See more of our coverage in your search results.
They’re being put out to pasture.
The Big Apple’s nearly 160 carriage horses could soon trade the concrete jungle for sprawling green fields and a lifetime of leisure if the city votes to ban the tourist industry Thursday.
Romanch’s Law — which the City Council pledged to pass — would free the steeds from working ever again, but stops short of laying out exactly where the horses will spend their retirement.
Such a plan for the “humane disposition of carriage horses” will only be crafted if the bill is passed as the City Council has pledged to do.
But animal advocates promise that the working steeds can look forward to a future of fun, frolicking and relaxation at sanctuaries across the country rather than spending 12 hours per day toting tourists and 2,000-pound carriages around Central Park.
“I have seen so many horses come alive in sanctuary after coming out of working careers their whole lives. They’ve always been spoken to and never heard or even asked to have an opinion,” said Allison Bowling, the executive director of Red Feather Equine Sanctuary in North Carolina.
“Watching them get to express themselves and realize that they are able to make their own decisions and choose their own friends and experience what true safety and security means — it’s really powerful and it’s extremely important.”
Red Feather is a member of The Carriage Horse Retirement Coalition, a network of equine rescues working to place the city’s roughly 160 carriage horses into retirement homes when the industry phases out in June 2028, per the proposed legislation.
Horse sanctuaries are very similar to senior living communities, Bowling explained, with opportunities abound and the freedom for the steeds to spend their days the way they like.
Some of her rescue’s 45 stallions eagerly take advantage of trail walks, pond swimming and toys, while others just want to spend the day lounging in the field with their friends.
The animals who love human touch are recruited for a learning program for at-risk high school students or do enrichment programs with professional trainers.
But none are forced to do anything they don’t want to do and are never put to work again, Bowling said.
“I have never known a horse that wants to ‘work.’ I think work is 100% a human construct. I think that there are horses who enjoy engagement and being challenged or learning new things and spending time with humans. And I think there are horses who don’t,” the advocate emphasized.
Carriage horse drivers fighting to save their jobs have claimed in recent days that their horses love the gig and have vehemently denied that the industry is abusive.
“I think if anybody argues that, then they’re truly not listening to the individual voice of the horse, because that’s just absolutely going to be further from the truth,” said Bowling.
Bowling, whose rescue is part of the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, has witnessed dozens of stallions blossom after joining their new families.
She pointed to one who was recently rescued by another sanctuary after spending its 20 years of life working as a Big Apple carriage horse and on an Amish farm.
The beast was malnourished and nearly blind, and immediately bonded with another rescued horse that now acts as his seeing-eye companion and best friend, she said.
“This horse was probably living in a very heightened state of anxiety and fear his entire life and now has the comfort of having another horse friend, a companion that keeps him safe. It’s probably the first time in his life that he’s ever felt true emotional and physical safety,” said Bowling.
The city has not yet chosen which sanctuaries the horses could be sent to — that step will only begin if the bill gets passed.
The Mamdani admin and City Council Speaker Julie Menin will develop a transition team of advocates and experts to find new homes for the horses, but some sanctuaries across the country have already offered up their stables to the soon-to-be-unemployed stallions.
If the bill passes this week, carriage owners will be required to notify the Mayor’s Office of Animal Welfare at least 10 days before transferring the horse so that the city can ensure the animal is headed somewhere safe.
Carriage owners might not get paid in exchange for their horses, however, though the city is considering establishing a program that could include cash payouts for the beasts, the bill says.
— Additional reporting by Hannah Fierick