July 9, 2009
Groups: Horse's death should spark change
Smoothie the mare might still be alive if a nearby drummer had not spooked the carriage horse, or if her driver had been able to tie her to a hitch post, horse-drawn carriage owners said Sunday.
A trade group representing them asked the city Sunday to ban music near horses and install hitch posts around Central Park in the wake of Friday's freak accident that killed the 13-year-old mare.
"It's a safer environment for us and it's a safer environment for the public -- it's just common sense," said Colm McKeever, a carriage owner and driver for 18 years.
"Unfortunately you don't get what you want until something bad happens."
The plea for city intervention was part of a horse safety plan released Sunday by the Horse and Carriage Association of New York. The association said owners would step up also, promising that new drivers would receive more training and undergo a more vigorous application process.
Smoothie's owner, Cornelius Byrne, said the industry would even be willing to pay for hitch posts if the city approved them. He also asked the city for better drainage for horse waste, hack stands and more water spigots. These recommendations mirror a city comptroller's report by the city comptroller released three weeks ago.
A spokesman for the mayor's office said the city will look at the safety plan, dubbed Smoothie's Rules.
Startled by the crack of a snare drum, Smoothie ran down Central Park South pulling an empty carriage Friday afternoon, which got caught in a tree. She collapsed and died as she tried in vain to pull away. A second horse, frightened by Smoothie, bolted onto a car but was not injured, nor were the passengers in the Mercedes-Benz.
Animal-rights activists Sunday said loud music or a lack of hitch posts are not to blame for the mare's death, vowing to hold a vigil Thursday. The beasts are burdened with loud noises from everyday New York life, said Elizabeth Forel, president of the Coalition to Ban Horse Drawn Carriages.
Spooked horses have caused accidents before. One horse was euthanized and its owner critically injured after the animal ran into traffic last year.
"I think a better solution is to remove these gentle horses that are a danger to themselves and a danger to the public,"
Forel said.
But Smoothie's owner contended Sunday that horses belong in New York City and the rattle from the drum Friday was piercing and frightening. The drummer and a dancer in the performance group have said in published reports they did not cause the accident.
Parks department employees asked the group to move when they tried to set up the day after Smoothie's death.
"We have no choice but to be in this area," McKeever said as he climbed into his carriage to take some passengers through the park. Musicians "can be anywhere."
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