Forcing horses to pull heavy carriages is inhumane and dangerous for everyone involved. Horses are forced to toil in all weather extremes, dodge traffic, and pound the pavement all day long. These gentle animals suffer from respiratory ailments because they breathe in exhaust fumes, and they develop debilitating leg problems from walking on hard surfaces.

Horses are extremely sensitive to loud noises and unexpected sounds—and busy city streets have plenty of both. Horses and people have been seriously hurt—with some injuries resulting in fatalities—when horses have become spooked. Accidents have occurred in nearly every city where carriage rides are allowed.

Horses are afforded no federal protection under the Animal Welfare Act, so the responsibility of looking out for horses' welfare falls to local animal control officials. But anti-cruelty laws provide few safeguards to horses, and many humane authorities just don't have the resources or the time to monitor horse-drawn carriages in order to ensure that horses are not being overworked and that operators are following regulations.

When horses grow too old, tired, or ill to continue pulling heavy loads, they aren't retired to green pastures and loving homes, as many people are led to believe. Instead, many worn-out horses are slaughtered and turned into food for dogs or for carnivores in zoos, or else they're shipped overseas for human consumption.

The only way to end this cruelty is to ban it permanently. Many cities—including Biloxi, Mississippi; Palm Beach, Key West, and Treasure Island, Florida; Paris, France; and London, England—have already banned horse-drawn carriages. Ask the Flagstaff City Council to join these cities and Ban Horse-Drawn Carriages!