Salt Lake city 'to BAN carriage horses' after horror collapse in downtown street

UTAH -- A carriage horse suddenly collapsed on a Salt Lake City street over the weekend and since then the city has become a hotbed of arguments over whether such rides are humane.

The 13-year-old carriage horse named Jerry suffered a bout of colic on Saturday, then fell to the ground and refused to get up.

Jerry, a 13-year-old horse, lies in a downtown street
after collapsing on Saturday (Photos: Jeremy Beckham)

Now animal rights advocates both in and outside of Salt Lake City are calling for an end to the ‘cruel industry’ of horse drawn carriage rides.

Jerry was near the end of a tour when he suddenly kicked his stomach and collapsed to the ground.

‘[He] just didn’t want to move,’ city resident Ronald Schulthies told the Salt Lake Tribune. ‘His eyes were open and when we’d move him, he’d neigh and whinny.’

Schulthies was among some 60 concerned passersby. Veterinarians would also soon come to the 1,800 pound horse’s aid.

At first, all they could do was try to comfort the animal.

It was distressing because lots of people there wanted to do something, but didn’t know what to do,’ Schulthies said. ‘Obviously, the carriage company didn’t have any plan for that type of thing.’

Schulthies said Jerry would attempt to stand but quickly fall back down. He emphasized that the horse was treated with only the utmost concern for his health and well-being.

However, the incident has animal rights advocates in a tizzy over the practice they say is unhumane.

‘These horses are trotting along on pavement, their feet are not designed to walk on pavement and their forced to pull carriages in frigid temperatures and sweltering heat,’ PETA spokesman Jeremy Beckham told KTVX. ‘It's really a recipe for injury.’

Jerry’s case has motivated animal lovers to call for a change to city ordinances that allow horse drawn carriage rides, animal lovers like Donna Pemmitt.

With demands to 'end this cruelty,' Pemmit’s online petition had received over 3,000 signatures as of Tuesday morning.

And that has city officials taking note.

I think anytime there’s an unfortunate incident like this, it does get everyone’s attention and it creates a dialogue that I think is good,’ said Salt Lake City councilman, who also cautioned that a change to city rules is ‘not something I take lightly.’

Jerry was eventually lifted into a trailer and quickly sedated. He’s now recovering.

[Another article says Jerry has only a 50-50 chance of recovering.]

Though controversy over horse carriages may be new to the Utah capital, it is nothing surprising to New York City, where the vehicles and the outcries that often surround them are common.

'It is a very inhumane and unsafe trade, particularly to be practiced in such a busy and congested city,' Elizabeth Forel, President of the Coalition to Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages told MailOnline in 2011. '[It is] unsafe to pedestrians, the passengers and the horse.'

National issue: In New York City, where carriage rides are a common site,
incidents with the horses and ensuing outcries are nothing new. Here,
handlers wrangle a carriage horse run amock in 2011

Forel’s ire came amid several unfortunate incidents involving carriage horses in the Big Apple that year. At least three of the iconic animals collapsed in 2011, while at least one other tossed its passengers and ran wild through the streets before being sedated.

(Daily Mail Aug 20 2013)

Earlier:
"Rules for horses"

Carriage horses are allowed to work in Salt Lake City unless the heat index — the combined temperature and relative humidity — reaches 150 degrees, which would require the city’s record high of 107 degrees, plus 57 percent humidity.

In 2012, this carriage horse broke from carriage and
bolted to 9th Ave and 58th street before collapsing.

That is ridiculous. The ordinance essentially means there are no days when it is too hot for these animals to be relieved of their duties. That allows owners and drivers to keep them clopping through the worst heat wave without penalty. When a business owner is trying to make money, it can be too tempting to abandon sound judgment.

The ordinance also requires water breaks for the horses every two hours. But when the temperature nears 100, a working horse needs up to 8 gallons of water an hour. He’s not going to get enough on two-hour water breaks. It would be difficult for the managers to provide them adequate water during near-record heat.