NYPD Horses

http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/government/5109-horses-new-york-city-central-park-carriage-horses-nypd-mounted

While New York City has taken an active stance to rid the city of carriage park horses, which often subject horses to long hours and inhumane conditions, little has been said about police horses. The article critiques this lack of attention on the city's polices horses, who often suffer from the same hardships as the carriage horses. One of the main objections local NYC politicians have against the use of horse drawn carriages are the number of incidents reported caused by the nonstop action of the city. These horses are injured while crossing busy streets, some have even been attacked by dogs. What all of these politicians fail to point out is that police horses, even more so than carriage horses, are subjected to the same violence caused by the busy city streets. The author of the article is quick to point out that while the carriage horses have limited time on busy streets, police horses spend a majority of their time patrolling these streets, sometimes in high crime neighborhoods. What is really more dangerous for these horses, to go in a loop around central park, or chase after an armed criminal?

The article highlights the mistreatment of these police horses, who until 2007 were forced to sleep in inhumane stalls that restricted all movement. The police department goes to great lengths to try and establish that their horses are nothing like those who pull the carriages, yet they release very little information on how. Carriage horses are required to have a 5 week vacation every years, while police horses have no such rule. This article highlights the mistreatment that these police horses go through, and shows how this problem is only getting worse due to public and political ignorance. Instead of focusing solely on carriage horses, the article shows that all horses should be removed from the dangers that the streets of New York City pose.