NYC horse carriage drivers call for new Central Park stable 

Horses generally sleep standing. Horses die at all ages for assorted reasons, just like People. I knew a Horse that at age 7 dropped dead in His stall. Beautiful, well cared for Horse, the autopsy revealed that the Horse was eat up with cancer inside. Working Horses enjoy Their jobs or They wouldn't be any good at it. Similar to Polo Ponies, They get months off to rest & recoup. Horses that enjoy Polo chase the balls just laying on the field. They certainly work HARD, but They enjoy being useful. I grew up working at a 250+ stall Stable outside of Atlanta, Georgia. There were 145 rental Horses that most would've have gone to the killer if not for that job. I've seen all sorts of things via Horses... People who lack experience harshly judge what They don't understand or have experience with. 🙄 NY just wants the real estate. Working with Horses IS a real job. It's WORK. Cleaning stalls is a daily/weekly job. Hay in, manure out ☯️ It's expensive to own a Horse any place. Isn't logical to assume the Horses are not taken care of because it's a serious investment of time, effort & money. Depending on the Horse, one can easily continue working until 25+... Their teeth deteriorate with age & keeping weight on the older ones can be an issue. The oldest Horse I've known so far was 44.. And He looked OLD, but He got around fine. His owner had Him His whole life. He was missing an eye from a broken jaw, only had half His teeth. I remember how She would feed Him a specialty diet, softened with water... He would RUN around the pasture like a Youngster, but looked like a bag of bones. Of course She had stopped riding Him years before. He was seriously HAPPY & mobile until He finally laid down & died. Strangers called the Human Society so often They already knew the Horse.. People assumed the Horse wasn't being fed. He ate allot, it just didn't stay on Him. Old Horses over 30 generally look old. I would expect a carriage Horse to be retired 22-27... And that's if the condition is maintained. 17 isn't OLD .. It's like the last of the prime years. Most Horses colic, go lame or get into some weird accident. It's rare for a Horse to get to die of old age. Certainly hot weather on pavement isn't good for anyone... Heat is tough, gotta limit exposure & give electrolytes. People who don't own Horses ought not decide what's good or bad for a Horse because They lack experience.

I never been on a horse drawn carriage ride in New York City Central Park