Letter: Ban horse-drawn carriages

Letter: Ban horse-drawn carriages

Maddy Musante
Lake Helen, FL

Dear Editor:

Horse-drawn carriages are well-known in St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest city in the United States. They are a fun way for tourist to view the historic city.

However, their integration with cars, trollies, semi-truck and trailers, bikers and pedestrians is impractical. Horse drawn carriages in St. Augustine are a thing of the past, and that is where they should stay.

The horses being used are living in poor conditions and work all day without consistent shade on breaks. The carriage shafts make it impossible for the horses to reach their water buckets without assistance from the drivers.

They are often passed by vehicles, in non-passing zones, by everyone — including the local police.

Not all horses pulling carriages are draft horses. They are almost never in the correct headset. The horse’s hooves almost always appear to need trimming and most of their bits are too tight.

Basically, the drivers are ill-educated equestrians taking advantage of the kindheartedness of horses.

Downtown has become too populated by locals and tourist to continue allowing horse drawn carriages to be used on city streets. St. Augustine is too large to sustain horse drawn carriages, thus they should be banned.

Please sign my petition on change.org if you agree. Over 1,500 people have signed in the first four days.