Not horseracing but…
Deniz, a 16-year-old enslaved in the NYC carriage-horse industry, collapsed and died while “working” in Central Park Tuesday. He is the second NYC carriage horse to suffer that fate in less than a year (Lady, 15, collapsed and died last August).
In a CBS report, Edita Birnkrant, executive director of NYCLASS, a NYC nonprofit that has been laser-focused on this vile industry since 2008, said:
“This is a nightmare. Our message to Speaker Julie Menin and the City Council and the mayor is, we have got to pass Ryder’s Law this year. We have another horse that dropped dead in an agonizing death. We’ve had six violent incidents.” (“Ryder’s Law” is a bill that would ban horse-drawn carriages in NYC.)
A spokesperson for the union that represents the drivers countered: “It’s not true. You know, these horses are literally strolling in the park. This is an easy job for horses.”
“Strolling in the park,” “an easy job for horses” – how do these people sleep at night?
Then this from Deniz’s owner/driver: “I really feel like I lost someone in the family.” Sound familiar? Speaking of which, many of the same cruelties that exist in horseracing are present here as well: unremitting confinement, negation of all natural instincts and desires, unnatural stressors (in this case, sirens, exhaust, asphalt), etc. In short, evil.
This economy sucks *** so bad ….I worry they will be even more SICK and disgusting and EVIL to the horses. Shut this whole EVIL shitshow down….and make these losers get a REAL job.
Thank you, Teresa. I don’t think it would be that much of a stretch to have electric cars modeled after Jay Leno’s 1909 vintage electric car that was in use for wealthy people, especially women. They were referred to as horseless carriages.
I have been speaking out against using horses for these ridiculous carriage rides for years–for all of the reasons most of you have mentioned: breathing fumes, walking and standing for hours on concrete, hauling heavy loads often in extreme weather, all so people can get the feeling of “Old New York” (a fantasy, by the way). Get old-fashioned, motorized, luxury cars if people must time-tavel. Horses do not belong in the city. Full stop.
This is 2026 not 1826! Motorized transport was invented for a reason! That poor horse having to be in harness in an urban area that is hot & noisy with hundreds of people & confusion everywhere. I`m so glad you brought this up. Even Oregon`s largest city,Portland, stopped using horses for urban downtown patrols for their police dept. some years ago. This strictly tourist attraction should be banned! Have seen some of the urban stables these poor horses live in. Cramped,having to climb ramps to get to their stalls. No A/C in summer & limited heat in winter. Everything against a natural horses way of life! For a tourist attraction utilize electric vehicles instead. Old style ones.
If NYC people loved horses as much they do their Knicks this problem would have been over a long time ago. There should be a memorial every place where this has happened, just as there often is with cyclists, pedestrians, etc. so that awareness continues long after the horse paid the price.
I can’t imagine how these horses in harness hitched up to a large carriage and with humans adding to the load can endure the breathing in of carbon monoxide from motor vehicles all day long!!!!! It is horrible enough when someone lets their motor vehicle run for ten to twenty minutes just sitting in one spot and the fumes from the exhaust come inside the buildings where people live. It’s enough to make you feel like going ballistic.
I can’t imagine how someone could subject their horses to such cruelty and act like there is nothing wrong with it, as if they did nothing wrong, unless they are psychopathic and/or sociopathic.
It would take an extremely sadistic person to subject a horse to this kind of abuse of a horse and claim complete innocence. Forcing horses to stand and walk in harness hitched up to a heavy carriage that becomes heavier with a load of people on board for several hours a day and night is out of touch with what the horse needs.
The drivers of horses hitched up to carriages are supposed to follow rules and, in the case of RYDER, the rules on age of the horse were broken, not followed. Also, the person responsible for oversight of the carriage drivers and horses did not do her job and made excuses for the fact that the rules were broken, not followed. In another way to put it, you can be a complete idiot, be illerate, not have any real experience or knowledge of horses or horsemanship, and be a “licensed” carriage driver in New York City.
I would expect the whole bunch of these people to cry foul again while they are literally working horses to death.
Please see Zoe Hussain article on June 9 in the New York Post that gives more facts surrounding this story. I saw a picture of Deniz on all fours..such a sweet face and he died a horrible death. Once again everyone in view saddened and horrified but the big question is when does it cease and desist?