New York Carriage Horse Bill Passed

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/15/nyregion/15horse.html

The City Council passed a bill on Wednesday that increases the fare for horse-drawn carriage rides and improves some conditions for the horses.

Speaker Christine C. Quinn, who called the bill a “huge step forward,” was heckled by opponents of the carriage trade.

The legislation, which Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg is expected to sign, raises the fare to $50 for the first 20 minutes from $34 for the first half-hour — the first increase in more than 20 years.

Math time.

$50/20 minutes = $2.50 per minute

$34/30 minutes = about $1.13 a minute

Someone let me know how that one goes. Not going to agree or disagree, I just hope someone did their research.

The bill requires stalls large enough for the horses to turn around and lie down in, and it requires five weeks of time off per year at a stable with a paddock or a pasture turnout.

The bill passed 43 to 4. It limits carriage horses to 5 to 26 years of age and bans them south of 34th Street and from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m.

This, however, sounds fantastic. I hope the owners of the horses can afford to give them five weeks off and can find a stable with turnout.