#freethehorses

[truenchantment]

Oh look something I’ve been saying for years. I wonder if people will believe me now? #IKnewDidntGuess #IndustrySecrets #HorseRacingIsFixed #DontBet #DontWatch #FreeTheHorses

[kianfi]

This is covered... #freethehorses #coldears #abouttime #cvilleproud

[justeasyniceherbivore]

Waiting In The Hot Sun With Berlin’s Carriage Horses

On the advice of a contact at Animal Aid, a UK organization that was successful at getting horse carriages banned in Oxford, I recently spent one and a half hours with Berlin’s carriage horses. I was investigating how the horses were treated to build a case to get a similar ban enacted in Berlin. 

The horses are only supposed to work from 11am until 5pm, but carriage companies often violate this regulation, making them work longer hours. My time out there was only a quarter of the workday for them. The horses are expected to stand and wait for lengthy periods of time near Berlin’s city center until a new fare comes along, after which they’re forced to pull heavy carriages (and heavy tourists) through dangerous traffic. 

I asked one driver when the horses will get some shade on such a hot day. ‘The horses do not require shade. They love to be in the hot sun.’ (That is actually what the driver said, word for word.) The thermal neutral zone for horses is estimated to be from about 40°F (5°C) to 77°F (25°F). It was 92°F (33°C) that day. Stunned by the cruel, irresponsible inaccuracy of the driver’s statement, I stood in the hot sun and wondered how long the horses would have to wait. During the one and a half hours I was there, only two carriages out of the six that were waiting took tourists for a ride. How is this low rate of activity even financially viable for the carriage companies? 

I asked another driver if working for an e-carriage company would be more appealing, since there is one in Berlin now. Why not work for a more progressive company, and give these poor horses a break? The driver pointed to one of the horses and said, ‘No, I only want to work with horses. I love horses.’ Then came a rather canned, memorized, prideful addition to her point: 

‘I don’t even think of her as a horse. She is my equal. She is my colleague.’ The driver emphasized this with a pat on the horse’s head. 

I replied to the driver’s claim with some facts: While it’s nice to love horses and believe they are our equals, that is not the case here. I said, ‘You might have chosen to be “colleagues” with her, but she didn’t choose to be yours. She is forced to do this heavy, difficult work, and she is not getting paid for it like you are. So no, she is not your colleague.’

The only way carriage drivers could consider themselves colleagues with the horses in their employ would be if they stood alongside the horses to pull the heavy carriages through dangerous, scary traffic together. (Without getting paid.) Which would still be more fair to the human slaves since the human ones would be choosing their thankless jobs. This is never a choice for the horses. In fact, horses are naturally skittish and terrified of cars, which is why carriage horses are made to wear blinders. The job they are forced into having goes against their very nature.

Here’s a better idea. Let’s stop forcing any animal, human or non-human, to do heavy, dangerous, thankless work in order to entertain tourists. How about if this industry transitions to having drivers use beautiful e-carriages and vintage cars instead? And couldn’t we respect these exhausted, spent horses enough to let them retire and live out the rest of their lives without fear and discomfort?

For my next investigation, I plan to follow the path of a horse carriage and take notes on how these horses must maneuver through dangerous traffic. And I’d like to know where they go in order to rest at the end of the day. I asked one of the drivers where the horses reside before and after their long work hours. The driver refused to tell me.

If you’d like to help, please sign this petition to the governing mayor of Berlin: https://www.change.org/p/governing-mayor-michael-m%C3%BCller-ban-horse-drawn-carriages-in-berlin

And join our page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/Berliners-For-Banning-Horse-Drawn-Carriages-883419041756456/

[lucaamioriginals]

By @compassionworks "Horses don't belong in the middle of traffic in Times Square. People have been hurt. Horses have been killed. How many more? #FreeTheHorses." via @PhotoRepost_app