Nobody friggin cares about central park horse carriages except for those employed by the job program known as central park horse carriages.

Can't we put these people to work doing something actually useful to society? It will have the added benefit of not forcing animals to spend waking hours walking on pavement in heavy traffic while breathing exhaust fumes.

HIckstead, an Olympic quality show jumper collapsed and died today during competitio­n in Italy. Where is the outrage over his death? Will the ASPCA vets tell us NOW that "healthy horses don't just drop dead"? Will the ASPCA drop its sponsorshi­p of show jumping competitio­ns?

Will Ms. Forel weigh in on Hickstead's sudden death?Is anyone going to say that Hickstead must have been abused or neglected, because he did drop dead just like Charlie- only from what I understand­, Charlie went more quickly and more quietly.Here is a video link WARNING this is graphic- way more graphic than the photo of poor Charlie the carriage horse's body.http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=zoL5b-KJU­vo

You are absolutely right, in addition to banning carriage horses, we should ban horse racing and all other forms of animal exploitation for human entertainment. Thanks for making the point. 

Sorry Michael- My POINT was that the ASPCA is populated by a bunch of HYPOCRITES! BY the ASPCA's maintaining that Charlie MUST have been neglected or abused BECAUSE he was a carriage horse WHILE that group SPONSORS show jumping competitions, they just show they are an elitest bunch of HYPOCRITES!

I didn't hear one little "peep" from them about Nickstead's dying, even though his death was very much like Charlie's: Both died whle working, both died suddenly and almost instantly, both had been seen by vets, and both were 15 years old.

But while the ASPCA is on record as saying it thinks carriage horses are "de facto" neglected and abused just because they are carriage horses, it didn't say ONE little thing about Hickstead being neglected and abosed just because he was a show jumper. Both horses died under almost exactly the same circumstances, but in their opion ONLY Charlie's death resulted from his "job."

For the record, I don't think either of these horses suffered ANY neglect or abuce at all. Both were working horses whose caretakers gave them the love, attention and care they deserved.

We now know that Hickstead as a result of an aneurysm BECAUSE his cause of death was made public just two days after his death. It has been almost three weeks since Charlie's necropsy was performed but the ASPCA has yet to actually release a cause of death OR to make the complete necropsy report public. Show us the NECROPSY, if you have nothing to hide. I suspect that Charlie also probably died of an aneurysm and since the ASPCA could not blame his job as a carriage horse for  THAT, they are withholding the necropsy and cause of death.

RIP  Charlie and Hickstead- Two great horses that died too young.

This is all so Midevil. Animals should no longer be used as our slaves for entertainment or any other purpose for that matter. NYC politics are a disgrace regarding this issue. Cold hearts are ruling the city. Weather, traffic, chronic fume inhalation, constant stress from noise from traffic and crowds and people. How the horses must suffer. The perpetrators and perpetuators should feel shame for they clearly have impaired and unenlightened souls. This must stop. I and my friends will be boycotting NYC until the carriage horse program is dissolved. No plays, movies, dining, museums, attractions until this is fixed and the horses are in pastures, not dead like the mayor insinuated they would be if they weren't working. I will only attend to participate in vigils and protests. Please join me in this and the mayor can see how that affects the city finances. Please join me in this and make it know somehow so others may join also and the city can see the toll it may take. Also ASPCA is now removed from my will until they step up to the plate on this cause. Sincerely Donna Schultz

My friends and I r banning NYC until the horses r retired to grassy fields. No more plays, dinners, site seeing. Nothing. Pl join me and we can see how the Mayor likes that revenue. Also, ASPCA removed from my will until the horses r free. They don't seem to be helping the horses. This is midevil. We should be beyond animal slavery for entertainment or any for that matter.

I've gone by Central Park well after midnight and have been amazed to see carriage horses still lined up for business! How late do they keep those horses out there? (And what person in his right mind wants to go for a carriage ride at 1am in Central Park?)

Because of sloppy and/or intentionally deceptive recordkeeping by the carriage owners, it can be difficult to accurately determine whether or not any of these unfortunate animals is being forced to work an illegal double shift.

By the way, are the carriage drivers still overcharging dumb tourists? http://www.nypost.com/p/news/l...
.

How many horses do we have to see spook or collapse before the city says enough.  There were 3 accidents in July (that we know of) and then there was the death of Charlie, the spooked horse reported by the North Carolina tourists and now Luke, all in the course of 2 weeks.  I guess when money is the object, the lives of people and horses are not important in the eyes of the supporters of this industry. 

The horses need a union.

Anyone who thinks this practice should continue to please tourists, should carry tourists on THEIR backs.  That said, anyone who pays those prices to ride around in a horse-drawn carriage is stupid.  I laugh every time I see these ridiculous tourists who think they look cool.  These are the same idiots who pay $200 through a ticket broker to see acrobats fall and break their bones in "Spiderman:Turn Off the Dark".  No taste!!

This horse did not ‘collapse.’ All
horses were suspended from working most of this week due to storm damage
in Central Park. The combination of the long period with no work and
the cold snap led to this horse exhibiting normal, frisky horse behavior
by bucking. A hind leg tangled with the shaft of the carriage, the
horse fell, and stayed down calmly while people unhooked him from the
carriage. He was walked back to his stable under his own power, without
further incident.The hysterics and the know-nothings pounding the crazy drum about "cruelty" and "abuse" at every turn will NOT obscure the facts.  We live in a fishbowl in this industry, we know that -- but we have the truth on our side.

I've owned horses all my life..  I have a draft that pulls a small trap in the countryside and they do not lay down while you unhook them..they are flight animals and wouldn't under any circumstances do that.. more likely he was knackered and collapsed

You have the "truth" on your side?   Really???  The truth is, you make money off an industry that has no business being in existence. Shame on you.  It's time to stop the cruelty and retire all these horses.  Find some way to make money that does not involve animal cruelty.

Get a real job that doesn't involve enslaving other living things,bitch.

At least one witness has come forward and said the horse was down on the ground for 15 minutes.  The video also shows the horse down on the ground, not moving and he is not attached to the carriage.  It would seem that a "frisky" horse that merely got entangled  and fell without being injured would not lay there on the ground for 15 minutes.  The only person reporting this story of friskiness and entanglement is Eva Hughes who, it should be noted, was not present at the time of the collapse and who also is the Vice President of the NYC Carriage Horse Association.  How's that for an unbiased account of the "facts"?

Thank you for that clarification. Many people do not know this. 

You abuse these animals all day. Growing up with horses I know what proper treatment is and these horses are slaves. Shame on you. Can't wait until its banned.

You didn't see the one that sped past me at race horse speed with a carriage attached. It was speeding straight into oncoming traffic, then skidded, slipped and flipped over trying to charge into Central Park. Then got up and sped until the carriage broke to pieces when going over a median in the park. The only hysterics were the horse's. There's been little coverage of this accident at all. Stuff your BS about "hysterics and know nothings"! That was extremely dangerous and unnecessary and would have been a crime if anything but the horse was injured.

Thanks for clarifying. Doesn't sound like a big deal at all. 

So do you believe everything you read by assholes who abuse animals?