The health of the horses of horse drawn carriage rides for touists?

Question

Have you seen the horses that pull carriages on City streets, the tourist rides?

How is it for those horses pulling a carriage on hard pavement? Are the horses treated well? Overworked?

One reason I ask is because I recently saw one of these horses in between rides. He was taking his weight off of one back leg, and then taking his weight off the other back leg, repeatedly. I was wondering if he was having pain in his back legs of huff?

Answer 1

The horse you saw was shifting it's weight; it is how they rest, and some breeds do it more than others. Most owners are nice to their horses; I am sure there are some that are not, as is possible with any animal. I have a friend that does carriage rides for weddings. Her horses are very well cared for; she makes sure she rotates here horses and that they are well taken care of during the wedding or other occasions that she uses the horses for.
We go to a town that is a few hours away from us and they have the carriages and horses; most of the owners are very nice and will let you feed the horses carrots and pet them. I have never seen them go above a walk and have regular rest periods, where the owner can feed and or water them if needed.

Answer 2

I'm happy that you care enough to ask this question, many people, not in the business, don't even think of the welfare of the horse. The shifting of weight from one hind leg to another is the method that horses relax and rest. The situation regarding hard surfaces: It's actually much easier for a horse to pull a carriage on a hard surface than a soft one, heck, I could pull one on a hard surface. Most city permits depend on having healthy, well cared for horses, with include proper shoeing, nutrition and grooming. Horses are vet inspected on a regular basis and those results must be submitted to the branch of local goverment that is in charge of the operating permits. The carriages themselves are inspected as well, plus the drivers are required to have driver's permits. I'm not saying that there aren't exceptions to the rule, of course there are. Some people just don't see horses or any animals in any other way other than how much they can make with them, but in my experience, they are in the minority, thank goodness!

Answer 3

It's common for horses that are resting to shift weight from one hind leg to the other. People that provide the carriage rides realize that their entire income comes from that animal and so are usually pretty good about taking care of them. They know that there are people checking out the horse as they walk by and they also have the city councils to deal with. It's in their best interests to make sure the horse is well cared for.

Answer 4

It depends entirely upon the individual owners.

The horse you saw was likely shifting weight. It's how they rest. It's also a "fidgety" thing I've seen in some of the Amish buggy horses when they're tied at my home on packed dirt.

Generally speaking, as long as their feet are properly maintained, the pavement isn't an issue. Asphalt isn't as hard as concrete, it has "give" which lends it a little shock absorbancy in itself.

Tourists are rarely seen tearing about the town at a rapid pace in the back of a carriage...so I don't see the trade in itself as abusive.

But, like everything else, there are surely individuals who don't care properly for the horses. Cities/towns should suspend the permits of people who bring thin, unshod, ungroomed horses to do this work. It's hardly the image they'd want to project.

Answer 5

It probably depends on the people who own the horses. Most are probably treated decently and are not abused. Nobody would want to ride in a carriage pulled by a horse with open sores. I wouldn't be surprised if some people overworked their animals. It is a business.

That horse you saw was probably just resting his legs. Horses usually don't lie down to rest (harder for their hearts to pump blood or something), and if it had hurt its foot, it would probably be favoring the uninjured foot instead of switching a lot.

Answer 6

i dont think so because a while ago i went to quebec and the schedule for the horses were 6 hours every other day and if they for some reason worked over 7 hours they got two days off. they all had shoes so no it would not hurt their feet. and they did not resemble that of an abused horse, they were very friendly and affectionate toward people and did not appear over worked, thin or sore. hope this helped :)

Answer 7

LOL thats how horses rest!! I would imagine they are pretty much controlled by the local council or whatever you have there with regards to their welfare.