How Many Horse Carriage Crashes?

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Horses Smash Into Pavement
Another carriage horse has collided with a taxi on Central Park South. A passing motorcyclist saw the animal charge head-on into a taxi. Upon impact, the carriage careened sideways into his bike. The wounded horse, a 12-year-old gelding named Bud, left blood pools on the ground. The cabby was hospitalized and the biker, who sustained minor injuries, rode away on his battered bike.

This marks the second carriage horse accident in a single month. Earlier, a Hansom Cabs horse crashed into a Central Park bicyclist. That collision followed a crash between a Hansom Cabs horse, Spotty, and a station wagon at 50th Street and Ninth Avenue. When Spotty hit the car at full gallop, his hind legs twisted over the roof and his head smashed into the street. Spotty died. The driver's critical injuries left him in a coma. Clearly, horses are not designed to haul carriages through streets clogged with bikers, walkers, cars, taxis, busses and emergency vehicles.

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Dear Mayor Bloomberg and Mr. Sayres,

Please count me among the many NYC residents and visitors who support a ban on horse-drawn carriages due to their elemental cruelty and threat to public safety.

On July 4, 2007, another carriage horse collided with a taxi on Central Park South. A passing motorcyclist, Tony Zappetti, saw the animal charge head-on into a taxi. Upon impact, the carriage careened sideways into his bike. Zapetti claims the wounded horse, a 12-year-old gelding named Bud, left blood pools on the ground. The cabby was hospitalized and Zapetti, who sustained minor injuries, drove away on his battered bike.

This marks the second carriage horse accident in a single month.

In April of 2006, a Hansom Cabs horse crashed into Lawrence McKittrick, a Central Park bicyclist, 71, treated for a broken hip. That collision followed a January 2006 crash between a Hansom Cabs horse, Spotty, and a station wagon at 50th Street and Ninth Avenue. When Spotty hit the car at full gallop, his hind legs twisted over the roof and his head smashed into the street. Spotty died. The driver's critical injuries left him in a coma. A father and son inside a station wagon were injured as well.

Clearly, horses are not designed to haul carriages through streets clogged with bikers, walkers, cars, taxis, busses and emergency vehicles. These 1,000 to 2,000+ pound animals are easily spooked. As equine expert Holly Cheever, DVM, wrote in January 2007, �I have heard New York carriage owners/drivers claim repeatedly that their horses are "spook-proof.� There is no such thing� The potential for injury is enormous and represents an extreme liability risk for the City as the licensing agent."

Horses endure fatigue, dehydration, chronic hoof conditions and lameness as they lug bulky cabs over unyielding pavement in extreme heat or cold. Exhaust fumes lead to respiratory ailments and the animals live in cramped stables with barely enough room to move.

Mayor Bloomberg, I respectfully ask you to assert your authority to prohibit horse-pulled cabs in New York City. Limiting them to Central Park is not a solution, since accidents occur in the park and nearby streets. I urge the ASPCA to advocate a comprehensive ban on horse-drawn carriages as well.

Thank you for considering my opinion. I look forward to your feedback.

Sincerely,

YOUR FULL NAME
ADDRESS, CITY, STATE
COUNTRY

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Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg
City Hall; New York, NY 10007
ph: 311 (or 212-NEW-YORK outside NYC)
fax: 212-788-8123
web email: www.nyc.gov/html/mail/html/mayor.html

Ed Sayres, president, ASPCA
American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
424 E. 92nd St; New York, NY 10128-6804
email: esayres@aspca.org

NEW YORKERS � Also write to your Council Member. Go to:
www.nyccouncil.info/constituent/
Faxes or phone calls preferred. Ask them to support a ban of horse carriage industry.

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Comments: *****THIS ALERT IS NO LONGER ACTIVE***** DO NOT SEND THIS ALERT! Please count me among the many NYC residents and visitors who support a ban on horse-drawn carriages due to their elemental cruelty and threat to public safety. On July 4, 2007, another carriage horse collided with a taxi on Central Park South. A passing motorcyclist, Tony Zappetti, saw the animal charge head-on into a taxi. Upon impact, the carriage careened sideways into his bike. Zapetti claims the wounded horse, a 12-year-old gelding named Bud, left blood pools on the ground. The cabby was hospitalized and Zapetti, who sustained minor injuries, drove away on his battered bike. This marks the second carriage horse accident in a single month. In April of 2006, a Hansom Cabs horse crashed into Lawrence McKittrick, a Central Park bicyclist, 71, treated for a broken hip. That collision followed a January 2006 crash between a Hansom Cabs horse, Spotty, and a station wagon at 50th Street and Ninth Avenue. When Spotty hit the car at full gallop, his hind legs twisted over the roof and his head smashed into the street. Spotty died. The driver's critical injuries left him in a coma. A father and son inside a station wagon were injured as well. Clearly, horses are not designed to haul carriages through streets clogged with bikers, walkers, cars, taxis, busses and emergency vehicles. These 1,000 to 2,000+ pound animals are easily spooked. As equine expert Holly Cheever, DVM, wrote in January 2007, �I have heard New York carriage owners/drivers claim repeatedly that their horses are "spook-proof.� There is no such thing� The potential for injury is enormous and represents an extreme liability risk for the City as the licensing agent." Horses endure fatigue, dehydration, chronic hoof conditions and lameness as they lug bulky cabs over unyielding pavement in extreme heat or cold. Exhaust fumes lead to respiratory ailments and the animals live in cramped stables with barely enough room to move. Mayor Bloomberg, I respectfully ask you to assert your authority to prohibit horse-pulled cabs in New York City. Limiting them to Central Park is not a solution, since accidents occur in the park and nearby streets. I urge the ASPCA to advocate a comprehensive ban on horse-drawn carriages as well. Thank you for considering my opinion. I look forward to your feedback. Sincerely,