Preventing Colic Deaths

"If owners and veterinarians could catch all serious cases of colic within three to four hours, survival rates would go way up, and we would have finally taken steps to dramatically change how many horses are saved."
Read "Detecting Pain" by Anthony Blikslager, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS (TheHorse.com, free registration required)

Colic was the presumptive cause of the death last month of the 8-year-old carriage horse Clancy. However, the industry refused to release the cause of death, forcing the ASPCA to file a Freedom of Information Act to gain access to the veterinary records.

Animal cruelty (in particular, working sick animals) is not entertainment. In the view of NYC carriage drivers, however, efforts at early detection of colic and early and aggressive veterinary care would take a horse out of the workforce and cut into the profit margin of this cash business. NYC carriage horses receive infrequent veterinary care--this doesn't give them a fighting chance against colic.

Support Intro. 658/2007, the bill to ban horse-drawn carriages. Ask your City Council member to co-sponsor this important bill. Take Action Now

Clearing the Air

New York City carriage horses lead a true nose-to-tailpipe existence, and equine veterinarians have detailed the ways in which this compromises the health of horses. Worse still, the horses get little respite in their stables, where the air quality is also poor.

Poor air quality is common in all horse stables. A full 25% to 80% of stabled horses devleop neutrophilic airway inflammation, a disorder caused by a type of white blood cell that helps kill and digest microorganisms. The average barn or stable has levels of airborne particulates that are "off the chart,"according to Melissa R. Mazan, DVM, a faculty member at the Tufts University School of Medicine and a diplomat of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. "It is difficult to persuade trainers and owners that there might be anything wrong with a barn," she explained. "Hard data can be worth a thousand words."

Learn more about air quality in stables.
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New York's carriage horse stables are dirty places with steep ramps that the horses must climb. The stalls are cramped, and the horses often stand in their own waste--just as they do outside of Central Park. Conditions cannot be made safer for New York carriage horses, who travel to and from their stables every day in city traffic. Please support Intro. 658, a bill to ban horse-drawn carriages.

Examine the evidence. NYC carriage horses don't get enough water and receive only infrequent veterinary care. Read the full city audit of the New York City carriage horse industry.

Urge your Council Member to co-sponsor Intro. 658 in support of a full ban. Respectfully ask for a response.

Special Shoes, Indeed

Are these the kind of "special shoes" that you were talking about, Carolyn, when you responded to Pink's "Buck Cruelty" billboard in Times Square?

Chester Elliot has a happy ending but used to be a Boston carriage horse. Like the horses in New York City, Boston carriage horses wear 1-inch thick heavy steel work shoes with a cleat at the heels and toes for grip. Notably, this steel shoe lends the distinctive "clip clop" sound that apparently generates tourist dollars. Chester's hoof (seen in photo above) suffered from thrush, which is not uncommon in carriage horses who don't get turnout, stand in filth all night, and pound the pavement repeatedly.

The thrush, which occurred inside Chester Elliot's hooves, was worsened by poor grooming during his carriage horse days (his belly was also matted with urine stains). His steel shoes restricted the circulation to his hooves; his pavement-pounding work further complicated the condition, creating a microbial soup inside his hoof. (ie, "hoof rot.")

Chester Elliot photo is used courtesy of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages (Happy Endings).
Although Chester Elliot was not a NYC carriage horse, his condition is a common one and the photo of his foot ailment is descriptive. Lameness and hoof deterioration are commonly seen in carriage horses, equine veterinarian Holly Cheever, DVM, has written. Chester Elliott's story is similar to that of so many rescued carriage horses. Read more