We often receive pictures and videos from concerned citizens regarding the horse carriages in Victoria, and we share this information with the public in turn. Recently, a former carriage horse driver contacted us, telling us they quit working for the carriage company because of the "mistreatment of their animals." They wanted to remain anonymous out of fear of being harassed by the carriage operators and other drivers, but their words are too important to not share publicly. They stated the following: In their own words, they quit working for the carriage company “…because of the mistreatment of their animals…” In their own words, “I am tired of watching the company get away with overworking their horses without consequence.” They specifically name three horses: Ruby, Betty, and Grey Molly. All three of these horses over 30 years old and have been working downtown for years. These three horses are very “well behaved,” and so they are worked “double shifts.” One of these three, Betty, “she is starting to develop arthritis, which the company doesn’t manage properly so you may see her limping on her front end when she’s downtown.” They state one of the carriage operators have two horses each day that work a “swing shift,” which is a significantly longer shift than most other horses. These horses start around 11am and work until the company shuts down at night. Typically, this is a 12 hour shift. Other horses used in the morning shift will not be taken home, but will be kept in the pit (Ogden Point holding area) and used to pull trolleys until later in the evening. This often culminates in a 12+ hour day. Carriage operators “lie to customers and tells them the maximum any horse will work is an 8 hour shift in a day, which is absolutely not true for swing shift horses.” There is a black carriage used that “weighs about 3 times as much as every other carriage the company owns making it especially difficult for the horses to pull.” While there are some horses strong enough to pull it, weaker horses are often made to pull it as well “because customers like the way it looks.” We cannot let this continue. The city of Victoria must take action to phase out this inhumane industry now. Please share this update to help us collect more signatures and tell the mayor and council of Victoria it is time to put the horses first. Victoria Horse Alliance