New York City Horse & Carriage FACT SHEET
A Brief Background of the NYC Horse Carriage Industry Dating back to the 1880’s, New York City currently has a total of 220 Licensed Carriage Horses (DOH), 293 Certified Drivers (DCA) and 68 Licensed Carriages (DCA). All carriage drivers are required to study the city’s official Carriage Horse Course Manual, apply for a license and train under a professional, experienced driver. Horses are also trained and typically have experience pulling carriages before they work in New York City. Any horse that displays apprehensive or fearful behavior once in New York is immediately returned the farm and not used for carriage service.
The majority of our horses are purchased through individual sale in the Amish Country of Pennsylvania where they have been bred for harness work. Carriage horses range between 5-15 years old and work an average of 8 months a year, 4-5 days a week, no longer than 9 hours a day (but the average is 7 hours a day) the majority with 2-4 non-consecutive months off in the Pennsylvania Amish Country. All carriage horses receive 15 minutes of rest per working hour in busy season (November-December are highest periods), and typically work very limited hours during slow tourism periods (February – May).
Weighing between 1500-2000 pounds each, our horses are mostly standard bred, cross breed and draft horses that are bred for pulling carriages or plows. The large majority of our horses (over 90 percent) are reared in the Amish Country of Pennsylvania (near Lancaster), where they are privately purchased directly from farms. All horses are retired after an average of 8 years of working in NYC to a farm sanctuary retirement community or animal welfare adoption group (many owners maintain their horses through their lives on private farms).
Horses are fed specialized hay and high-grain feed in the stables each morning, afternoon and evening, and provided buckets of oats and sweets while on duty. Horses have adequate access to fresh water at all times int the stables and when needed while on duty. Central Park has 2 working water troughs specially designed for the carriage horses, and we provide a solar-powered water trough in the freezing months.
Horses are stabled together in five large stables throughout the Westside of Manhattan. Each barn houses approximately 40 horses. Horses are rotated in and out of the city to area farms throughout the year. Each horse's individual stall is approximately 7 feet X 10 feet (well above city regulations and vary depending on horse size), and are wide enough for a horse to lie down in comfortably with each floor lined with rubberized mats and special bedding.
Every 6-8 weeks, carriage horses receive new customized horse shoes for their hooves from a professional farrier specialized for concrete and asphalt. They also have their teeth “floated” (aka smoothed) regularly by registered equine dentists.
Rest and Exercise
Horses sleep an average of 5 hours a day (preferably standing with their legs locked), and need no more than 30 minutes of REM (or dreaming) sleep lying down.
Horses were born to move. In the wild they may walk many miles in a day, sometimes trot, but rarely gallop unless they have to. Exercise is essential for the health and well-being of any horse, as well as turnout (which they all receive at least once a year).
Additional helpful facts about horses:
· Horses can pull six times their weight so pulling a carriage with passengers he is using less than 25% of his capacity.
· Horses are a beautiful and complex animal. They are highly misunderstood. When you see our horses around Central Park, and their heads are down, please know this is common stance for a horse that is resting and relaxed. In no way does this mean our horses are sad as many inexperienced people believe.
· Horses prefer to sleep standing up – thirty minutes of which they need to be lying flat to achieve deep REM (rapid eye movement). When horses are in REM, they peacefully dream, twitch, and snore.
· A horse can live to about 35 years of age when domesticated (only 8 years in the wild).
· The best purpose you can give a horse is to give him a job. Horses, like humans, like to be productive and needed.
· Horses prefer to be outside with other horses every day, especially in colder weather as they have an extra layer of fat that naturally keeps them warm.
· Every week our horses are visited and examined by an equine veterinarian, always during emergencies, and each year our horses get immunization for all types of diseases and parasite prevention.
· Horses get turnout to the farms from up to one month to four months a year.
