80 hours of driving with a licensed driver until they can be signed off to get their license and enter the probationary period leading to obtaining their horse drawn cab driver's license, which can be renewed every two years.

Question 11

Are the carriage horses being banned from NYC?

Accepted Answer

No. The carriage industry has successfully defeated every horse carriage ban bill proposal that has been introduced to the NYC City Council. The majority of New Yorkers, tourists, equine veterinarians/organizations, and unions are against doing away with this beloved industry and education into how it operates results in these types of bills failing time and time again. The biggest push behind these bill proposals comes from small but vocal animal rights extremist groups, funding from real estate developers eyeing the valuable carriage stable properties, and a few everyday people who have been mislead about the treatment of the horses, mainly due to a lack of education about the equine species and this industry's operations. If you want to help defeat the latest carriage horse ban bill, click here to send a message to NYC city council members!

Question 12

Why do the carriage horses look sad and/or tired?

Accepted Answer

A relaxed horse who is comfortable with their surroundings will lower their head, tilt their ears back, and often cock a hind leg. This is actually the sign of a "happy," contented horse who is not stressed and is at ease. Many NYC carriage horses use their time to rest between rides by taking a nap.

Question 13

Are the carriages heavy and is it difficult for the horses to pull them?

Accepted Answer

No. Horses are very strong animals, full of muscle and can pull about 6 times their weight or 3 times their weight all day. As the horses that work in the NYC horse carriage industry are typically between 1,000-2,000lbs even if they had their carriage at its maximum capacity with very large people, they still would not be pulling anything close to what they're capable of. All of the horses in the carriage industry come from a background pulling carts, carriages, or plows. They're breeds crossed or fully bred with breeds built for pulling.

The physics behind the way the wheels on the carriage work make this much easier than dragging weight. Additionally, what we refer to as "pulling" a carriage isn't actually pulling work. The horses are actually pushing into their collar/harness that propels the carriage forward and pushing is even easier than pulling. You might think of it as pushing a shopping cart full of groceries in the supermarket. Dragging that amount of weight might be difficult but with wheels on the cart it's quite easy to push forward.

Horse carriages are actually so easy to push/pull, human beings are capeable of it! In fact, every morning the stablemen and carriage drivers pull their own carriages out of the stable to get their horses hitched up to go to work in the morning. If they can do this with ease, imagine how easy it is for their horses!

Question 14

Wouldn't the horses be better off if they were "set free?"

Accepted Answer

No! Horses are domesticated animals that rely on work as part of their care and draft horses never even existed in the wild. Feral horses have about half the lifespan as horses in human care with routine work. The horses share a bond with their driver partners and enjoy their work which benefits them physically and mentally as well as provides an income for the high cost of their care. There are very few places for horses left in modern society so any horse with a job and humans to care for them are lucky.

Question 15

Is the city safe for the horses?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Horses actually built our cities so they have always been around the hustle and bustle. Unlike NYPD Mounted Unit horses, NYC carriage horses spend most of their work day inside car-free Central Park. Traffic related accidents among NYC carriage horses remain extremely rare and typically happen more frequently in rural areas where cars travel at faster speeds. Over the past 30 years the horses have taken nearly three million trips through the street and there was only ONE traffic related equine fatality, decades ago in 2006.

Question 16

Are the horses stressed in the city?

Accepted Answer

No. We can see from the horse's general behavior, body language, and overall health they aren't stressed by where they live and work. Just like people who live in cities are able to automatically "tune out" noise they hear consistently, such as sirens or honking, horses do as well. A peer-reviewed study on the horses Cortisol (stress hormone) levels also revealed that the horses weren't at all stressed working or living in the city but they were slightly stressed when they vacationed on pastures.

Question 17

Do the horses frequently spook?

Accepted Answer

No. Horses are highly adaptable animals so once they learn something is not going to harm them they have no reason to fear it. The partnership the horses develop with their human driver gives them a sense of security in unfamiliar settings. The sights and sounds of the city are just the every day to the horses who regularly work here and not something they mind being around.

Question 18

Does air pollution impact the horses?

Accepted Answer

No. The DOH suspends horse carriage operations if the AQI reaches 150. The carriage horses breathe the same air as their drivers and every other person, dog, and NYPD horse. The horses also spend most of their work day inside car-free Central Park which has even better air quality than some rural pastures running farm equipment in Pennsylvania! No equine vets have found any widespread issues with any of the horses respiratory systems.

Question 19

Are the roads tough on the horses hooves?

Accepted Answer

No, NYC carriage horses wear road shoes just like NYPD horses to protect their hooves that have drilltek or borium on the bottom to prevent slipping. Roads were actually paved with asphalt for horses, as it was rolled out before the automobile came along. It's rare for NYC carriage horses to retire with hoof or joint issues as their lightweight job is easy on them and typically carried out at a low-impact walk, with just an occasional trot.

Question 20

Do the carriage horses live in warehouses or old tenement buildings?

Accepted Answer

No. All NYC carriage horses live in stables that were originally built as stables from the time when horses were used for everything. The stables have been modernized over the years to include a sprinkler system and have standing stalls converted to box stalls.

Question 21

Are NYC carriage horses abused?

Accepted Answer

No. Not one NYC horse carriage driver has ever been convicted of animal abuse in history. The horses are very well cared for and working in a well regulated industry with accidents occurring extremely rarely. They are personally owned by their carriage drivers and carriage owners, loved, and enjoying work with their human. Carriage drivers are animal people who sought to partner with horses rather than sit at a desk job regardless of the salary.

Question 22

Why do I see the carriage horses in Central Park if it's 90°F on my phone app?

Accepted Answer

NYC carriage horses rely on the NYPD Mounted Unit's thermometer in the horse carriage stands to determine when heat suspensions go into effect rather than what you see on your phone apps as the temperature can vary up to 20 degrees in different parts of the city. When they get a reading of 90°F or higher, or a sum of 150 or greater when the humidity level is added to the temperature starting at 80°F carriage drivers receive a text message on their phone. Once they receive that text message they're given 30 minutes to complete rides in progress, rest/water their horse if necessary, and all the time they need to calmly return their horses to the stables. Horses don't teleport so it is entirely possible to see spot them outside their stables for some time after a heat suspension has gone into effect. Luckily horses don't melt and no NYC carriage horse has ever had their health negatively impacted due to heat since their heat regulations went into effect in 1989.

Question 23

What happened during a specific incident with a NYC carriage horse that I heard about somewhere?

Accepted Answer

While accidents remain rare in the NYC horse carriage industry, it is because of that that there are occasionally incidents that make the news. Our News & Politics tab and some of the industry's supporter's social media accounts attempt to keep track of specific incidents to debunk any inaccuracies or misrepresentations of events as they may be reported. For example, too many minor incidents as small as a horse taking a misstep have been misreported as a horse "collapsing."

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