The Problem with Horse Drawn Carriages

Horse drawn carriages are a sight to be seen. There's something nostalgic and beautiful about the idea of riding in one of these carriages. I imagine it invokes a feeling of historical charm as the horse carriage can take you to parts of the city that buses are unable to visit. Unfortunately, it's not all nostalgia and charm.

As I walked the city two days ago, I was on a very narrow street when a horse drawn carriage slowly trotted passed me and I was deeply saddened at what I witnessed. As the horse galloped by me, it was salivating heavily and looked immensely distressed. It really shook me so I decided to head back to the hostel and investigate reasons why a horse would be salivating in that nature. Although there were plenty of explanations as to why this could happen, there were also plenty of negative reasons why this would be the case. There's no way for me to know exactly which of these explanations were applicable but what I do know is that I was disturbed and saddened regardless.

Horse drawn carriages go back hundreds of years in many places around the world. They were initially some of the only ways to traverse the cities and towns long before public transit and vehicles came to be. With that being said, today's times are much different. There are so many other options for getting around that I fail to see the necessity in this method of travel. 

As development continues and cities get bigger, there's more traffic, there's more people, and there's more opportunities for accidents that can harm the horse or the people within the carriage.

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This year in Ireland, an American couple was thrown down a rocky area after their horse lost its footing killing them both. Not only were they unfortunately killed, but the horse sustained injuries that inevitably led to it being put down. This is extremely saddening for all parties involved but also suggests that there are significant dangers involved with this method of travel. Does this happen often? Of course not, but across the globe, there are plenty of stories involving accidents that involve fatalities or horses being injured and put down.

In my opinion, there is no place for horse drawn carriages in today's society. There is a very big difference between horse back riding in the beautiful countryside, free from obstacles, potential human involved collision, and pollution, versus riding in heavily populated city areas.. The horses that carry these carriages are riding among heavy traffic likely breathing in excess amounts of pollution and toxins, and are at risk of other dangers as well. A horse that collapses among traffic would be extremely dangerous for every party involved. 

Montreal Canada has officially banned the horse drawn carriage and Chicago is also in the process of working towards that same goal with petitions calling for an end to the carriage. The fact is, the planet is slowly moving towards a better treatment of animals and frankly, history and tradition aside, there is no place for the carriage in today's society. 

I intend to contact the Prime Minister here and propose to him a reduction on the availability of the carriage. I would like to see a complete ban but frankly, I'm a Canadian in a foreign country, I highly doubt my influence alone will coerce an entire country to abandon their tradition. What I intend to propose is reducing it to special occasions only such as weddings, parties, and other big celebrations. In doing so, these horses will have less of an opportunity to breathe in pollution from vehicles and factories, and less of an opportunity to injure themselves or the people within the carriage.

I've spoken out against the carriage before and after witnessing that horse trotting passed me salivating heavily, it tugged at my heart strings but also reminded me that I can never sit idly by as an animal suffers. At the very least, I can try, and that's all you can ever do in life, simply try. Sometimes, all it takes is one person to change the world and that motivates me to continue to fight for what I believe in.

What do you guys think? Does tradition trump safety of animals in this case? Do you see a place for horse drawn vehicles in today's growing society?

HAPPY VEG