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Documentary filmmaker Donny Moss has produced a movie about the carriage-horse trade in New York City called Blinders. It looks to be a revealing take on an iconic feature of the city, and includes original footage as well as documentation of well-publicized accidents and interviews with carriage owners, veterinarians, witnesses to accidents, and anti-carriage activists.
Moss is engaged in the film festival application process right now, but has placed a trailer for the movie on YouTube. Queens Councilman Tony Avella has introduced a bill to ban horse-drawn carriages in New York.
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This film looks really cool. Why don't they just ban cars? That sounds like the more sensible solution.
On a totally separate note, anyone outraged by the horses' living conditions has clearly not been to my apartment.
I hope the ban goes through.
How awful for these horses! They don't belong in traffic or a city environment. I agree that the carriages should be eliminated.
What has to happen for NYC city politicians to wake up and take these horses off the streets? It's cruel and dangerous to mix prey animals with traffic and to keep horses in midtown. They need a pasture! Horse and buggies should have been removed from the streets when cars were introduced! This video probably doesn't even scratch the surface.
What has to happen for NYC city politicians to wake up and take these horses off the streets? It's cruel and dangerous to mix prey animals with traffic and to keep horses in midtown. They need a pasture!
Bravo. I have lived on the Upper West Side for 20 years. These horses are Manhattan's black eye. An added bonus of getting rid of this absurd trade is that joggers won't have to smell or dodge the endless piles of horse manure while trying to enjoy the park.
they have them in chicago in mid winter (-10 to -40 degree windchills!) just standing on michigan avenue. i agree that they are rather cruel to the animals.
maybe if they could make sure they only stay in traffic free areas such as central park it would be better for the horses.
In response to the last comment -- If the horses could work and live in Central Park and had a place to graze freely, it certainly would be better for the horses. The Parks Dept will not allow it. They claim that the park is a landmark; that they have no space for new buildings; and that they wouldn't put a private business like this in a public park. As it is, they must spend a fortune cleaning the manure every day.
Poor horses. Many of them look so broken down--some of them even appear to have swayback. I read that a lot of these horses are purchased cheaply in Pennsylvania after spending most of their pathetic lives laboring on Amish farms.
Bravo Donny. I know your film will make a huge impact in publicizing this horrible situation.
This industry really needs banned. It's impossible for any group to monitor how ever many horses are on the street at any given time. The horses are forced to work in all weather extremes and inhale exhaust fumes all day. And they are flight animals. Hello! - if you startle a horse, they run...whether there is a carriage attached with people inside, another car coming or a group of people standing there; it simply doesn't matter. There is no way to make this safe. And, isn't it too bad that we have these poor animals in the streets in a major city in the first place? Idiocy. Kudos on this film. Can't wait to see it!
This film looks incredible! I walk by those horses every day and always feel bad for them. You can tell they are overworked, neglected, and basically living a miserable life. Horses should be in a field, not on the streets of NYC! It's a horrible industry and hopefully this film will help it get banned.
this is a real eye opener. I've always considered the carriages to be a nuissance in the Park, but never realized the extent to which the horses are mistreated. Aren't there laws to protect animals from mistreatment? Didn't Michael Vick get indicted for similar treatment to dogs?
I look forward to seeing the full movie when it comes out in theatres. Hopefully it will draw the necessary attention to stop this cruelty.
This film looks amazing! I walk by the horses every day and can see their obvious suffering. Horses should be in a field, not in NYC streets! I hope this film helps to ban this horrible tradition.
Kudos to Donny Moss for addressing this cruel practice...the trailer itself is a documentary! Horses belong in the fields of America not the streets. thanks Donny
Dbarash (3 postings above) is the same as the rest of us. If tourist realized the extent to which horses are mistreated, most would never get on a horse-drawn carriage. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the horse in the video with its head out the window of that dilapidated warehouse building. What a disgrace
This film looks to be exactly what we need as concerned animal loves to garner attention to this horrible and unnecessary practice. It needs to be stopped regardless of the "favorable" economics and tourism appeal.
I suggest that people take a day and go to a real ranch in West Virginia to get their fix of horse and carriage riding.
SAVE THE HORSES!
I just have to add that the scene with the horse struggling and ultimately failing to reach water out of the communal trough is a reminder of how cruel this industry is. Seeing the horses with their noses next to the car tailpipes was also awful. The carriages don't belong here anymore. Period.
The thing that really irks me is that horses are so dispirited, which is the opposite of they way they naturally are. If you think of the difference between a horse running free in a field and look at these animals shackled to carriages in a city, it's very troubling.
The thing that really irks me is that the horses have lost their spirited, which is exactly the opposite of they way they naturally are. They're also playful animals that like to socialize. If you think of the difference between a horse running free in a field and rolling on the grass, and then look at these animals shackled to carriages in a city, you can see how wrong this is.
Horses are so spirited and playful. These horses have lost their spirit and have no opportunity to socialize.If you think of the difference between a horse running free in a field and rolling on the grass, and then look at these animals shackled to carriages in a city, you can see how wrong this is.
Horses are so spirited and playful. These horses have lost their spirit and have no opportunity to socialize.If you think of the difference between a horse running free in a field and rolling on the grass, and then look at these animals shackled to carriages in a city, you can see how wrong this is.
Horses are so spirited and playful. These horses have lost their spirit and have no opportunity to socialize.If you think of the difference between a horse running free in a field and rolling on the grass, and then look at these animals shackled to carriages in a city, you can see how wrong this is.
Horses are so spirited and playful. These horses have lost their spirit and have no opportunity to socialize.If you think of the difference between a horse running free in a field and rolling on the grass, and then look at these animals shackled to carriages in a city, you can see how wrong this is.
My other point is that Mayor Bloomberg seems to have no empathy towards these horses, and yet his daughter, Georgina Bloomberg, is an equestrian. Georgina, where are you? We need you!
Donny deserves applause for bringing this cruelty to light. These horses as do any animal deserve better.
What about all of the horse crap along the lower loop of Central Park. Not only do the bicyclists and joggers have to smell it every day, we also have to navigate and swerve around it, which is dangerous. Why does the city allow carriage drivers to pollute the park with manure. I've complained to the Parks Dept, but it hasn't helped a bit. I hope this movie addresses these sanitary and safety issues.
This is another point that doesn't come up often enough. This industry affects the quality of life of New York City residents--those who jog, ride bikes, and live in midtown (and those that have to drive with horses and clumsy carriages in the street!)
My husband is in this movie. He and a friend from Wisconsin saw a car hit a horse on 6th Ave. The horse went crazy, jumped on the hood of the car, broke free from the carriage and ran the wrong way down 6th Ave. Police had to chase the horse. He said it was a very scary incident and now wonders why a crowded city like New York has carriages in the busiest part of town. Makes no sense at all.
Amazing. Not one advocate for the trade posted here. If this is any indication, Horse-drawn carriages will soon be a thing of the past. I am personally better entertained by people puling me around the city for 10 bucks . Just wish they could pull four of us at a time.
Save the horses. Slavery was abolished over a century ago for people; isn't it about time we learned compassion for other free creatures?
This issue was all over the news yesterday. A city politician said he is introducing a bill to get rid of the carriages.
Donny you are a star to do this for the horses.
Have you all signed the petition to ban horse drawn carriages in NYC? Please do. I would like to see this banned everywhere. It is cruel and unusual punishment for the horses. Dangerous to people too. My Mom was killed in Charleston, SC May 3, 1984 by a horse that got spooked by jackhammers. The horse broke loose from it's carriage, knocked the carriage driver off and ran through Charleston's market area eventually trampling my mother. The carriage driver was injured and had to be hospitalized. The city is not the place to have these carriage rides. Donny Moss did an excellent job on his video "Blinders." Go to his site, click on "what you can do" at the top of the page, there is a link to sign the online petition. Please sign!!!!