They\u2019re being put out to pasture.<\/p>\n
The Big Apple\u2019s 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<\/a> Thursday.<\/p>\n Romanch\u2019s Law \u2014 which the City Council pledged to pass \u2014 would free the steeds from working ever again<\/a>, but stops short of laying out exactly where the horses will spend their retirement.<\/p>\n Animal activists are working to place the Big Apple\u2019s 160 carriage horses in sanctuaries across the country. Red Feather Equine Sanctuary in North Caroline<\/p>\n Such a plan for the \u201chumane disposition of carriage horses\u201d will only be crafted if the bill is passed as the City Council has pledged to do. <\/p>\n 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 nine hours per day toting tourists and 1,000-pound carriages around Central Park.<\/p>\n \u201cI have seen so many horses come alive in sanctuary after coming out of working careers their whole lives. They\u2019ve always been spoken to and never heard or even asked to have an opinion,\u201d said Allison Bowling, the executive director of Red Feather Equine Sanctuary in North Carolina.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWatching 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 \u2014 it\u2019s really powerful and it\u2019s extremely important.\u201d<\/p>\n Carriage owners argue the horses love the work. James Keivom for NY Post<\/p>\n Red Feather is a member of The Carriage Horse Retirement Coalition, a network of equine rescues working to place the city\u2019s roughly 160 carriage horses into retirement homes when the industry phases out in June 2028, per the proposed legislation.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Some of her rescue\u2019s 45 equines 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.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n But none are forced to do anything they don\u2019t want to do and are never put to work again, Bowling said.<\/p>\n \u201cI have never known a horse that wants to \u2018work.\u2019 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\u2019t,\u201d the advocate emphasized.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI think if anybody argues that, then they\u2019re truly not listening to the individual voice of the horse, because that\u2019s just absolutely going to be further from the truth,\u201d said Bowling.<\/p>\n Romanch\u2019s Law would ban the carriage horse industry as of June 2028. Red Feather Equine Sanctuary in North Caroline<\/p>\n Horses are offered enrichment games and programs at sanctuaries like Red Feather. Red Feather Equine Sanctuary in North Caroline<\/p>\n \u201cI have seen so many horses come alive in sanctuary after having coming out of working careers their whole lives,\u201d said Allison Bowling. Red Feather Equine Sanctuary in North Caroline<\/p>\n Bowling, whose rescue is part of the Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries, has witnessed dozens of ponies blossom after joining their new families.<\/p>\n