Liam Neeson slams Mayor de Blasio over shutdown of carriage horses Read more: http://www.irishcent

[a kennedy]

Irish actor Liam Neeson has slammed Mayor Bill de Blasio for his attempt to end the carriage horse industry in Central Park, claiming a “land grab” could be underway.

In a strongly worded letter Neeson states, “I was appalled to learn of your intent to obliterate one of the most deep rooted icons of our city!...

“The horse drawn carriage industry is an integral part of this city and has been since the early 1860s. It has been serving New Yorkers and tourists alike for generations. I have heard you declaring it inhumane and not fitting with the fabric of our city. I am compelled to strongly challenge these declarations.”

Neeson goes on to say that the horses are well looked after, “These horses are well cared for, provided for and, perhaps, most importantly of all, have a job, in one of the world’s most bucolic settings, Central Park.”

He also voices the suspicion shared by many in the carriage industry that some of the animal rights advocates calling for the ban are more interested in making a land grab for the properties the stables are built on than they are in the welfare of the horses they house.

Many of these advocates are members of NYCLASS (New Yorkers for Clean, Liveable and Safe Streets), and a number of them, such as chief supporter and real estate mogul Steve Nislick, have deep professional roots in New York real estate and development. They contributed $1.3 million to the mayor’s campaign.

Neeson asks “Why don’t you come to the stables, meet with the business owners and see the conditions first hand?

“History teaches us that land grabs can manifest themselves in various ways. We all know the land on which these 4 stables sit is most valuable. Please do not become complicit in this type of practice.”

http://www.irishcentral.com/news/entertainment/Liam-Neeson-slams-Mayor-de-Blasio-over-shutdown-of-carriage-horses.html

[Brigid]

1. God bless the Irish!

[Cha]

16. Sounds like he makes a lot of sense to me, Brigid.

First I've heard of it.. I can see Liam's point.

Btw, I named my daughter, Brigid Erin~

Edit~ I see I'm in minority here.. I'll have to ask my niece who lives and works in NYC. and, me sister who's always driving down.

[Cleita]

2. Only an Irishman loves horses like the Irish do. n/t

[a kennedy]

3. Oh, and I posted this previously.....Frankel legacy: the million dollar foal?

Rarely has an animal birth been more hotly anticipated but the equine answer to the Royal Baby has taken its first tentative steps at the home of racing, Newmarket in eastern England.

On Sunday, Song produced the first filly to the superstar stallion Frankel at the National Stud, and despite it being just a few days old, the expectation on it to succeed on the racecourse is already huge.

An anticipated 130 foals will be born to Frankel in 2014, none of which will race for two years but with the potential for some sporting sibling rivalry come 2016 at the earliest.
Song is owned by Khalid Abdul Rahim, of Bahrain, who paid $1.3 million for the mare when she was already in foal to Frankel.

Director of The National Stud Brian O'Rourke described the new offspring as "a very nice quality, athletic individual," adding that both "mare and foal are doing well."
There is even footage online of the foal taking some of its first steps in Newmarket. Mother and foal will stay together for at least five months.


http://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/24/sport/frankel-foal/index.html?hpt=hp_c6

[DonViejo]

4. Any NYC based DU'er have an opinion on this issue?

I'm interested in reading your opinions.

[JI7]

5. from what i remember reading it was one of his campaign promises to some voters

who wanted it to end . so voters knew about it before the election .

[alcibiades_mystery]

15. I grew up in NYC, and most of my friends still live there

Everybody to a person hates the carriage horse industry. I know otherwise apolitical NYers who made it a point to vote for diBlasio because of his pledge to shut it down.

Good riddance to the bad rubbish of carriage horse stupidity. If tourists want to live in gaslight NY, they can go read Edith Wharton.

[MADem]

6. Most of the guys working the sixteen hour days doing that job are Irish.

As for the horses working a "set number of hours" each day, they don't mention how many hours that would be--an absence that I have noted.

When I've been in the city I've seen the same guy noon, afternoon and evening, so it's not like those poor horsies are just working a couple of hours breathing that shitty air.

And as for the fellahs caring for the horsies, some of 'em are...well, undocumented, as it were.

I would object less if they got them OFF the streets and just kept them in set areas in the park. I do not like seeing the poor horses fighting against the traffic. I think it is a shit life for the poor animals.

[Mika]

11. + infinity

A rare thumbs up from me for one of your posts!

[frazzled]

7. I'd been reading about these real-estate interests for a while

And I don't know why people haven't been talking about it more. It sure sounds shady to me.

I doubt any amount of warning about this will stop the hand-wringing about the poor horseys. I love horses, too (though I have to admit to being even more smitten with Liam), but I smell a rat in the stables, with a lot of money to be made.

Could the honeymoon be over already? It's only been a few weeks.

[LiberalElite]

8. It's a lie that this is a "tradition" since the 1860s

The carriage horse industry as known today in NYC was instituted in the 1940s by Mayor O'Dwyer.

[Kaleva]

9. Liam Neeson is letting know serious shit will go down if one of the horses is kidnapped.

[TlalocW]

12. If you leave the horses alone...

That'll be the end of it. I will not look for you, I will not pursue you. But if you don't, I will look for you, I will find you, and I will make you take a carriage ride.

TlalocW

[Kaleva]

13. Lol!

[Skip Intro]

10. We have them in Charleston. They are a huge part of the city here as well.

I'm a little shocked that the new mayor of NYC would want to end this.

If the horses aren't well-cared for, then fix that.

And I say this as a long-time animal rights supporter and and a big fan of PETA.

[alcibiades_mystery]

14. One of DiBlasio's best moves: the carriage horse nonsense is both cruel and disgusting

[bklyncowgirl]

17. I used to hate them, but it seems that the carriage operators, these days are very well regulated.

Going back more years than I care to remember I used to work at a riding stable in Staten Island. We all had a negative view of the carriage operators in those days. The stables were old firetraps with extremely narrow straight (tie) stalls, half the width of the stalls in our barn, it was not uncommon to see lame horses or horses with harness sores on the street and some were seriously underweight. On the other hand, I also knew a driver who had several horses all of which were well cared for and happy. The problem was there was no regulation.

In recent years I've seen a great improvement. Most of the animals now look well fed, clean and content. The city forced them to upgrade the stables, set a minimum stall size, and regulated their working hours. They are banned from working in extreme heat. As far as cold weather goes,you might be freezing but old Dobbin thinks the weather is just great, horses love the cold. Horses working on pavement have pads and studs on their shoes to give them a grip on pavement--this also works for ice. I understand that they are now rotated and spend five weeks a year on farms outside the city. Most New Yorkers will kill for a five week vacation.

I do think that there is a great deal of ignorance going on here among well-meaning people. Horses require exercise. Horses in the wild travel long distances every day to find food and water. Domesticated horses in turn out often don't get enough exercise--I call them paddock potatoes--they are as lazy as humans when you get down to it. The carriage horses get out of their stalls for a good part of the day which is better than what you can say for many pampered show or race horses who may get an hour of exercise a day or less. How much is too much? Depends on the weather and the level of fitness. Fit horses working at slow speeds can easily work safely for eight to ten hours or more provided they have adequate water. They need socialization; the company of other horses and also because they are bred to be our servants, humans. I have seen video of some of the rehabilitated stables and they are open, with bars so that the animals can see each other and socialize. They are probably happier than show horses isolated in manicured but closed box stalls with only tiny windows in the door to look out of. Yes, it's not the same as hanging out in beautiful pastures with other horses but to a horse it is not torture either.

Some things may look alarming but are not. In hot weather, naturally, a horse is going to sweat. Many will have foam around their mouths. That's normal, even desirable. Many horses like to chew on the bit which causes them to salivate. It's a sign of relaxation. As far as being on their feet, horses can stay on their feet for hours at a time. They lie down for just short naps maybe an hour or so a day. You may see a horse standing with a hind leg cocked. That does not mean he is lame. That's how they rest. You'll see horses in fields doing it all the time. A horse may have his head down and a glazed look in his eyes. Believe it or not, he's sleeping, once again perfectly normal. That horses can doze when parked on Fifth Avenue means that they are pretty well habituated to their surroundings. If they were not, you would know it. Most of the horror videos I've seen involve remarkably well behaved horses and remarkably poorly behaved vehicle operators.

Bottom line is horses are work animals. Unless you believe that animals should not work under any circumstances--and some people do--society should regulate their work so that they are not abused. We use police horses in city traffic--should they be banned too? What about police dogs, seeing eye dogs? The fact is that these carriage horses are not going to Old McDonalds Farm when their jobs are ended. Some will be sold to the Amish, where they will be worked very hard for a few years before ending up at the kill auctions others will quickly end up as the main course on some European or Japanese executive's dinner plate.

Regulate the industry, go after the bad operators but don't shut it down entirely.