Things to consider about the New York City carriage ban

The long-simmering controversy over horse-drawn carriages in New York City heated up again this week, as the mayor and city council president agreed on a bill to ban the carriages as of June 1, 2028. The bill was passed Thursday. (Read details in our lead story at this link.)

However, as the New York Daily News stated in an editorial Oct. 16, the bill is “an unworkable mess” for many reasons. For one thing, it dictates that the horses, even though they are private property, cannot be sold to pull carriages. The bill puts several other restrictions on what should happen to them after they stop working in New York.

It also doesn’t take into account the hundreds of thousands of dollars that carriage operators spent buying city-required medallions, just as taxi operators must do.  That’s a big investment to dissolve into nothing.

And no real provision has been made for how the horse owners/drivers, grooms and stable workers can stay off the unemployment rolls if they no skills other than what they put to use in the carriage industry.

Kieran Kelly met his fiancee, Alanna Bodman, when both were carriage drivers in the city. Kieran is still driving there, while Alanna has a horse business, Celtic Valley Carriage and Farm, on a rented property in New York’s Hudson River Valley.

Passage of the carriage ban bill is “potentially the destruction of everything we’ve spent our lives working toward,” Alanna said.

Kieran, 61, a native of Ireland, “has devoted much of his working life to New York City’s carriage horses. His medallion represents his life’s savings, decades of hard work, and an investment in a profession he loves. This isn’t just a job he can replace with something else. It’s his life’s work, his identity, and the foundation of the future we were building together,” noted Alanna.
Kieran’s work in the city, together with her modest income, was going to fund “a place where our horses could eventually retire, where we could share our knowledge and love of animals with visitors, and where we could create meaningful experiences that connected people with horses, history, art, and the natural world.”
His job is “essential to making that possible as a sustainable retirement plan for him and an ongoing business for us,” she said.
He was planning to retire Lucky, the horse he has driven for 20 years, to the farm where Alanna is based. But with the uncertainty of what will happen now, the couple is mulling the possibility of moving to Ireland — which would mean they couldn’t bring their horses along.
There has been a cascade of commentary on social media about the carriage horse situation. Sadly, many of those weighing in are clueless about horses, often suggesting that they just need to be able to run free in grassy fields (where? whose?) or be adopted by rescues that already are straining to take care of the animals for which they are responsible. The commenters all too often know nothing about horses, their care or the costs involved; most public officials in the city seem to be in that group as well.

In the morass of postings on the subject, there are good horse people like Alanna trying to educate those who have no grasp of the situation. Two experienced carriage horse owners have written particularly compelling pieces that may illuminate those who read them.

Lori Volden of Cannon Valley Percherons in Wisconsin noted, “As a lifelong horsewoman, registered Percheron breeder of 30 years, and carriage operator, it saddens me to see so much misinformation surrounding the proposed NYC carriage horse ban.

“Pulling a properly fitted carriage is not inherently abuse. Walking on pavement is not inherently abuse. Being outdoors in the sunshine is not inherently abuse. Like any horse, working horses deserve proper care, appropriate workloads and responsible owners. Address legitimate welfare concerns with enforceable standards, not blanket bans.

Lori Volden of Cannon Valley Percherons with her horses.

“These horses are privately owned, not city property, and when their owners lose their livelihoods, there is no guarantee every horse will find a suitable home. Horses are expensive to keep, and good intentions don’t pay for hay, veterinary care, farriers, and facilities.

“I know that even responsible breeders cannot control a horse’s fate once it leaves their care. I’ve seen first-hand how soundness issues can change a horse’s future, and I know that some horses ultimately end up in Canadian slaughter pipeline. Promising `adoption’ is not the same as guaranteeing a safe permanent home and a lifetime of expensive care.”

She added, “I’m also deeply concerned about the future of the draft horse breeds. I’ve watched Percheron numbers decline throughout my years in the industry. These horses need a purpose and a market to encourage people to continue breeding, training, and preserving them.

“I believe we should hold bad actors accountable, but eliminating legitimate working opportunities has consequences that extend far beyond the city streets. If this ban is truly about protecting horses, then we must consider what happens to them afterward — not just celebrate the industry we’re eliminating. I believe responsible ownership and meaningful welfare standards are a better path than assuming every horse will somehow find a perfect home.”

Tristine Slayton of Vintage Carriage in Texas, added these thoughts:

“What happens when we eliminate their purpose? Draft horses are expensive to maintain, requiring feed, hay, farriers, veterinary care, land and facilities. There is no guarantee that every horse will find a suitable retirement home or that someone will pay for its lifetime care.

Tristine Slayton

“After 30 years breeding Percherons, I’ve watched the challenges of preserving these magnificent animals first-hand. When mechanization pushed draft horses out of agriculture, their numbers plummeted. Dedicated breeders and owners helped preserve them. What happens when we once again decide they no longer have a place in modern society?

“I’m not saying every carriage operation is perfect or that animal welfare should ever take a back seat to profit or tradition. I’m saying banning an industry is not the same as solving a welfare problem. We should focus on responsible ownership, enforceable welfare standards, accountability and realistic plans for these horses’ futures.”

She pointed out, “When we remove animals from public life and eliminate the purposes that sustain their breeds, we risk losing not only the animals themselves, but also the knowledge, traditions, and human connections that have kept them alive for generations.”

And here’s an important perspective from Tristine, “The (carriage) horses may be the immediate debate, but the bigger question is this: What happens when we decide that animals no longer have a place in our modern world? It’s a conversation we need to have before we make decisions that may be impossible to reverse.”