Independent Vet Study
Disturbing findings from an independent veterinarian's report on New York City's carriage horses.
According to the report, many owners refused to allow bloodwork and lameness examinations, preventing the veterinarian from fully assessing the health and fitness of numerous horses. Despite those limitations, the report still documented serious concerns, including horses that could not be fully evaluated, lameness issues, extensive tack-related scarring, unmet dental needs, and concerns about housing conditions. In several cases, the veterinarian stated there was not enough information to determine whether a horse was fit to work.
This wasn't an advocacy report. It was commissioned by New York City.
Please take the time to read it for yourself and share it. The horses deserve transparency, accountability, and better.
Key Takeaways
“The overwhelming majority of the horses I examined had scars on their back....At some point all of those horses with scars had improperly fitting tack that caused trauma to the horses’ backs. Findings like that should not be acceptable norms.”
“The owner’s lack of compliance with thorough health and soundness exams is problematic when most other parts of the equine industry are constantly establishing and improving welfare monitoring.”
“The stalls were oftentimes too small for the size horses in them.”
“Findings like that should not be
acceptable norms.”
“Owner demonstrated no concern with the fact that Sophia was obviously sore on both hind legs.”
“The owner of Johnny Walker (Tag
#4356) declined to present his horse even though he and his horse were in the stable at the agreed upon.”
“A good percentage of the horses were in need of dental care.”
“When owners do not consent to evaluations with their horse at the trot and furthermore do not consent to this blood work, owners are making it impossible to establish whether their horse is ‘fit’ or ‘unfit’ to work as a carriage horse.”