Defending Our Horses -- and Their Drivers

AUGUST 14 -- TWU Local 100 is fighting to preserve a 167-year-old tradition—taking horse-carriage rides in Central Park—and  protecting hundreds of blue-collar jobs.

Carriage rides in the city’s most famous park began when the first section opened in 1858. The tradition faces opposition from some City Council members, animal rights extremists, and now the non-profit Central Park Conservancy, which ludicrously claimed earlier this week the horse-carriages pose a safety risk to the public. 

Appearing on Eyewitness News, shop steward and Carriage-Horse Driver Christina Hansen said the real danger in the park comes from the hordes of e-bikes, motorized scooters, and illegally motorized pedicabs.  

“[The Parks Conservancy] is more interested in making the park a place for anybody with an e-bike or e-vehicle to zoom around. It’s total chaos.”

The iconic horses work the 843 acres under stringent health guidelines, including limits on working in extreme heat and cold. Many were rescued from dire circumstances by carriage-horse drivers, who are represented, along with carriage owners, by Local 100.

Under city regulations, the horses also must get five weeks of vacation on a farm, two physical exams a year, multiple vaccinations, regular dental care and new shoes. They are treasured and loved by both their owners and visiting tourists.

But some activists believe that any use of an animal to bear loads or carry people -- which these horses have been bred to do over thousands of years -- is wrong. They're trying to put the industry out of business by falsely insisting that the animals are abused and stressed by city life. In fact, most of the time the horses are working, it is in the bucolic setting of Central Park.

Local 100 is coming to the defense of the 200 carriage owner-drivers, drivers, and stable workers. Each carriage is essentially a mom-and-pop business, providing livelihoods to the horsemen and horsewomen and loving homes to these beautiful animals.

The bond between people and horses is legendary. Ending that connection in Central Park hurts both species. To read a recent editorial supporting our carriage horse drivers, click here.