Retirement

NYC carriage horses are permitted to work until age 26, but their retirement age varies from horse to horse, so some retire from NYC carriage work earlier. As the horses are personally owned by the carriage owners and drivers who develop a close bond with their partner, each retirement home is carefully selected to reduce the risk of their horse winding up in a less than ideal situation. Typically the horses retire to private family homes and private farms. It isn't common to find them on sanctuaries, as those spots are typically reserved for horses in need of rescue and not horses retiring in good health, like most NYC carriage horses. While it would be quite difficult to properly rehome all 200+ horses in the industry all at once, on average only a few horses retire every couple years and retirement homes are individually selected for them as the time arises.